Local resources in Frederick
Ordered by review count, then name. Providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked, or edited.
5 resources in Frederick
1. Ally Behavior Centers — Frederick
Centre-based Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy for children 18 months to 6 years, including autism testing, speech therapy and occupational therapy under one roof. 100% insurance funded through most major plans and Medicaid.
Ages Children
2. Frederick County Infants and Toddlers Program
Free early intervention services for children birth through 36 months with developmental delays, atypical development, or diagnosed conditions affecting development. Family-centred services combining speech, occupational and physical therapy.
Ages Birth through 36 months
3. Frederick County Parks and Recreation — Adaptive Recreation
Adaptive sport, fitness, social groups and enrichment classes designed for people with disabilities and developmental differences, with trained staff at higher participant ratios and adapted spaces and materials.
Ages All ages
4. Frederick Psychology Center
Psychological assessment and testing for autism spectrum disorder for children aged 6 and older and adults, available both in-person and via telehealth.
Ages Age 6 and older, and adults
5. Pediatric Dental Center of Frederick
Paediatric dental care from infancy through adolescence with special expertise in treating children with additional needs and complex medical conditions. Hospital sedation available. Spanish-speaking staff. Medicaid coverage through Maryland's Healthy Smiles programme.
Ages Infants through adolescents
The short answer for Frederick
- Birth to 3: the Frederick County Infants and Toddlers Program takes referrals at 301-600-1611 (main) or 301-600-1612 (a dedicated referral line); no diagnosis is required to start.
- School age: FCPS splits Child Find by age — the Child Find office at 301-644-5292 covers ages 3 to 5, while the Office of Special Education (240-586-8652, specialeducation@fcps.org) handles older students.
- For center-based ABA, Verbal Beginnings runs a South Frederick location for children ages 1 to 5 already diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, pairing ABA with in-house speech and occupational therapy.
- Frederick County sits under DDA's Western Maryland Regional Office, based in Hagerstown at 301-791-4670, which is where a Frederick family registers for Maryland's Community Pathways Waiver.
- Frederick County Parks and Recreation runs a standing Adaptive Recreation and Inclusion Services program — adaptive sports, fitness classes, and social groups — reachable by emailing the department directly.
Frederick County runs its early-childhood and school-age disability systems as a single county government rather than splitting them the way some larger Maryland jurisdictions do, so a Frederick family generally deals with one health department office and one public school district through most of a child's early years.
This guide lays out the specific phone lines, referral steps, and web pages those Frederick County offices and a handful of area providers publish, plus the DDA regional office that actually handles a Frederick family's Medicaid waiver paperwork.
Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Maryland page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Frederick (Frederick County).
Early intervention under 3: Frederick County Infants and Toddlers Program
Frederick County's Health Department delivers Part C early intervention in partnership with Frederick County Public Schools, the county Department of Social Services, and the Maryland School for the Deaf, rather than running it alone. A parent, pediatrician, or child care provider can open a referral by calling 301-600-1611 or the program's dedicated referral line, 301-600-1612, by fax at 301-600-3280, or online through the state's shared portal at referral.mditp.org/Referral.html. To qualify, a child must be under 3, live in the county, and meet one of Maryland's three eligibility tests — a measurable developmental delay, an atypical developmental pattern, or a diagnosed condition likely to cause one — none of which requires an autism diagnosis already in hand. Services are free and are delivered in home and community settings, not a clinic, consistent with the program's family-centered design.
- Frederick County Infants and Toddlers Program
- Referral phone: 301-600-1611 (main) · 301-600-1612 (referral line)
New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.
School districts and special education
Because Frederick County is governed as a single county school system, Frederick County Public Schools carries Child Find duty for every child from birth through 21 across the whole county, whether or not that child is already enrolled. The district splits the work by age: a dedicated Child Find office (301-644-5292) handles screening and evaluation for children 3 through 5, while the Office of Special Education (240-586-8652, specialeducation@fcps.org) takes over from kindergarten on, and a separate Partners for Success line (240-586-8670) connects families to outside resources. A family whose child needs more intensive support than a home school can offer also has High Road School of Frederick County as an option — a specialized nonpublic day school for grades 1 through 12 that enrolls students with autism, communication delays, and behavioral or emotional needs alongside on-site BCBA and therapy staff.
