Most of the help available to you is free, and almost nobody tells you about it.
Six programmes exist in every state, cost nothing, and need no referral from us or anyone else. Start them before you start choosing a therapy provider — they all have queues.
Six free programmes, in every state
None of these are ours, none of them pay us, and all of them will talk to you without a provider in the room.
Early Intervention (birth to 3)
Every state runs a federally mandated programme under Part C of IDEA. Evaluation is free, you do not need a diagnosis or a doctor's referral, and you can refer your own child. If your child is under three and you take one action this week, make it this one.
Search your state's name plus "Early Intervention" — every state has a single point of entry.
School district evaluation (age 3+)
Once a child turns three, the obligation moves to your local school district under Part B. A written request for an evaluation starts a legal timeline. This is separate from, and does not replace, a medical diagnosis.
Write to the district's special education office. Put the request in writing and keep a copy — the clock starts from the written request.
Parent Training and Information Centers
Federally funded, free, and in every state. They help parents understand special education rights, prepare for IEP meetings, and push back when a district says no. Wildly under-used.
One PTI serves each state; several states also have Community Parent Resource Centers.
Protection & Advocacy agencies
Every state and territory has one, federally mandated, providing free legal advocacy for people with disabilities — including disputes over services, school placement and Medicaid denials.
One designated agency per state. Free to contact regardless of income.
Medicaid waivers
Most states run home- and community-based services waivers that can cover respite, support workers and equipment, and in many states a child can qualify on their own disability regardless of family income. Waitlists are often long, which is exactly why applying early matters.
Apply as soon as you have a diagnosis, even if you expect to wait. Our state pages note each state's programme.
Your state's Family-to-Family Health Information Center
Staffed by parents of children with disabilities who have already navigated the same systems. The most practical source of state-specific answers we know of, and free.
One per state, federally funded.
Our own guides, if they help
The first-month questions
Four things, in this order. Refer to Early Intervention or request a school evaluation in writing, depending on your child’s age — both are free and both have waitlists. Ask the diagnosing clinician for the full written report, because every programme and insurer will ask for it. Call your insurer and ask what ABA, speech and OT coverage your plan carries and what prior authorization requires. Apply for your state’s Medicaid waiver even if you think you won’t qualify.
Everything else — reading, support groups, choosing providers — can wait a few weeks. Those four all have queues, so they are the ones that benefit from being started today.
Yes, and they are the most substantial ones. Early Intervention, school district evaluations, Parent Training and Information Centers, Protection & Advocacy agencies and Family-to-Family centers are all federally funded and free to you. None of them require a referral from a provider, and none of them require you to have chosen a therapy yet.
Your state’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center is staffed by parents of disabled children and is the most reliable starting point. Local parent groups run through hospitals, school districts and disability councils tend to be more useful than national online groups, because the questions that matter most — which district will fight you, which clinic has a real waitlist — are local.
Not for everything. Early Intervention evaluates on developmental concern alone, with no diagnosis and no referral needed, and a school district evaluation works the same way. What does generally require a diagnosis is insurance coverage for ABA. So the two tracks are worth running in parallel: start the free evaluation now, and pursue the medical diagnosis alongside it. How to find a diagnostician covers the second track.
Keep reading
Getting an evaluation
The medical track, running in parallel with the free ones.
Types of autism therapy
What the options actually are, once you have a diagnosis.
Insurance and Medicaid
Turning a diagnosis into authorized therapy hours.
What ABA costs
Published state rates, waivers and what families really pay.
Support beyond ABA
IEPs, referrals and the paperwork nobody warns you about.
Find your state
Coverage rules, waivers and the pathway where you live.