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Texas. Wait list is 19 years. We get some services but we're past the age limit on most of those. Not to mention most of them are so defunded it's like 30 mins

Texas. Wait list is 19 years. We get some services but we're past the age limit on most of those. Not to mention most of them are so defunded it's like 30 mins of speech therapy available a month...

efa 8y ago
Fellow Texan. We have a 16 yr old girl on the spectrum. Not sure how old your daughter is. The public schools are required to provide service (even before starting school) once your daughter has been officially diagnosed and it's recorded in their records. Also it's hit and miss regarding schools. We've had bad elementary, middle, and high school. We transferred and found good schools. Some school care (and "get it") and some don't. Keep up the good fight!
mercer 8y ago
Is moving to Europe at all an option? I get the impression that support for autism is a bit better here.
- kraig911 8y ago
  I did interview around a bit. Issue is immigration shuts down a lot of the process once they see anything autism on the application.
  - sjg007 8y ago
    Huh.. do you have to disclose minor child disabilities? I’ve heard obtaining citizenship becomes more difficult but temporary residency while a child should be ok.
sjg007 8y ago
Your best bet is to move. Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California, Minnesota have good services. Texas defunded special ed in schools and the Feds cracked down on them so now they have to provide services but it will take years to get enough providers. I would move. But what you want is a center based program (so you can work). You can find these in Arizona and Florida as well I believe but there are issues there due to republican control of the state legislatures. FYI Minnesota HAD crazy wait lists and a Federal judge admonished them for not spending the money and things turned around in about 2-3 years. So we do have limited providers with about a 6 month wait list and only 1 provider in the metro area for kids older than age 7. So I would say Massachusetts or New Jersey or New York. In my experience school districts are terrible at providing services. You want county level, private insurance or Medicaid. Also you want to be in a college town or near a college town because 90% of the line ABA therapists are college kids (supervised by a BCBA etc.. and up to a psyD etc... that helps staffing immensely. California has a 6 month wait at the regional center level for assessment, Minnesota has a SMRT wait of 60 days if I recall correctly but the bigger issue is ~6months to get into a center based program. If moving is not an option another idea is to start a program. You are not alone and other parents will band together. For Texas it would fill a huge need. EDIT: Article discusses New Jersey and their well established system. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-autism-numbers-show-big-state-state-differences-n869286 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-autism-number... Below link summarizes the laws/programs in states. Generally, the earlier insurance coverage was mandated the more providers a state now has. http://www.easterseals.com/explore-resources/living-with-autism/state-autism-profiles.html http://www.easterseals.com/explore-resources/living-with-aut...

Texas. Wait list is 19 years. We get some services but we're past the age limit on most of those. Not to mention most of them are so defunded it's like 30 mins of speech therapy available a month...

efa 8y ago

Fellow Texan. We have a 16 yr old girl on the spectrum. Not sure how old your daughter is. The public schools are required to provide service (even before starting school) once your daughter has been officially diagnosed and it's recorded in their records. Also it's hit and miss regarding schools. We've had bad elementary, middle, and high school. We transferred and found good schools. Some school care (and "get it") and some don't. Keep up the good fight!

mercer 8y ago

Is moving to Europe at all an option? I get the impression that support for autism is a bit better here.

kraig911 8y ago
I did interview around a bit. Issue is immigration shuts down a lot of the process once they see anything autism on the application.
- sjg007 8y ago
  Huh.. do you have to disclose minor child disabilities? I’ve heard obtaining citizenship becomes more difficult but temporary residency while a child should be ok.

sjg007 8y ago

Your best bet is to move. Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California, Minnesota have good services. Texas defunded special ed in schools and the Feds cracked down on them so now they have to provide services but it will take years to get enough providers. I would move. But what you want is a center based program (so you can work). You can find these in Arizona and Florida as well I believe but there are issues there due to republican control of the state legislatures. FYI Minnesota HAD crazy wait lists and a Federal judge admonished them for not spending the money and things turned around in about 2-3 years. So we do have limited providers with about a 6 month wait list and only 1 provider in the metro area for kids older than age 7. So I would say Massachusetts or New Jersey or New York. In my experience school districts are terrible at providing services. You want county level, private insurance or Medicaid. Also you want to be in a college town or near a college town because 90% of the line ABA therapists are college kids (supervised by a BCBA etc.. and up to a psyD etc... that helps staffing immensely. California has a 6 month wait at the regional center level for assessment, Minnesota has a SMRT wait of 60 days if I recall correctly but the bigger issue is ~6months to get into a center based program. If moving is not an option another idea is to start a program. You are not alone and other parents will band together. For Texas it would fill a huge need. EDIT: Article discusses New Jersey and their well established system. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-autism-numbers-show-big-state-state-differences-n869286 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-autism-number... Below link summarizes the laws/programs in states. Generally, the earlier insurance coverage was mandated the more providers a state now has. http://www.easterseals.com/explore-resources/living-with-autism/state-autism-profiles.html http://www.easterseals.com/explore-resources/living-with-aut...