CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio —

Clermont County officials have issued a statewide Missing Adult Alert for Thomas Mills, a 71-year-old man.

Pierce Township police Chief Paul Broxterman said a neighbor was the last person to see Mills around 8 a.m. on Tuesday in the Amelia Court Apartment's parking lot at 1381 W. Ohio Pike.

Broxterman said when Clermont County County Senior Services arrived to pick up Mills, he was nowhere to be found.

"They checked inside. He wasn't there. So, they called the nephew who called us."
Broxterman said.

Police said Mills is 4 feet, 11 inches tall, weighs 115 pounds, and has grey hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket.

"He only walks around this immediate area. He's lived here for two years, and he has a very distinctive ... he has trouble walking. So, we're hoping someone in the area sees him and gives us a call," Broxterman said.

The apartment complex is next to Kroger on Ohio Pike.

"We're checking the cameras of Kroger. We pinged his phone, and, you know, we got a hit about 300 meters around this area, which is 1,200 feet. We've had the sheriff's department come with the dog to do a search. We had a drone up. We have the search and rescue team coming to help us," Broxterman said.

According to officials, Mills is autistic and suffers from "a delayed mental capacity."

There are two search teams leading the efforts to find Mills, Cincinnati Search and Recovery and Ohio LandSAR Search and Rescue.

"We're worried about the weather cause he's going to have hypothermia. He wasn't dressed to be out in the rain," said Cincinnati Search and Recovery Chief Jeff Shari. "We come out here and all of us are volunteers. We don't get paid. We're in it because of our heart. We want to find him so we're going to stay here until we find him."

Shari said the fact that Mills is autistic changes the dynamic of the search.

"We do a calculation on age, mental capacity and how far of a distance he could have gone since he went missing. They're usually attracted to water, lights, he lives right next to Kroger so obviously we check Kroger first. We have a K9 out checking the retention ponds in the area," Shari said. "We will then hit is common routes."

Search crews ask anyone who lives in the area to check their property and backyards, especially places Mills may have gone to get warm. Anyone who sees Mills is asked to call 911 or 1-888-637-1113.

When his hand dances around his easel, sea turtle's shells drip with tie-dye, a fish pops off the page and typically pink flamingo feathers are all the colors of the rainbow.

"We realize that he loved animals, so mostly he's drawing animals," Andrea Bevanda said of her 14-year-old son Viktor, who is autistic and nonverbal. But his art is how he speaks.

"I think he's very inspired with Florida that's why he's always drawing turtles," Andrea said.

The family of four moved to South Florida from Serbia when Viktor was 3. That's when he picked up his first Crayon. When his art turned to income, they started giving back.

"We are very proud and we are very happy ... it's not so much for us as it is for others," Andrea said.

They donate all of the proceeds from Viktor's art sales to countless South Florida charities & even dole out advice for other parents of kids facing communication barriers, like Lauren Carstensen.

"We all want to be included, our kids to be included, so it just kind of came together that way," Carstensen said of bonding with Andrea after finding her online.

Lauren Carstensen's 22-month-old is facing speech difficulties, so when she saw Vishy's art on Facebook, she offered him a spot in her Jensen Beach shop.

"I love his artwork. It speaks to you in a way," she said.

For other parents, Andrea offered this advice: "You need to believe in your child, you need to support, and you never know what your child can do."

Two Michigan brothers are rising stars on TikTok and Instagram.

They are hoping their nearly 700,000 followers are learning an important lesson along the way.

Max might look like your average guy. But, he has what his brother Jake likes to call a superpower — autism — and it leads to other powers.

“July 24, 1993. What day of the week was that?” Jake asked Max.

“Saturday,” Max answered without hesitation.

“Saturday. And Max, when was Ford Field built? Jake asked again, referring to the NFl stadium their favorite football team plays at.

“2002,” Max shot back.

“So Max has a bunch of different skills because he’s a prodigious savant,” Jake said.

Max only uses his superpower for good, including for TikTok.

“We’re really using this as a platform to spread awareness and really share our love and share our story,” Jake added. “And show families and people all over the world that people with autism really have value.”

Watch the video above for more on this story.

"The world needs more crunch" is the motto for a Maryland business owner. His pretzel business, Moore Crunch, is booming and inspiring people with autism and other disabilities in the process.

Marcus Moore has a passion for pretzels. People can see the joy on his face as he packs each bag of his very own brand Moore Crunch.

"I just enjoy doing this. Seriously, I really do. I love it," Moore, the founder and CEO of Moore Crunch, said.

