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Lakes Region Community Services Draws Up Blueprints For Families Coping With Autism

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Lakes Region Community Services helps children with autism and their families through their early intervention program and autism center. Christian Lapierre was 15 months old when his mom, Denise, realized something was wrong and called Lakes Region Community Services.

Denise: He was in his crib for a nap, standing up, holding the rail, and he would shake his head from left to right as fast as possible. He wasn’t in distress, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking past me. I remember  picking him up, and knowing physically he was OK, but he was in a different plateau than I was.

When we called Lakes Region, an Intake Coordinator came to our home. They said, “yeah, we think your son might be eligible for services for early intervention.”

He didn’t know how to roll a ball, he didn’t know how to say he was hungry, he didn’t know how to communicate. After six months, he had basic signs in sign language, and when we went back to his neurologist’s office, they told us with no uncertainty that he was autistic.

Lakes Region Community Services, his school in Belmont, and his neurologist at Dartmouth, have all formed together one unified team.

Christian is four years old now, fully verbal, he plays with his peers, he goes to pre-school now. He likes to do things that challenge him: he likes puzzles. And, what I always say his biggest accomplishment is communicating, he tells me he loves me every day.

Lakes Region Community Services has been a saving grace for our family. The individuals that work there have hearts the size of the state.

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