EULESS, TX -- Chad Turner is an adult with down syndrome. But if spend just a few minutes with him you'll learn he is not defined by his condition.
"My name is Chad Turner and my age is 37 and my business is Chad's Shred'N Service," Turner said.
Turner is a small business owner. Companies from across North Texas trust him with their paperwork that he shreds all to pieces.
Hence the name of his business: Chad's Shred'n Services.
Some may see it as busy work but Chad knows what he does is so much more. He takes pride in protecting his customers from the very real threat of identity theft.
"You don't want to see people's personal stuff because of identity theft," Turner said.
Here's what a normal day looks like. He powers up the machine, tears through some files and repeats it all over again.
Chad's dad can usually be found in the back room sorting through paperwork. He helped start the business 12 years ago when Chad was in his 20s. The hard reality for adults with Down syndrome is that work programs can be hard to find, so this family decided to start their own.
"There are some opportunities you just have to be fortunate enough to find those niches," Larry Turner said.
But their business is not a nonprofit. They have paying customers that need to get a very real job done.
"People trust us. They know we're going to get the job done," Turner said.
And that's what Chad prides himself on.
"There's a need for special needs people. There's a place for them and I think the community, society today compared to when I grew up looks at special needs a lot more positive," Turner said.
It's not just breaking the barriers for adults with special needs. Instead, they're shredding them.