Davenport sits at the Iowa end of the Quad Cities, and its autism-related systems reflect both a state-level structure and some genuinely local resources — Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency supplies school evaluators, Scott County's own office (branded Milestones) handles disability-waiver intake, and two national autism-care chains, Caravel Autism Health and Stride, both operate dedicated Davenport locations.

This page lists the specific contacts behind each of those systems, plus two Quad Cities institutions parents ask about often: the Davenport Challenger League and the region's adaptive-sports association, both built for kids the mainstream youth-sports system wasn't designed around.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Iowa page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Davenport / Quad Cities (Scott County).

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

Early ACCESS covers every county in Iowa, Scott included, as the state's Part C early intervention system for children under 3 with a developmental delay or a documented risk of one. The program is jointly run by the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the University of Iowa's Child Health Specialty Clinics, but a Davenport family's actual point of contact is Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, which delivers service coordination across the Quad Cities region. Referrals open by phone at 1-888-425-4371, by email, or through an online form, and — as everywhere in Iowa — the evaluation and any resulting services cost a family nothing.

• 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

As in the rest of Iowa, Child Find in the Quad Cities is a partnership between a family's local district and Mississippi Bend AEA, which provides the specialists who conduct the actual evaluation. Davenport Community School District covers the city itself, while Bettendorf Community School District, immediately northeast, runs its own parallel process for its own attendance area. A written or verbal request to the school starts the clock, and Iowa's statewide guidance points toward an eligibility decision within 60 days.

• Davenport Community School District — Special Education — 1702 N Main Street, Davenport, IA 52803; district line 563-445-5000; partners with Mississippi Bend AEA
• Bettendorf Community School District — Special Education — Coordinator of Special Education Services, 563-359-3681

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Davenport

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.

• Caravel Autism Health — Davenport — diagnostic evaluation and applied behavior analysis for children as young as 12 months, available in-clinic or via telehealth · 563-281-5120
• Stride Autism Centers — Davenport — center-based applied behavior analysis for children ages 2 to 6, serving the Iowa Quad Cities region with a five-step intake including insurance verification · 562-372-2842

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance — Scott County (Milestones)

Scott County is covered by the Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance, one of Iowa's four regional Disability Access Points for HHS-funded intellectual and developmental disability services, including Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waivers. Locally, that access point operates under the name Milestones, at 4440 Brady Street in Davenport, with a navigator available on limited weekly hours — calling ahead to the Alliance's main line is the more dependable way to reach someone. This process is separate from both Early ACCESS and school-based special education; it's specifically the track toward longer-term, non-educational disability supports and waiver enrollment.

• Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance — Scott County (Milestones)
• Phone: 319-892-5671 (Eastern Iowa Disability Alliance) · 563-326-8723 (Scott County Community Services)

Local organizations that help Davenport families

• Autism Society of Iowa — statewide nonprofit since 1978; support groups, sensory-friendly events, and a resource directory reaching the Quad Cities
• ASK Resource Center — Iowa's federally designated Parent Training and Information Center; statewide advocacy and training for families of children with disabilities (1-800-450-8667)
• Disability Rights Iowa — the state's federally designated protection-and-advocacy organization, covering all 99 counties (515-278-2502)
• Davenport Challenger League — a division of Little League Baseball for children and young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities, organized by ability rather than age (563-293-6564)

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.

• QCA Adaptive Sports Association, a Quad Cities nonprofit founded in 2011, runs wheelchair basketball, tennis clinics, and open gym nights for children and adults with disabilities across both the Iowa and Illinois sides of the region. (source)
• Davenport Community Schools works under Iowa's 60-calendar-day rule, which — unlike the school-day clocks some neighboring states use — keeps running through winter and summer breaks. (source)
• A referral into Early ACCESS on behalf of a Davenport toddler triggers a 45-calendar-day deadline for the evaluation and the initial IFSP meeting. (source)
• Because Iowa doesn't pre-screen for eligibility before placing a name on a waiver list, Quad Cities families are advised to apply to the state's Intellectual Disability or Children's Mental Health waiver as soon as they suspect a future need, given typical multi-year waits. (source)
• Iowa's autism insurance law, updated effective January 1, 2025, now forbids annual or lifetime dollar caps altogether, after years of allowing limits as low as $12,500 for teenagers. (source)