Local resources in St. Petersburg
Ordered by review count, then name. Providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked, or edited.
3 resources in St. Petersburg
1. Johns Hopkins All Children's — autism family resources
The autism programme's family side: staff walk parents through the diagnosis process, then offer caregiver education, behavioural parent training and a resource library at the St. Petersburg campus.
Ages Families of autistic children
2. Johns Hopkins All Children's — Autism Program
Johns Hopkins All Children's runs a hospital-based autism programme that assesses and diagnoses children and adolescents in one visit location, with the family treated as part of the care team and parent training offered after a diagnosis.
Ages Infants, children and adolescents
3. Johns Hopkins All Children's — Child Development and Rehabilitation Center
The hospital's evaluation hub on the main St. Petersburg campus: differential-diagnosis evaluations plus speech, audiology, psychology and psychiatry services under one roof.
Ages Children and adolescents
The short answer for St. Petersburg
- Birth to 3: refer to Florida Early Steps at 1-800-218-0001. No diagnosis is needed to start, any adult who knows the child can make the call, and there's no charge.
- For children 3 and up, put the evaluation request to the school in writing. Pinellas County Schools must complete a free Child Find evaluation within 60 school days of written consent.
- For ABA: BlueSprig's Clearwater center (727-351-4191) is one Pinellas County provider; ask any provider directly whether it accepts Florida Medicaid before enrolling.
- For the state's Medicaid waiver: APD's Suncoast Region office (800-615-8720) covers Pinellas County and places children on the iBudget waitlist by application date, not urgency of need.
- For free family navigation and referrals, USF CARD (813-974-2532) serves Pinellas as part of its 14-county Southwest and Central Florida territory.
- For adaptive recreation, the City of St. Petersburg's Therapeutic Recreation division (727-893-7441) runs accessible programs including adapted pools with wheelchair lifts and beach wheelchairs.
St. Petersburg sits across Tampa Bay from Tampa but shares the region's Medicaid waiver office, its regional Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and much of its hospital infrastructure — Pinellas County is also home to Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, the statewide parent-training organization, headquartered in nearby Clearwater rather than a state capital or a big-city office park.
This page lists the doors open to Pinellas County families, from the early-intervention referral line to the county's therapeutic recreation program, each with a phone number or URL behind it.
Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Florida page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Tampa Bay metro (Pinellas County).
Early intervention under 3: Florida Early Steps
Early Steps is Florida's early intervention system for children from birth to 36 months, offered at no cost to families no matter their income. Any adult who knows the child — a parent, relative, pediatrician, or child care provider — can start a referral, and no diagnosis is needed to do so. After a referral, the child is screened or evaluated for eligibility, and if eligible, the family works with a service coordinator to write an Individualized Family Support Plan describing the services to come.
- Florida Early Steps
- Referral phone: 1-800-218-0001
New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.
School districts and special education
Florida's Child Find rule requires every district to find, evaluate, and serve resident children with disabilities from birth through age 21, free of charge. A written request to your child's school starts the process, and the district then has 60 school days from your written consent to complete the evaluation. Pinellas families near the bay sometimes cross into Hillsborough County's system as well, so both are listed here.
- Pinellas County Schools — the district reports serving roughly 13,500 students with disabilities and 10,000 gifted students
- Hillsborough County Public Schools — Exceptional Student Education covers autism spectrum disorder and behavior supports
Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in St. Petersburg
We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in St. Petersburg. 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: Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) — Suncoast Region
APD is the state agency that determines eligibility for Florida's long-term developmental-disability services and runs the iBudget Medicaid waiver, which funds home and community-based supports. Its Suncoast Region office, based in Tampa, covers Pinellas County along with DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Sarasota. Once a child is found eligible, they're placed on the iBudget waitlist by application date rather than by urgency of need, in one of seven priority tiers — families are encouraged to apply as soon as a delay is suspected, before a diagnosis is even finished. A separate crisis-enrollment path exists for households facing homelessness or an immediate safety danger.
- Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) — Suncoast Region
- Phone: (800) 615-8720
Local organizations that help St. Petersburg families
- Family Network on Disabilities of Florida — the statewide federally designated parent-training center is headquartered in Clearwater, in Pinellas County; (727) 523-1130 or (800) 825-5736
- USF CARD — the regional Center for Autism and Related Disabilities; free consultation, referrals, and training for Pinellas County families; (813) 974-2532
- City of St. Petersburg — Therapeutic Recreation — adapted pools with wheelchair lifts, adapted golf carts, and beach wheelchairs at Treasure Island and North Shore Pool; (727) 893-7441
- Glazer Children's Museum — Neurodiversity — across the bay in Tampa; monthly sensory-friendly morning 'Sunshine Sunday' is presented by Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, based in St. Petersburg
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.
- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement launched the Florida Spectrum Alert statewide on June 24, 2026, a rapid public-notification system used when law enforcement reasonably believes a missing child under 18 has autism spectrum disorder and faces danger; residents can subscribe to alerts and are asked to call 911 with any tips. (source)
- A 2025 report to the Florida House Human Services Committee put the statewide iBudget Medicaid waiver waitlist above 21,000 people, with an average wait of roughly 8.5 years for home-support services. (source)
- Florida reports its Early Steps program, Pinellas County included, completes evaluations and initial family plans within 45 days of referral — the federal Part C benchmark. (source)
- After Pinellas County Schools determines a St. Petersburg child eligible for exceptional student education, Florida rule requires the IEP meeting within 30 calendar days. (source)
Paying for support in St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg families have two Florida-specific routes into ABA. Under Florida Medicaid, Behavior Analysis services are covered for members under 21 who have a documented autism diagnosis, with the behavior plan reassessed roughly every six months. Under state-regulated private insurance, the Steven A. Geller Autism Coverage Act (Fla. Stat. 627.6686) requires coverage of ABA, speech, occupational, and physical therapy up to $36,000 a year and $200,000 over a lifetime — though self-funded employer plans fall outside that mandate.
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 St. Petersburg parents
Sources
- [1]Florida Early Steps — statewide referral information. Open source
- [2]APD — Suncoast Region office. Open source
- [3]APD — iBudget waiver overview. Open source
- [4]FOX 13 Tampa Bay — disabled Floridians stuck in waitlist backlog. Open source
- [5]Florida Senate — Fla. Stat. 627.6686, autism spectrum disorder coverage. Open source
- [6]Disability Rights Florida — Behavior Analysis Services. Open source
- [7]Pinellas County Schools — Exceptional Student Education. Open source
- [8]Hillsborough County Public Schools — Exceptional Student Education. Open source
- [9]Family Network on Disabilities of Florida. Open source
- [10]USF CARD. Open source
- [11]City of St. Petersburg — Parks and Recreation programs. Open source
- [12]Glazer Children's Museum — Neurodiversity. Open source
- [13]FDLE — Florida Spectrum Alert launch (June 2026). Open source
Last checked 2026-08-11. Programs and links change — confirm with the agency before relying on any detail. This page is information, not legal or medical advice.