Meaghan’s friends and family describe her as hilarious, quirky and one of a kind 22-year-old. Meaghan loves animals, her favorites are horses, cats and fish. Twice a week Meaghan enjoys horseback riding, which she has been doing since the age of seven. When she’s not riding, she enjoys cooking, swinging on her swing set and traveling with her family. Once a week, Meaghan attends a social skills group, which helps her and other young adults living with Autism Spectrum Disorder improve their communication and social skills.
At the age of 13, Meaghan began receiving Autism Waiver services after being on Wait List for nine years. Prior to receiving Autism Waiver services, Meaghan’s family struggled to find appropriate services and supports. One of the biggest challenges was finding reliable and willing childcare providers to care for Meaghan’s significant behavioral challenges and medical needs. While the early years were challenging, Meaghan’s mom says it made her more aware and better prepared, more resilient, compassionate and passionate.
Meaghan and her mom are extremely grateful for their Service Coordinator Lauren, who was instrumental in helping Meaghan and her entire family open a lot of doors. Meaghan’s mom states, “Our Coordinator Lauren helped us navigate through the daunting and confusing aspects of processes, forms, timelines. She was always organized, on time, made things very easy for me. She opened up a world of services that I didn’t know existed. She was a sounding board, a voice of reason and the ultimate professional. Lauren has been an integral part of all of Meaghan’s roadblocks and milestones. She truly cares and it shows.”
In just a few weeks Meaghan will officially transition out of the Autism Waiver to DDA services. When researching options for a new service coordinator, Meaghan and her family chose to continue to work with The Coordinating Center because she says, “hands down, it has changed our lives.”
