Restaurant owner and proud Puerto Rican autism dad advocates for son and autistic community as a whole

As an autism dad and owner of Chevere, a Puerto Rican restaurant in New York City’s Lower East Side, Michael Petrovitch is always looking for ways to get involved with the community and finding unique ways to raise awareness for others like his son, Dominic, who was diagnosed at age four. This proud dad and savvy businessman continues to cook up ideas on how he can help autistic people reach their full potential. 

“A portion of all sales at Chevere go to raising money for the autistic community and raising awareness, but it’s in my nature to do more. My son has been lucky to have a strong support system behind him since he was diagnosed, but how many kids don’t have that? I try to give back in whatever way I can, whether that has been with money or my time or simply a recommendation to a family in need.” 

Michael’s first recommendation when asked for advice is simple… reach out to Autism Speaks. 

Today, his son, Dominic is 20 years old and set to embark on his final year of the Cooke Transitions program in New York City, a program designed to help adults develop independence through community inclusion and real-world vocational opportunities. His dad says he and his wife, Miriam, are immensely proud of the smart, independent, routine oriented, movie and cartoon-loving person their son has become, but the early years after diagnosis were tough, but Autism Speaks was there. 

“We have Autism Speaks to thank for a lot of Dominic’s success over the years at Cooke School. At first, he was enrolled in the special education program at his local public school, but they weren’t meeting the needs of his IEP. It became a messy situation until we reached out to Autism Speaks and they helped connect us with a school where Dominic has been able to receive all the accommodations he’s needed through the years. Since that moment, I’ve been a strong supporter of the organization and will do whatever I can to help them help more people like my son.” 

For the Petrovitch Family, the Autism Speaks community, specifically their local New York City Walk, became a strong support system as the relationship evolved. In 2018, they participated in their first Walk as a family and Michael decided to become a supporter in a multitude of ways, donating his money and time to the organization. Since, he and his family have walked every year, and he recently joined the organization’s NYC Market Committee to take his advocacy work to the next level. This incredible group of corporate leaders has been appointed to play a key role in advancing programmatic work of the organization across the five boroughs of New York City.  

“I can speak from personal experience that the organization is the go-to resource for autistic people and their families and loved ones. Whenever I have the opportunity to share my family’s story and talk about son’s journey on the spectrum.” 

Learn more about this father and son duo and how their Hispanic heritage has helped guide them through many of life’s ups and downs in this Q&A: 
Cultural influence

How has your Hispanic heritage influenced the way you approach parenting your autistic child?  

Coming from a strong Puerto Rican family, who raised me a certain way, raising a child on the spectrum has been a different experience. Whereas my parents would physically punish me, with Dominic, there is no physical punishment but adjusting the overcoming what I went through as a child to slowing down and thinking of a response. 

Navigating resources

Have you faced any challenges accessing autism-related resources or support due to language barriers or cultural differences? How have you overcome these challenges? Have you noticed disparities? 

Dominic started off in the public school system, but his learning skills were not being met. When we called Autism Speaks, they mentioned The Cooke School and found out that if the public school system couldn't help Dominic, they would pay for any school we could find to place Dominic. There was never a cultural difference, just a learning/teaching difference. 

Celebrating heritage 

How do you incorporate your cultural traditions and celebrations into your child's life while accommodating their needs as an autistic child and now as a young adult?  

Dominic knows he's American, but he also knows that he is Puerto Rican first. When Spanish Heritage month begins, he is heavily involved with our businesses activation as we operate a Puerto Rican fast food stall in a Food Hall by the New York City Stock Exchange. 

Advocacy and awareness 

What do you believe is needed to improve the awareness and support for Hispanic families within the autism community?  

I believe that reaching out to the more Hispanic communities throughout NYC is key. We just participated in Corona, Queens with a back-to-school backpack giveaway where over 1,000 people attended. There was no representation of any autism resources at this event. But being a parent of someone on the spectrum, I personally noticed some in the crowd were on the spectrum. I would love to join Autism Speaks in creating more ways for the Latin community to get involved in more events like this.