In Manchester, one nonprofit does double duty: The Moore Center is both New Hampshire's Family Centered Early Supports and Services (FCESS) provider for Greater Manchester and the Area Agency that handles longer-term developmental-disability services once a child ages out of early intervention.

For school-age evaluation, that job belongs to Manchester School District (SAU 37) instead — a separate door with its own written-request process. This page keeps those two doors straight and cites where each fact came from.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the New Hampshire page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Manchester (Hillsborough County).

Early intervention under 3: Family Centered Early Supports and Services (FCESS) — Greater Manchester

New Hampshire delivers Part C early intervention through ten regional Area Agencies rather than a single state office, and in Manchester that agency is The Moore Center. A parent, pediatrician, or child care provider can call the FCESS intake line directly to describe a concern about a child under 3; a developmental evaluation follows, and no prior autism diagnosis is needed to request one. The Moore Center's early-supports team also runs parent coaching, speech, occupational, and physical therapy, and helps plan the transition to preschool special education around a child's third birthday.

• Family Centered Early Supports and Services (FCESS) — Greater Manchester
• Referral phone: 603-206-2732

New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.

School districts and special education

Manchester School District (SAU 37) is required under federal and state Child Find law to locate and evaluate any resident child suspected of having a disability, at no cost to the family, starting with a written request to the Student Services office. Statewide policy and dispute-resolution guidance sit with the New Hampshire Department of Education's Bureau of Special Education, the second contact worth keeping on hand if a Manchester family needs it.

• Manchester School District (SAU 37) — Student Services office, 20 Hecker Street; main line 603-624-6300; put evaluation requests in writing

Other places to ask — not a substitute for the district

An evaluation request has to go to the school district itself; only the district can start the legal timeline. These are for asking questions about the process, or for when the district has not responded.

• New Hampshire DOE — Bureau of Special Education — statewide special-education policy office; useful if a Manchester evaluation stalls or you need procedural-safeguards guidance

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Manchester

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Manchester. That is a gap in our research, not a sign there is nothing here — and it does not stand between you and an evaluation. The school district evaluation above is free, and early intervention under 3 does not need a private diagnosis first.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: The Moore Center — Area Agency for Region 7 (Greater Manchester)

The Moore Center has held the state's Area Agency contract for the Greater Manchester region since 1981, covering Manchester, Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Goffstown, Hooksett, Londonderry, and New Boston. Once a child or adult is found eligible, the agency coordinates services funded through New Hampshire's Bureau of Developmental Services, including the Medicaid home- and community-based waiver, and helps families apply for that eligibility determination in the first place.

• The Moore Center — Area Agency for Region 7 (Greater Manchester)
• Phone: 603-668-5423

Local organizations that help Manchester families

• The Arc of Greater Manchester — 603-434-2738; local chapter offering family support and advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Autism Society of New Hampshire — 603-679-2424; statewide affiliate based in Concord, reachable from Manchester
• Manchester Area Autism Spectrum Support Group — meets monthly at the Barnes & Noble on South Willow Street; listed through New Hampshire Family Voices

Documented waits and access notes

Wait times change. Each note below links to the public source it came from — confirm current status directly with the program.

• Once Manchester School District has a family's written consent, state procedural safeguards guidance allows it 60 calendar days to finish an evaluation and hold the eligibility meeting, on top of an earlier 15-business-day deadline for the meeting that decides whether to test at all. (source)
• The Moore Center's FCESS program operates under the same statewide requirement every New Hampshire Area Agency follows: an initial IFSP signed within 45 days of the date a child was referred. (source)
• New Hampshire's In-Home Supports Waiver for children with developmental disabilities currently has no waitlist statewide, according to fellow Area Agency Community Bridges' published FAQ, though the agency flags that one could reopen if state funding for the waiver changes. (source)
• Under RSA 417-E:2, New Hampshire's ABA mandate runs through age 21 but splits its annual dollar cap by age: $36,000 for a person under 12, dropping to $27,000 for one between 12 and 21. (source)