How to get an autism evaluation in Houston

Getting an autism evaluation in Houston depends on your child’s age. Under 3, you call Early Childhood Intervention (ECI), and the evaluation is free. From age 3, you ask your school district in writing for a Full Individual and Initial Evaluation. For a medical diagnosis, which Medicaid requires before it pays for ABA, you need a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist, licensed psychologist or a qualified diagnostic team. You can start the free routes today and join a medical waitlist at the same time.

Who do I call for an autism evaluation in Houston?

Start with your child’s age. The table compares the three routes.

The routes are not either/or. You can use the free route for your child’s age while a clinic waitlist runs.

What if my child is under 3? How does ECI work in Houston?

Early Childhood Intervention is Texas’s program for children from birth to 36 months. According to Texas Health and Human Services (HHS), a child qualifies with a medically diagnosed condition likely to cause delay, a hearing or vision impairment, or a developmental delay of at least 25% in one or more areas. If the only delay is in expressive language, the threshold is 33%.

HHS says the evaluation and assessment, case management, development of the family service plan, and interpreter services are free. Other services use a sliding fee based on family size and income, and HHS says no family is turned away for inability to pay. ECI will ask your permission to bill insurance for the initial services.

Call the HHS Office of the Ombudsman at 877-787-8999, choose a language, then option 3, or use the state’s ECI Program Search. Federal rules say the evaluation, assessments and first plan meeting must be finished within 45 days of referral. The clock pauses only for documented exceptional family circumstances, or when a parent has not consented despite repeated documented attempts.

Which ECI program serves Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties?

The state’s program search lists these referral numbers by county. We read them from the state tool on October 25, 2026.

More than one program is listed for Harris and Fort Bend counties, so don’t guess which one takes your address. Use the state’s ECI Program Search with your city, county or ZIP, or call the Ombudsman line and let them route you. Easterseals Greater Houston is the only program the state lists for Montgomery County.

What if my child is 3 or older? How does the school evaluation work?

At age 3, HHS says to contact the director of special education at your local school district. The district’s legal process is called a Full Individual and Initial Evaluation (FIIE). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) sets the timeline, and most deadlines count school days, not calendar days.

1. Put the request in writing. A verbal request is still a request, but TEA says it doesn’t start the 15-school-day response clock. Email or deliver a dated letter to the special education director or a campus administrator.
2. The district answers within 15 school days. It must say in writing whether it will evaluate or refuse, and include a copy of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards.
3. You give written consent. The 45-school-day clock starts the first school day after the district receives it.
4. The evaluation is finished within 45 school days. If your child is absent three or more days during that period, the deadline extends by the number of days missed. If consent arrives 35 to 44 school days before the last day of instruction, the report is due by June 30.
5. You get the report before the meeting. TEA says you must receive it at least five school days before the ARD meeting that decides eligibility.
6. The admission, review and dismissal (ARD) committee meets within 30 calendar days of the report. If the 30th day falls in summer when school is not in session, the committee must meet by the 15th school day of the next school year. If the report says your child needs extended school year services that summer, it must meet as soon as possible instead (19 TAC §89.1011(g)).

Forty-five school days is about nine weeks of class, but winter break, spring break and holidays stretch the calendar time. Write your request date and consent date down and count from the first school day after consent.

The school evaluation answers a different question than a clinic does. It decides whether your child qualifies for special education and what supports they need at school. It can still be useful documentation to hand a clinic. For which district covers your address and who to call at each one, see our guide to Houston-area school districts.

How do I get a medical diagnosis, and how long will it take?

The Texas Medicaid manual (Children’s Services Handbook, October 2026) says a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation is required to diagnose ASD. It must include a reliable, valid, standardized diagnostic tool, plus diagnostic criteria and a symptom severity level from the current DSM. A diagnosis can come from a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or an interdisciplinary team. Team members can include licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, psychological associates, licensed specialists in school psychology, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists. A screener like the M-CHAT does not replace the diagnostic tool.

The same manual requires autism screening at the 18-month and 24-month checkups, so your pediatrician is a natural first call for a referral.

Who can diagnose autism for Texas Medicaid ABA?

