CARD-USF (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities)
Free university programme covering fourteen counties, including Hillsborough.
The practical details
Find CARD-USF (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) on a map — we do not have exact coordinates for this location, so this searches by its address.
What this is, in plain language
CARD-USF is a free, university-run programme that gives autistic people, people with related disabilities, and their families ongoing guidance, training and referrals to other local resources. It does not diagnose autism or provide therapy itself, but staff can help point a family to a provider that does. It also supports families around school, including sitting in on IEP meetings alongside a parent in a consultative role.
Getting started
Families or self-advocates register directly, by phone, email or an online registration form. A professional working with a family cannot refer them on their own behalf — CARD requires the family or their guardian to make contact themselves, though the professional can be included on a release form to collaborate afterward.
Written from what the provider publishes, to save you decoding it. It describes the service; it is not our view of how good it is.
What they say about themselves
Taken from the provider's own website. We have not verified the claims — the parent reviews below are the other half of the picture.
- A free programme for residents of fourteen counties including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota.
- A community-based programme offering guidance, support, resource referrals, training and consultation to autistic people, people with related disabilities, and the families and professionals who support them.
- Does not provide autism diagnosis or therapy directly — state law prohibits this — but its resource team can help families find a provider that does.
- Consultants can attend school or IEP meetings alongside a family in a consultative role, and can meet with parents beforehand to help them prepare to advocate for their child.
Details checked againstthe provider's website on 2026-08-16. Confirm current availability directly.
The questions we ask every provider
The same fixed set for every parent support listing, answered from the provider's public website — so you can compare like with like. A ✕ means its website does not say this, not that we checked in person.
- Yes:Says its services are free to families
- Yes:Offers help in Spanish
- Yes:Names the local area it covers
- Yes:Describes help with school and special education rights
Parent reviews
Check your email.
We sent a confirmation link to . Your review is held until you click it; after that a moderator reads it — usually within two working days — and then it appears here.
No reviews yet. If your family used this service, what you write here is exactly what the next parent is searching for.
Reviews are written by parents who used this service and are checked by a moderator before they appear. We do not remove a review for being critical, and providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked or edited.