ODESSA, Texas — An update provided Thursday revealed that a Midland teen named Cordarius is now living in foster care. The teen was found alone and missing in early 2023. Following an assessment of his adaptive behavior, it was determined that the non-verbal teen has an intellectual disability.
For those with special needs in situations like this, it varies from person to person on how it is handled. Child advocacy centers are equipped to handle most situations, and Harmony Home in Odessa helps people in need find their voice, including those with a disability.
Cordarius has come a long way from the corner of Shandon and Ward, the area of Midland where he was found.
“There [are] many ways to go about the healing and getting that process started," said Amanda Allen, prevention director at Harmony Home.
As he now stays active in foster care by interacting with others in the house, he’s also receiving therapy.
While his exact path to this point is unknown, Harmony Home offers support to people who are similar.
“We can interview and do therapy and other advocacy services if it’s someone that’s over the age of 18 if they do have some sort of disability," Allen said. "If the kid is non-verbal but old enough to kind of know what’s going on – I say non-verbal as in under two in most cases – but if it’s a child with a disability who is also non-verbal, then we do things like drawings.”
Allen said they also work closely with other organizations.
“We have a great working relationship with CPS and law enforcement and the sheriff's office," Allen said. "We’ve had FBI come in before, so all those authority agencies we work with almost on a daily basis.”
It’s those partnerships that allow the best care to any child in need, or like Cordarius, someone with a disability.
“We really just assess what the needs are going to be or we have some kind of – like we know what’s going on before we bring the kid in for an interview," Allen said. "We’ve talked to our other partners and they’ve kind of given us a heads up, so there [are] many things that we can do to ensure that we’re getting the correct information we need to get.”
Allen mentioned that they also use anatomical dolls and interpreters to help those who are non-verbal. She also noted that they leave the foster care decision up to CPS and law enforcement, but they do have the ability to get a person ready for foster care if they need to.