Local resources in Southaven
Ordered by review count, then name. Providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked, or edited.
6 resources in Southaven
1. Building Blocks Pediatric Therapy
Building Blocks Pediatric Therapy in Southaven runs 1:1 ABA sessions tailored to each autistic child and requires every therapist to provide parent education.
Ages Not stated in the sources we saw
2. Irby Psychological Services
Irby Psych in Southaven tests for autism from age 18 months through adulthood, accepts Medicaid, and publishes a 3-12 month wait depending on age.
Ages 18 months through adulthoodWait 3-12 months for psychological testing, depending on age
3. Le Bonheur Children's Hospital — Developmental Pediatrics
Le Bonheur's Memphis developmental pediatrics team runs comprehensive evaluations and sees over 30,000 Mississippi children a year, including on Medicaid.
Ages Not stated in the sources we saw
4. Le Bonheur Early Intervention and Development (LEAD)
Le Bonheur's LEAD programme provides home and childcare-based early intervention therapy for children birth to three, accepting Mississippi Medicaid.
Ages Birth to three years
5. SafeSplash DeSoto (Southaven)
SafeSplash DeSoto in Southaven runs a progressive adaptive-swim curriculum, with parent reviews describing accommodations for severely autistic children.
Ages Not stated in the sources we saw
6. The Children's Dental Center of Southaven
The Children's Dental Center of Southaven, led by Dr. Bryan Rhoads and Dr. Clyde Musgrave, serves children of all ages including disabled children.
Ages Newborns through teenagers
The short answer for Southaven
- Under 3: call First Steps toll-free at 1-800-451-3903. No diagnosis is required to start.
- 3 and up: DeSoto County Schools is the only public district serving Southaven; reach its special education office at 5 East South Street in Hernando, or by phone at 662-429-5271.
- For an independent, second read on that process, the Mississippi Parent Training and Information Center offers free help at 601-969-0601 or 800-721-7255.
- Longer-term disability supports run through the Mississippi Department of Mental Health's Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, including the ID/DD Waiver.
Southaven is served by a single public school district, DeSoto County Schools, which also covers Olive Branch, Hernando, Horn Lake, and the rest of the county, so this page pairs that district's Child Find page with Mississippi's statewide Parent Training and Information Center for families who want a second, independent source on their rights.
Early intervention for children under 3 runs through Mississippi's First Steps program, administered by the state health department, while longer-term developmental disability supports run through the Mississippi Department of Mental Health system.
Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Mississippi page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Southaven (DeSoto County).
Early intervention under 3: Mississippi First Steps Early Intervention Program — DeSoto County
Mississippi's Part C program, First Steps, is administered statewide by the Mississippi State Department of Health and carried out locally through nine Local Early Intervention Programs organized into three regions. A parent, physician, or child care provider can call the toll-free line or complete a referral form by phone; the request then routes to the Local Early Intervention Program covering DeSoto County, and a service coordinator generally reaches out within 48 hours. A diagnosis isn't required to begin — a documented developmental concern is enough.
- Mississippi First Steps Early Intervention Program — DeSoto County
- Referral phone: 1-800-451-3903
New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.
School districts and special education
DeSoto County has one public school district, DeSoto County Schools, covering Southaven along with Olive Branch, Hernando, Horn Lake, and the rest of the county, so there's no second district to route a request to the way there might be in a larger metro. This page instead pairs the district's own Child Find page with the Mississippi Parent Training and Information Center, the state's federally designated resource for families who want independent help understanding special education law inside a single-district system.
- DeSoto County Schools — district office at 5 East South Street, Hernando, 662-429-5271; the sole public school district serving Southaven
Other places to ask — not a substitute for the district
An evaluation request has to go to the school district itself; only the district can start the legal timeline. These are for asking questions about the process, or for when the district has not responded.
- Mississippi Parent Training and Information Center (MSPTI) — not a school district — the state's federally designated Parent Training and Information Center, serving as an independent second route for families in a single-district county; 601-969-0601 or 800-721-7255
Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Southaven
We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Southaven. 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.
Disability services and waivers: Mississippi Department of Mental Health — Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Mississippi centralizes intellectual and developmental disability policy at the Department of Mental Health's Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which oversees a statewide network of regional community mental health centers and intermediate-care-level services. For DeSoto County families, the department's central contacts are the starting point for connecting to local services and for applying to the ID/DD Waiver, which covers ABA, therapy, and other home and community-based supports for children who qualify, though the list is a multi-year wait.
Local organizations that help Southaven families
We have not yet verified a local parent organization in Southaven. Statewide help still covers you: the Mississippi guide lists the federally funded parent center and the free disability rights organization for the whole state, and both take calls from families anywhere in Mississippi.
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.
- State special-education policy gives DeSoto County Schools 14 school days to meet on a written evaluation request and, after the testing is finished, a further 14 days to hold the eligibility meeting, with the evaluation report required in parents' hands at least 7 days ahead of it. (source)
- For a DeSoto County toddler, First Steps' 45-day clock runs from the date the Local Early Intervention Program gets the referral to the date the child's first IFSP is signed. (source)
- A 2024 state report on the ID/DD Waiver's planning list counted about 2,588 people waiting statewide, roughly 680 with autism specifically, and cited an average wait nearing nine years. (source)
Paying for support in Southaven
Mississippi's autism insurance mandate reaches only fully insured commercial plans, requiring coverage of screening, diagnosis, and ABA treatment, though the ABA benefit is capped at 25 hours a week and stops at age 8 absent a medical-necessity appeal. Families with a self-funded employer plan, which the mandate doesn't touch, or who need services beyond what insurance provides, can apply for Mississippi Medicaid's ID/DD Waiver instead.
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 Southaven parents
Sources
- [1]Mississippi State Department of Health — Early Intervention Program (First Steps). Open source
- [2]Mississippi State Department of Health — About Early Intervention. Open source
- [3]DeSoto County Schools — Special Education. Open source
- [4]Mississippi Parent Training and Information Center. Open source
- [5]Mississippi Department of Mental Health — IDD Programs. Open source
- [6]Mississippi Department of Mental Health — Community Services. Open source
- [7]Mississippi Insurance Department — Autism. Open source
- [8]Mississippi ID/DD Waiver factsheet (Medicaid.gov). Open source
Researched 2026-08-14 from published sources. Programs and links change — confirm with the agency before relying on any detail. This page is information, not legal or medical advice.