Dearborn Public Schools runs its own Special Education Department with named coordinators for families who live inside the district, and Wayne RESA — the county's intermediate school district — adds a regional referral hotline that sorts requests by age, from Early On transitions through kindergarten-and-up Child Find.

For Medicaid-funded therapy, Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network manages the county's public behavioral health system, including the state's autism ABA benefit. This page lists the phone numbers each office has published, plus statewide organizations for families who need broader help getting oriented.

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

Early intervention under 3: Early On Michigan

Early On serves the entire state as a single program for children from birth to age three, and Dearborn families reach it exactly as anyone else in Michigan does: by phone or online referral from a parent, relative, or physician, with no diagnosis required to get started. Once a referral is made, the family must receive written notice of their rights within 10 calendar days, and the local program has 45 calendar days to complete the evaluation and hold the first Individualized Family Service Plan meeting. A child is eligible with either a documented 20 percent delay in a developmental area or a diagnosed condition expected to cause one. Wayne RESA coordinates Early On countywide, including for Dearborn families, and later manages the transition into preschool special education once a child turns three. The evaluation is free.

• 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

Dearborn Public Schools maintains its own Special Education Department, with a team of named coordinators handling evaluation, transportation, and records for students who live within the district, and the department lists Child Find as one of its core published services. Wayne RESA, the countywide intermediate school district, backs every district in Wayne County with a single referral hotline sorted by age, which any Dearborn family can use if unsure who to call first.

• Dearborn Public Schools — Special Education Department — office at 18700 Audette, Dearborn, MI 48124; (313) 827-7050; lists Child Find among its published services
• Wayne RESA — Special Education and Early Intervention Services — countywide referral hotline (734) 334-1393; routes families by age from Early On through kindergarten-and-up Child Find

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Dearborn

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Dearborn. 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: Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN)

Rather than a separate statewide disability-waiver agency, Michigan routes Medicaid-funded behavioral health, including the autism ABA benefit, through each county's Community Mental Health Services Program. In Wayne County — and so for Dearborn families — that agency is Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. DWIHN's own materials describe 'no wrong door' intake: a parent, pediatrician, teacher, or therapist can each start the process by calling the Access Call Center, which checks Medicaid status, runs a CMH screening, and completes an autism screening tool over the phone. A child who screens positive is scheduled for an autism case management intake, where a clinician confirms eligibility and builds an Individualized Plan of Service, typically authorizing 5 to 25 hours of ABA per week based on medical necessity. DWIHN separately coordinates broader intellectual and developmental disability services, including Michigan's Habilitation Supports Waiver.

• Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN)
• Phone: 1-800-241-4949

Local organizations that help Dearborn families

• Autism Alliance of Michigan — MiNavigator — free statewide navigation line for diagnosis, school, and funding questions (877-463-2266); based nearby in Southfield
• Michigan Alliance for Families — federally funded parent training and information center for special education rights, birth through age 26, with Arabic-language support (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, in 180-plus languages — 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 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 benefit. (source)
• Dearborn Public Schools' own Special Education Department page separately lists an emotional support hotline for students and families, alongside its Child Find, 504-plan, and specific-learning-disability identification services — worth knowing if a family needs support beyond an evaluation referral. (source)
• Dearborn Public Schools' multidisciplinary evaluation team, working with Wayne RESA where needed, has a single 30-school-day window from signed consent to cover both the evaluation and the first IEP Team meeting. (source)
• Under Michigan's Medicaid Autism Benefit, a diagnosed child or young adult under 21 can typically be authorized for 5 to 15 ABA hours a week on a focused plan, or 16 to 25 hours weekly if the plan is comprehensive. (source)