Finding something he loves means so much to Moore. He’s 29 years old and he has autism. Although he’s worked in Annapolis grocery stores over the years, he has always wanted to grow and be self-sufficient.

"I know some jobs may not offer those supervisor position(s), manager position(s) because with autism, I may lack some of that leadership skill," Moore said.

"He came home one day from work, and he was kind of upset. He wanted to know if what he makes for a living is enough to take care of himself on his own as an adult," Walter Mills, Moore's father, said. "His mother and I were sitting around one day, and we were like, 'what can we do for him?'"

Video below: Student with autism makes basketball shot during game

They thought about how much Moore loves snacks and suggested he start his own pretzel business. He bought in and started testing out flavors in the kitchen right away.

"Cinnamon sugar, Maryland crab, garlic ranch buffalo, buffalo and the smokehouse ranch," Moore said.

Since the start of Moore Crunch in October 2022, Moore has sold over 600 bags of pretzels. And with several stores carrying his product, business is booming.

"The online orders have been coming in," Moore said.

"Just to see how people have embraced him, the social life that he never had, the opportunities that he never really had growing up, they’re coming to him now," Mills said.

With his newfound success, Moore is thinking about the next steps, like finding a commercial kitchen and hiring other people with autism or disabilities to help him.

"Just help expand and show them how to do this give them that chance and opportunity," Moore said.

So, with his passion for pretzels, he's got a newfound love for inspiring people.

"Great to see. Like being an inspiration to those out there, that you can do anything," Moore said.

For more information on how you can support Moore Crunch visit the following website.

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Living on your own isn’t always guaranteed for people with developmental disabilities, but one Ohio woman is challenging those norms for her son.

Cindy Hill, with help from the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, found new ways to retrofit her Shaker Heights home and make it safe for her son, Ben, who has autism.

"There weren't the technologies, there weren't even computers when he was born. So, it was pretty hard to envision," she said.

Technology—including appliances that shut off on their own, motion sensors, and new security systems—allowed Cindy to move out with peace of mind. She now lives in an apartment just two miles away, and Ben has been living alone for three months.

"We could have never pictured it in the past," she said. "I'm letting go gradually."

In addition to these systems, Cindy organized a structure for Ben’s day, so he feels more secure. This includes several visits per week from DeJohn Dixon, an 18-year-old aide from Home Watch Caregivers.

"I'm here to give Ben a life of adventure," Dixon said.

Together, they walk outside and work out at the gym.

Cindy thinks the home adjustments and visits from Dixon are helping Ben become more self-sufficient.

"He's starting to think for himself, ‘Hey, I need this.’ And it's really a kind of flourishing experience for him," she said.

After struggling to find resources for Ben over several years, Cindy started a website to help families with children who have developmental disabilities. You can locate these resources and free assistance here.

This story was originally published by Jenna Borthwick at WEWS.

CNN —

Video above: Schumer says Juneteenth holiday marks slavery legacy

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has apologized for calling children with intellectual disabilities "retarded" after receiving criticism for using the term, which is medically outdated and offensive to many.

Responding to a question during a virtual podcast with OneNYCHA on what Congress is doing to combat homelessness exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Democrat was discussing funding to provide affordable housing and the need for mental health assistance when he used the term.

"When I first was an assemblyman, they wanted to build a congregate living place for retarded children," he said Sunday when a host described resistance to efforts to build housing for the homeless. "The whole neighborhood was against it. These are harmless kids, they just needed some help. We got it done, took a while."

A spokesman for Schumer told CNN in a statement that the New York Democrat is "sincerely sorry for his use of the outdated and hurtful language."

"For decades, Sen. Schumer has been an ardent champion for enlightened policy and full funding of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities," the spokesperson said Wednesday. "He used an inappropriate and outdated word in his description of an effort he supported that was led by the AHRC to build a group home in his Brooklyn district decades ago to provide housing and services to children with developmental disabilities."

The American Psychological Association, which publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, along with the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, stopped using the term "mental retardation" because of stigma surrounding it and instead uses the term "intellectual disability."

The Arc of the United States, an organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, says it dropped "retarded" from variations of its name because the term became "pejorative, derogatory, and demeaning in usage." AHRC, previously known as the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, also dropped the term from its name but still uses the acronym, according to its website.

Schumer's comments were criticized on social media and by the GOP, including the Republican Party of New York.

