ROSWELL, Ga. - A local car dealership is teaming up with the Tommy Nobis Center to give some special adults their first jobs.
One of those special adults is a 21-year-old named Chris Pavlak. He is not a child on the autism spectrum; he is a young adult on the autism spectrum. Young adults don't get nearly the same amount of funding, aid, or opportunities as children.
But here is a new frontier: Cafe Blends, which hires young adults on the autism spectrum to serve as baristas. "It's pretty nice," Chris Pavlak said Thursday. "Everyone is really nice here, and I think it's a good start for me."
The Tommy Nobis Center has teamed up with the Asbury Automotive Group, which owns 79 car dealerships. They started Cafe Blends at Nalley Lexus in Roswell, and they are planning to expand to some of their other dealerships in Atlanta.
"It keeps me a lot more busy," Pavlak said. "In a good way."
"When the employees started here they really were leaning a lot on the jobs coaches," said Melissa Corey, who works in the building. "Now they are completely self-sufficient.
"These individuals have a hard time finding a job and we want to show they are just as good or better than anyone else," Corey said.