Fort Smith sits on the Oklahoma border in the River Valley, and its autism services run on the same statewide Arkansas structure as the rest of the state: First Connections for a child under 3, Fort Smith Public Schools' Child Find duty from age 3, and DDS for longer-term disability supports and the CES Medicaid waiver.

What makes Fort Smith distinct is having a local Arkansas Support Network office in the city itself, rather than families driving to Springdale or Little Rock for that piece. Below are the publicly listed contacts for each door.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Arkansas page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Fort Smith (Sebastian County).

Early intervention under 3: First Connections — Arkansas's Part C Early Intervention Program

First Connections runs statewide through the Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, and Sebastian County families reach it through the same central line as the rest of Arkansas. A parent, a pediatrician's office, or a child care provider can make the referral, by phone or through the state's online form, and a suspected developmental concern is enough — no diagnosis is required. A service coordinator then arranges an evaluation and, for a child who qualifies, works with the family to build an Individualized Family Service Plan.

• First Connections — Arkansas's Part C Early Intervention Program
• Referral phone: 800-643-8258

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

School districts and special education

Arkansas districts must locate, identify, and evaluate any child with a suspected disability from birth through 21 under federal Child Find law, at no cost to the family. Fort Smith's Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment division houses its special education department; a written evaluation request to your child's school starts the process, and 3-to-5-year-olds generally go through early childhood special education first.

• Fort Smith Public Schools — special education is housed under the district's Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment division; every school in the district publishes its own special education contact page
• Van Buren School District — Office of Special Programs; neighboring district across the Arkansas River from Fort Smith

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Fort Smith

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Fort Smith. 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: Arkansas DDS — Community and Employment Supports (CES) Waiver

The same DDS division that runs First Connections is Arkansas's long-term disability agency, and it administers the Community and Employment Supports waiver families use for home- and community-based Medicaid services. Calling DDS Intake and Referral triggers a clinical review and assigns your child a place on the statewide waitlist; the wait has been reported at several years given roughly 4,500 people waiting across Arkansas. Some Medicaid-covered services, like Early Intervention Day Treatment, are available before a waiver slot opens.

• Arkansas DDS — Community and Employment Supports (CES) Waiver
• Phone: 501-683-5687

Local organizations that help Fort Smith families

• Arkansas Support Network — Fort Smith office — licensed disability services provider with an office directly in Fort Smith, offering supported living, family support, and day programs for autistic individuals
• The Center for Exceptional Families (Arkansas's Parent Training and Information Center) — 888-360-9654; free statewide help with IEPs, evaluations, and DDS paperwork
• Disability Rights Arkansas — Arkansas's Protection and Advocacy agency; handles cases where a school or agency has denied a service a child is entitled to

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.

• Arkansas's own special education process guide sets a 60-calendar-day window for Fort Smith Public Schools to complete testing after a parent signs consent, with roughly another month allowed to hold the eligibility meeting afterward. (source)
• For a Sebastian County toddler referred to First Connections, state rules require the screening, evaluation, and initial IFSP meeting to all be wrapped up within 45 calendar days of that referral date. (source)