- Frederick County Public Schools — Child Find (ages 3-5) 301-644-5292; Office of Special Education 240-586-8652, specialeducation@fcps.org; Partners for Success 240-586-8670
- High Road School of Frederick County — nonpublic day school, grades 1-12, serving students with autism, communication delays, and behavioral or emotional needs; on-site BCBA, speech, and occupational therapy
Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Frederick
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.
- Verbal Beginnings — Frederick — center-based ABA therapy for children ages 1 to 5 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, in full-day or part-time formats, alongside in-house occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and a parent support group · the center's own page advertises immediate openings for children ages 1-5 as of this writing
Disability services and waivers: Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) — Western Maryland Regional Office
DDA, the Maryland Department of Health division that funds residential, day, employment, and in-home disability supports, assigns Frederick County to its Western Maryland Regional Office, headquartered in Hagerstown alongside Allegany, Carroll, Garrett, and Washington counties. That office is also the entry point for the state's newly combined Medicaid waiver: on October 6, 2025, Maryland merged what had been three separate DDA waivers into one program, still named the Community Pathways Waiver, so there is now a single waiver a Frederick family needs to apply for rather than three. Eligibility runs through DDA's own application process — separate from both Child Find and the Infants and Toddlers Program — with the Hagerstown office as the practical point of contact.
- Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) — Western Maryland Regional Office
- Phone: 301-791-4670 (Western Maryland Regional Office) · 888-791-0193 (toll-free)
Local organizations that help Frederick families
- Pathfinders for Autism — statewide helpline 443-330-5341 and a searchable provider directory that includes Frederick County listings
- Autism Society of Maryland — statewide chapter; support groups and a sensory-friendly business directory; 410-290-3466
- Frederick County Parks and Recreation — Adaptive Recreation — adaptive sports, fitness, wellness classes, and social-group programming for county residents with disabilities
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.
- Maryland's statewide IEP timeline resource holds every district, Frederick County Public Schools included, to a 60-calendar-day window from signed consent to an eligibility decision, followed by 30 more days to finish an IEP for a child who qualifies. (source)
- State regulation gives the Infants and Toddlers Program 45 days total, counted from the referral date rather than the consent date, to finish the evaluation and hold the first IFSP meeting for a Frederick County toddler. (source)
- DDA's own account to the General Assembly put roughly 4,000 people on the statewide waiver waiting list as of late 2022, part of the tracking behind the state's End the Wait Act; the Western Maryland Regional Office in Hagerstown can say where a Frederick County application stands within that count. (source)
Paying for support in Frederick
Frederick families draw on the identical statewide funding machinery every Maryland county shares, just dialed through Frederick-specific phone numbers rather than a fund of its own. The state's habilitative-services insurance mandate obligates regulated health plans to pay for ABA and related therapies up to age 19, while Medicaid's long-term route now runs through one consolidated program, the Community Pathways Waiver, reachable locally via DDA's Western Maryland Regional Office in Hagerstown rather than any Frederick County office.
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 Frederick parents
Sources
- [1]Maryland State Dept. of Education — IEP Essentials: Timelines, Notices, Consents. Open source
- [2]COMAR 13A.13.01.07 — Development and Review of the IFSP. Open source
- [3]Maryland DDA — End the Wait Act progress report to the General Assembly. Open source
- [4]Frederick County Health Department — Infants and Toddlers Program. Open source
- [5]Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program (MITP) — MSDE overview. Open source
- [6]Frederick County Public Schools — Child Find Services. Open source
- [7]Frederick County Public Schools — Special Education Handbook (PDF). Open source
- [8]High Road School of Frederick County (SESI). Open source
- [9]Verbal Beginnings — Frederick, MD ABA Therapy Center. Open source
- [10]Maryland DDA — Apply for Services. Open source
- [11]Maryland DDA — Regional Office Contacts. Open source
- [12]Maryland DDA — Medicaid Waiver Programs (Community Pathways). Open source
- [13]Maryland Insurance Article §15-835 (autism/habilitative services benefit). Open source
- [14]Frederick County Parks and Recreation — Adaptive Recreation. Open source
- [15]Pathfinders for Autism. Open source
- [16]Autism Society of Maryland. 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.