Ann Arbor Public Schools runs its own Office of Special Education for students who live in the district, staffed with board-certified behavior analysts among its support team, while Washtenaw Intermediate School District (Washtenaw ISD) backs every district in the county with regional special-education services and its own referral process.

For Medicaid-funded therapy, the door is Washtenaw County Community Mental Health, one piece of a five-county regional public mental health authority that also covers Lenawee, Livingston, and Monroe counties. This page gathers each office's published phone number, plus statewide organizations that help when a family isn't sure which one to call first.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Michigan page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Ann Arbor (Washtenaw County).

Early intervention under 3: Early On Michigan

Early On operates as one program across all of Michigan for children from birth to their third birthday, and Ann Arbor families use the exact same entry point as the rest of the state: a phone call or online referral from a parent, a relative, or a doctor, with no diagnosis required beforehand. After the referral, families must get written notice of their rights within 10 calendar days, and the local program has 45 calendar days to finish the evaluation and hold the first Individualized Family Service Plan meeting. A child qualifies through either a documented 20 percent delay in a developmental area or a diagnosed condition likely to cause one. Washtenaw ISD coordinates Early On locally and later manages the handoff into preschool special education once a child turns three. The evaluation is free no matter a family's income.

• Early On Michigan
• Referral phone: 1-800-327-5966 (1-800-EARLY-ON)

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

School districts and special education

Ann Arbor Public Schools maintains a dedicated Office of Special Education that oversees identification and evaluation, described on its own page as serving students from birth to age 26, with occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, and board-certified behavior analysts among its support staff. Washtenaw ISD, the county's intermediate school district, sets policy and offers direct services for every district countywide, so a family whose address falls outside AAPS boundaries can start there instead.

• Ann Arbor Public Schools — Office of Special Education — 734-994-2318; office at 2555 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104; serves students birth through age 26
• Washtenaw Intermediate School District (Washtenaw ISD) — Special Education Services — 734-994-8100; sets special-education policy and coordinates services across every Washtenaw County district

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Ann Arbor

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Ann Arbor. 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.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Washtenaw County Community Mental Health

Instead of a separate statewide disability-waiver agency, Michigan channels Medicaid autism funding through each county's Community Mental Health Services Program. In Washtenaw County that program is Washtenaw County Community Mental Health, based in Ypsilanti, and it sits within a larger regional structure — the Community Mental Health Partnership of Southeast Michigan (CMHPSM) — that manages Medicaid behavioral health funding for Washtenaw, Lenawee, Livingston, and Monroe counties together. A family calls Washtenaw County Community Mental Health's Customer Service line directly, since CMHPSM itself directs callers back to the local CMHSP for actual service access; the local office confirms Medicaid eligibility and schedules a clinical screening before connecting an eligible child to an ABA provider. Washtenaw County Community Mental Health also coordinates broader intellectual and developmental disability supports, including Michigan's Habilitation Supports Waiver.

• Washtenaw County Community Mental Health
• Phone: 734-544-3050

Local organizations that help Ann Arbor families

• Autism Alliance of Michigan — MiNavigator — free statewide navigation line for diagnosis, school, and funding questions (877-463-2266)
• Michigan Alliance for Families — federally funded parent training and information center for special education rights, birth through age 26 (800-552-4821)
• The Arc Michigan — statewide advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families
• Michigan 211 — free 24/7 referral line covering food, housing, and family-crisis support — dial 211 or 844-875-9211

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.

• Michigan's autism insurance mandate (MCL 500.3406s) allows insurers to cap the annual benefit by the covered child's age — $50,000 through age 6, $40,000 for ages 7 to 12, and $30,000 for ages 13 to 18 — instead of guaranteeing an unlimited yearly amount. (source)
• The Community Mental Health Partnership of Southeast Michigan (CMHPSM), the regional Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan covering Washtenaw County, explicitly instructs residents seeking mental health or substance-use services to call their local county Community Mental Health office directly rather than the regional office, which mainly handles administration. (source)
• Once Ann Arbor Public Schools or Washtenaw ISD receives signed consent, Michigan's multidisciplinary evaluation team has 30 school days total to both finish the evaluation and hold the initial IEP Team meeting — not 30 days for each step separately. (source)
• Michigan's Medicaid Autism Benefit, available to a diagnosed child under 21, typically authorizes 16 to 25 weekly hours of ABA for a comprehensive plan of care or 5 to 15 hours for a more focused one, based on the treatment team's recommendation. (source)