Local resources in Newark, Delaware
Ordered by review count, then name. Providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked, or edited.
6 resources in Newark, Delaware
1. Bear-Glasgow Family YMCA
The Bear-Glasgow Family YMCA in Newark hosts EPIC, a community exercise programme for around two dozen adults with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and other disabilities, mixing them into yoga, weight training, swimming and other sessions alongside other members. The branch also offers private swim lessons tailored to a child's needs, with trainers experienced across a range of abilities.
Ages Children and adults
2. Center for Disabilities Studies — University of Delaware
The Center for Disabilities Studies at the University of Delaware, in Newark, houses the state's autism initiatives, including the Delaware Network for Excellence in Autism. It notes that autism evaluations should be carried out by professionals with specific expertise in evaluating for autism, rather than through broader developmental screening alone.
Ages All ages
3. Child Development Watch — Newark Office
Child Development Watch's New Castle County office, at University Office Plaza in Newark, provides screening, evaluation, assessment, service coordination and Individualized Family Service Plan development for children under three, at no cost to families.
Ages Birth to age 3
4. Continuum Behavioral Health — Newark
Continuum Behavioral Health has run an ABA clinic on S. Chapel Street in Newark for over a decade, led by Suzanne Hughes, M.S.Ed, BCBA, LBS, and her clinical team. The Newark team also delivers in-home ABA sessions across New Castle County and into the Wilmington corridor.
Ages Children
5. Swank Autism Center — Nemours (serving Newark)
Nemours' Swank Autism Center, based nearby in Wilmington, is the main hospital-based autism evaluation service for New Castle County, including Newark. Evaluations can include genetic testing and advanced brain imaging alongside standard clinical assessment, from a team of psychologists, psychiatrists and developmental paediatricians seeing patients from infancy through young adulthood.
Ages Infancy through young adulthood
6. Verbal Beginnings — Delaware
Home hours in Newark, with an age range that carries a child through secondary school.
Ages Ages 2 to 18
The short answer for Newark, Delaware
- Under 3: dial the New Castle County Birth to Three line at 302-995-8590; a parent can self-refer without a doctor's note or a diagnosis in hand.
- 3 and up: Newark falls within Christina School District's Child Find territory — reach its office at the Christina Early Education Center, 302-932-3508.
- Autism Delaware operates a physical office in Newark itself, offering Family Navigation and its Autism Care Team program to families statewide.
- For DDDS eligibility, call the state intake unit at 302-744-9700 or 866-552-5758, option 2, to request the Lifespan Waiver application packet.
This is the Newark in New Castle County, Delaware, home to the University of Delaware — a different city from the much larger Newark, New Jersey. A Newark, Delaware family's autism-related contacts run through the Christina School District, the county's Birth to Three early intervention program, and the state's DDDS eligibility process for longer-term supports.
One local advantage: Autism Delaware, the state's largest autism-specific nonprofit, keeps an office in Newark itself, alongside its Lewes and Dover locations. The details below are limited to what's publicly documented for each contact.
Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Delaware page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Newark, Delaware (New Castle County) — not Newark, New Jersey.
Early intervention under 3: Birth to Three Early Intervention (Child Development Watch) — New Castle County
Newark sits inside New Castle County, so its Birth to Three intake runs through the same county line as the rest of the county: a single call gets a family connected to a team member who explains what happens next. The state doesn't require a diagnosis or a physician's referral before that first call — a parent's own observation of a delay is sufficient grounds to start. From there, an evaluation determines whether the child qualifies, and if so, a family and the Birth to Three team build a plan together.
- Birth to Three Early Intervention (Child Development Watch) — New Castle County
- Referral phone: 302-995-8590
New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.
School districts and special education
Newark is served almost entirely by Christina School District, which runs a dedicated Child Find office rather than routing that work through individual schools. Because Newark isn't split across multiple districts the way Wilmington is, the state's own special education office is the second contact worth knowing, particularly if a family needs to escalate beyond the district.
- Christina School District — Child Find Office at the Christina Early Education Center, 620 E. Chestnut Hill Road, Newark, 302-932-3508, childfind@christina.k12.de.us
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.
- Delaware Department of Education — Exceptional Children Resources — 302-735-4210; the state special education office, useful if a Christina evaluation stalls or a family needs to escalate beyond the district
Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Newark, Delaware
We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Newark, Delaware. 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.
Disability services and waivers: Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS)
DDDS decides who qualifies for Delaware's intellectual and developmental disability system, and autism qualifies where it produces substantial functional impairment that began before a person turned 22. Reaching the intake unit starts a Lifespan Waiver application, which asks for a recent psychological evaluation and an adaptive behavior assessment as supporting documentation. DDDS sends written confirmation that it has received a completed application within roughly a week.
- Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS)
- Phone: 302-744-9700
Local organizations that help Newark, Delaware families
- Autism Delaware — Newark office — the state's largest autism nonprofit keeps a Newark office among its statewide locations; runs Family Navigation, the Autism Care Team, and adult programming
- Center for Disabilities Studies, University of Delaware — 461 Wyoming Road, Newark, 302-831-6974; runs the Delaware Network for Excellence in Autism and Building Bridges, a project focused on children under 3
- PIC of Delaware (Parent Training and Information Center) — 302-999-7394; statewide free help preparing for IEP meetings and understanding special education rights
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.
- Christina School District must complete initial evaluation and determine eligibility within 60 calendar days of receiving your written consent to evaluate. (source)
- Upon eligibility determination, Christina must develop an IEP within 30 calendar days. (source)
- When you refer your child to the New Castle County Birth to Three program, evaluation and the first IFSP must be completed within 45 calendar days of that referral. (source)
- Delaware has no active waiting list for its Developmental Disabilities Waiver; the state eliminated its HCBS Waiver waitlist in 2014. (source)
Paying for support in Newark, Delaware
Delaware requires state-regulated health plans to cover autism screening, diagnosis, and behavioral health treatment, including ABA, for anyone under 21, under 18 Del. C. §3366 (enacted as Senate Bill 22 in 2012). The statute's original $36,000 annual figure has largely been superseded by federal mental health parity requirements, though a self-funded employer plan is exempt from the state mandate altogether. Families on Medicaid instead reach ABA through DDDS rather than through this insurance law.
Nothing here is a recommendation — we list what exists, note what a provider says about itself, and let parents tell you the rest.
Common questions from Newark, Delaware parents
Sources
- [1]Christina School District — Child Find. Open source
- [2]Delaware Department of Education — Special Education (Exceptional Children Resources). Open source
- [3]Birth to Three Delaware (B23) — Early Intervention Program. Open source
- [4]Delaware DDDS — Intake. Open source
- [5]Autism Delaware. Open source
- [6]Center for Disabilities Studies, University of Delaware — Autism Initiatives. Open source
- [7]CDS at a Glance — Center for Disabilities Studies. Open source
- [8]PIC of Delaware — Parent Training and Information Project. Open source
- [9]18 Del. C. §3366 — Autism spectrum disorders coverage. Open source
Researched 2026-08-14 from published sources. Programs and links change — confirm with the agency before relying on any detail. This page is information, not legal or medical advice.