"Frank D. Lanterman was a name
I had always known but I really didn’t know what it meant. I
had heard my parents say the name referring to something called
“Regional Center.” I came to understand the “Regional Center”
funded programs that I needed, desperately, because I am autistic."I
learned that the name of “my” Regional Center was Frank D. Lanterman
Regional Center. It never occurred to me that the name referred
to a real person.
For National History Day I decided to find out who Frank D.
Lanterman really was. In my initial research on the Internet,
I saw that a regional center, job center, high school, freeway,
street, hospital, series of laws and a historical house were
all named after Lanterman. I found out that Lanterman House,
in La Canada, has an archive with thousands of documents about
the Lanterman family. As I am unable to speak, I had my mother
call for an appointment with the archivist, Mr. Brooks.
On a wintry day my mother, my aide and I went to Lanterman House
and browsed through boxes and boxes of old newspaper articles,
interview transcripts, wills, personal and professional letters,
photos, chapters of books and copies of state laws. We selected
about a dozen documents and had them photocopied to take home.
It took me several weeks to go through the documents with my
aide, who reminds me to pay attention when I read and supports
me when I take notes. I type using one finger with some physical
support; the process is very slow. After many hours of work,
what I learned from my research changed the way I look at my
life and made me realize how one man can change the lives of
so many.
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