Section 2.3.2 of the Children’s Services Handbook (October 2026) names four providers who can make the diagnosis on their own:

• A developmental pediatrician
• A neurologist
• A psychiatrist
• A licensed psychologist

The fifth route is an interdisciplinary diagnostic team. A physician, or a physician assistant, nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, can lead it and use standardized test results from team members such as a licensed specialist in school psychology, a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist. Team members must be qualified child specialists with expertise in autism.

Whoever makes it, the diagnosis has to come from a comprehensive evaluation that uses a validated diagnostic tool, such as the ADOS, ADI-R or Childhood Autism Rating Scale. It also needs the current DSM criteria and a severity level. A screener such as the M-CHAT or STAT does not count.

Does a pediatrician’s diagnosis count?

It depends on how the diagnosis was made. A general pediatrician is not one of the four providers the handbook lists on their own. A note in your child’s chart that says “autism,” based on an office visit or a screener, does not meet the Medicaid rule. A physician can lead an interdisciplinary team that meets it, so ask your pediatrician two questions:

1. Which standardized diagnostic tool was used, and who gave it?
2. Does the report include the DSM criteria and a severity level?

If the answer to either is no, ask for a referral to a provider on the list. Then send the report to the ABA provider before intake. The behavior analyst or the prescribing provider sends your diagnostic paperwork with the request for an ABA evaluation, and the plan can turn it down if the paperwork falls short. Commercial plans set their own rules, so ask yours who it accepts.

Should we pay privately for an evaluation?

Some families pay out of pocket to get an evaluation sooner. We do not publish prices, and clinics set their own. Weigh these points before you pay.

Possible advantages:

• You can call more clinics, including ones that do not take your plan. A shorter wait is possible, but ask each clinic for its current wait before you assume it.
• You choose the evaluator and can ask in advance which tools they use.

Possible drawbacks:

• You pay the full fee, and your insurer may pay little or nothing for an out-of-network visit. Ask the plan before you book.
• The report still has to meet your plan’s rules. For Medicaid, that means a provider type on the list above, a validated diagnostic tool, DSM criteria and a severity level. Ask the evaluator to confirm all four in writing.
• A private report does not replace the school evaluation. The district makes its own special education decision.

If you do pay, keep your place on any in-network waitlist until the report is in your hands and your ABA provider confirms it meets the plan’s rules.

What do the clinics post about wait times?

Very little. We looked at the public pages of two large Houston programs, and only one publishes a figure with a date. The Dan L Duncan Children’s Neurodevelopmental Clinic at UTHealth Houston’s Children’s Learning Institute wrote on May 4, 2026 that its average wait is 8 to 14 months. Texas Children’s has an article that mentions a wait of six to nine months, but it appears inside an illustrative family story with no publication date, so we are not treating it as a current wait time. Call each clinic and ask for its current number.

What can we do while we wait?

• Join more than one list. Ask each clinic whether a pediatrician referral is required and what intake forms they want.
• Use the free routes. ECI under 3 and the school evaluation from 3 don’t depend on a diagnosis.
• Call your insurer. Ask for a care coordinator or case manager and for in-network evaluators. Texas Children’s suggests the same.
• Keep records. Save pediatrician notes, screening results, school and ECI reports. Send them to the clinic if it accepts them.
• Browse providers. See ABA providers in our Houston directory or filter by Medicaid. Our guide to choosing an ABA provider in Houston lists questions to ask on the first call.

What do insurers and Medicaid need before they’ll cover ABA?

For Texas Medicaid, ABA is a benefit for members age 20 or younger who meet the criteria in the manual. The handbook says a diagnosis of ASD, with DSM criteria and severity level, must be made or reconfirmed within 3 years of starting or recertifying ABA. After that, a comprehensive re-evaluation by a qualifying provider is needed, using the same components as the first evaluation. Diagnosis documentation must include the child’s age, the date of the first diagnosis, any known co-occurring conditions and trauma history.

Medicaid also says a diagnosis alone is not enough. ABA must be medically necessary and tied to an individualized treatment plan. For the steps after the diagnosis, including finding a Licensed Behavior Analyst and prior authorization, read our Texas Medicaid ABA guide.

Commercial plans set their own paperwork rules, so call your plan and ask four questions. Does it cover ABA? Who must make the diagnosis? Is prior authorization required? Which in-network behavior analysts take new clients?