"Shame on @SenSchumer for using a derogatory, offensive term to refer to disabled children," they wrote on Twitter.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Olympic and Paralympic athletes across the globe faced massive disappointment in 2020, when the pandemic postponed the Tokyo games. And while it may have stalled the dreams of many, it didn’t make them fade away.

“I won silver in London. I won Gold in Mexico City and Berlin, Germany,” said Lawrence Sapp.

Sapp is a world champion swimmer. Like most world class athletes, he's been honing his craft nearly his whole life.

“I’ve been started swimming since I was four, competing since I was 11 and 12,” he said.

But unlike most athletes, he hasn’t had a traditional path.

“My coach, to learn how to swim, like a doggy paddle,” said Sapp.

When Sapp was two years old, he was diagnosed with a developmental delay. That was later determined to be autism.

Now, he’s finishing his freshman year at the University of Cincinnati, but in all likelihood, his workload will get a lot heavier this summer. It’s almost a certainty he’s headed to Tokyo for the Paralympic games.

“It was coronavirus, got hit. We all had to go home, keep it safe to stay healthy. It’s really disappointing they moved the 2020 to 2021 for this year,” said Sapp.

But now Sapp is back in the pool, working hard as he aims to bring home gold in Tokyo.

“He always shows up ready to work hard and get better,” said one of his student coaches, Sheridan Ave.

His hard work shows. It’s something his university is proud of, proud to support him in and out of the pool.

“He’s an outstanding student. He’s a great addition to the university and has a passion and gift for swimming,” said Jan Goings, who runs the Transition and Access Program (TAP).

“We are a four-year college program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Goings.

Sapp is one of about 40 students enrolled in TAP.

He hopes to make his classmates proud when he competes in Tokyo.

“Just swim really hard, good break outs, and good starts,” said Sapp.

Goings has worked in this field for a long time.

“It has changed dramatically. The fact that universities have opened themselves to say, 'we’re here to educate all students.' So, all does mean all,” said Goings.

Institutions like the University of Cincinnati and competitions like the Paralympic games are making sure that all have a chance to show their best.

Sapp plans to show his.

“Just got to get on, be ready to race in a different country. I’ll be ready bring it on for Tokyo,” he said.

CHICAGO — When it comes to getting an organ transplant, people with intellectual disabilities continue to face barriers. Misconceptions about their ability to comply with post-op requirements sometimes mean doctors and transplant centers have refused to put them on waiting lists.

Charlie Robertson is a sweet, curious 5-year-old girl, who loves to pick flowers for her family. But Charlie, who has Down syndrome was born with a hole in her heart that didn’t close on its own.

“It was kind of always in the back of my mind that if she needed surgery, something went wrong, she needed a heart transplant, she may be denied,” said Charlie’s mother, Lindsay.

Physicians and hospital transplant teams make the determination as to who is a good candidate to be added to the national waiting list. But denying organ transplants to people with intellectual disabilities like Down syndrome or autism still happens even though it’s illegal.

One study reported that 85% of pediatric transplant centers consider intellectual or developmental disability as a factor in their determination of transplant eligibility, and 44% of organ transplant centers wouldn’t add a child with a neurodevelopmental disability to the list.

“There is still discrimination faced by people with disabilities for organ transplants,” said Ashley Helsing, director of government relations with the National Down Syndrome Society.

Helsing says families can file a complaint with the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, but that takes time.

“And when a person is at the point where they need a transplant, time is absolutely of the essence,” said Helsing.

Earlier this year, Congress introduced federal legislation to expand protections in the Americans with Disabilities Act. It would prohibit organ transplant discrimination based on a person’s disability or their perceived inability to comply with postoperative care.

“Not many people with Down syndrome and those with IDD get the opportunity to have a life-saving organ transplant,” said Charlotte Woodward.

The proposed federal legislation is named for Woodward, a disability civil rights activist with Down syndrome who received a life-saving heart transplant nearly nine years ago.

“If my doctors hadn’t advocated for me to be a heart transplant recipient, I wouldn't be here,” said Woodward.

In the meantime, states are being lobbied to step in.

Texas recently joined 19 other states, like California, Ohio and Florida, that have passed laws ending disability-based discrimination on the organ transplant list. Another nine states, including Colorado, New York and Tennessee, have introduced similar legislation.

Lindsay Robertson worked to get a state bill passed in Illinois and on to the governor’s desk.

“As a mom, I feel like it's just one more thing that we have to fight for so that people know that it doesn't matter if they have a disability,” she said. “She's worth it. If she needs a transplant, she should be able to get one regardless of her diagnosis.