Cedar Rapids families reach Iowa's autism-related systems through a layer of regional agencies rather than a single city office: Grant Wood Area Education Agency supplies the specialists behind school evaluations, Linn County's own Community Services division handles Medicaid waiver intake as part of the Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance, and a growing set of ABA and diagnostic providers now have dedicated locations inside the city.

This page lists those specific contacts — the phone numbers behind early intervention, the two school districts covering Cedar Rapids and its Marion suburb, ABA centers offering both diagnosis and treatment, and the county office that opens the door to longer-term disability services.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Iowa page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Cedar Rapids metro (Linn County).

Early intervention under 3: Early ACCESS (Iowa's IDEA Part C system)

Every Iowa county, including Linn, is covered by Early ACCESS, the state's Part C early intervention system for children from birth to age 3, jointly overseen by the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the University of Iowa's Child Health Specialty Clinics. A Cedar Rapids family opens a referral by phone at 1-888-425-4371, by email, or through the Iowa Family Support Network's online form; the actual coaching and coordination is delivered regionally, and for Linn County that falls to Grant Wood Area Education Agency. Because Early ACCESS works by developmental delay or risk rather than diagnosis, a parent's own concern is enough to start the process, and the evaluation and resulting services are free.

• Early ACCESS (Iowa's IDEA Part C system)
• Referral phone: 1-888-425-4371 (1-888-IAKIDS1)

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

School districts and special education

Child Find in Iowa is a joint effort between a family's school district and its regional Area Education Agency, which provides the evaluators. Grant Wood AEA covers both Cedar Rapids and Marion, so a Cedar Rapids Community School District family and a Linn-Mar Community School District family in Marion work with the same regional specialists even though they contact different district offices. A referral opens with a request to the school, and the state's guidance sets a 60-day window between that referral and an eligibility decision.

• Cedar Rapids Community School District — Special Education — special education line 319-558-2575; works with Grant Wood AEA on evaluations
• Linn-Mar Community School District — Special Education — 3556 Winslow Road, Marion, IA 52302; district line 319-447-3000

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Cedar Rapids

These are hospital and university programs with public intake information. Listing here is informational — it is not a recommendation, and it is not medical advice. Public school evaluation is free and does not require any of these.

• Lighthouse Autism Center — Cedar Rapids — autism diagnostic evaluation plus center-based ABA therapy using a speech-integrated treatment model, for children from infancy through the teen years · 563-526-0533
• Stride Autism Centers — Cedar Rapids — center-based applied behavior analysis for children ages 2 to 6, with a five-step intake that includes insurance verification before therapy begins · 319-469-8246

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance — Linn County Community Services

Linn County is part of the Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance, one of Iowa's four regional Disability Access Points, which covers fourteen counties across eastern Iowa for HHS-funded intellectual and developmental disability services, including Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers. Locally, the Alliance operates out of Linn County Community Services at 1240 26th Avenue Court SW in Cedar Rapids, with limited weekly walk-in hours, so calling ahead to schedule with a navigator is the more reliable route in. This is a separate process from both Early ACCESS and school-based special education — it's the track for longer-term, non-educational disability supports.

• Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance — Linn County Community Services
• Phone: 319-892-5671 (Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance) · 319-530-6871 (Linn County navigator)

Local organizations that help Cedar Rapids families

• Autism Society of Iowa — statewide nonprofit since 1978; support groups, sensory-friendly events, and resource directories reaching eastern Iowa families
• ASK Resource Center — Iowa's federally designated Parent Training and Information Center; advocacy and training statewide, including Linn County (1-800-450-8667)
• Disability Rights Iowa — the state's federally designated protection-and-advocacy organization, covering all 99 counties (515-278-2502)
• Prospect Meadows — Miracle League of Linn County — an inclusive baseball and softball facility in Marion built for youth of all abilities, including the Marion Metro Kiwanis Miracle Field (319-582-4471)

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.

• Iowa counts calendar days, not school days: once a Cedar Rapids parent consents, the district has 60 calendar days — including summer and holiday breaks — to finish the evaluation and decide eligibility. (source)
• Early ACCESS must complete its evaluation, decide eligibility, and hold the first IFSP meeting within 45 calendar days of a Cedar Rapids referral, the same clock IDEA sets nationally. (source)
• Iowa doesn't screen applicants before adding them to a waiver waitlist, so a Cedar Rapids family is generally better off applying to the Intellectual Disability or Children's Mental Health waiver early, since both lists commonly run several years. (source)
• As of January 1, 2025, Iowa law bars any annual or lifetime dollar limit on autism service coverage, replacing tiered caps that used to run as high as $36,000 for young children. (source)