Las Vegas families reach Nevada's early intervention system through NEIS's Southern Nevada office, a school evaluation through Clark County School District's Child Find Project — one of the largest school systems in the country — and longer-term disability supports through the Desert Regional Center, one of Nevada's regional centers under the Aging and Disability Services Division.

Because CCSD covers the entire county rather than just the city, this page also names the state's own special education office, so you have a second number to call when a district-level question needs to go further.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Nevada page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Las Vegas (Clark County).

Early intervention under 3: Nevada Early Intervention Services (NEIS) — Southern Nevada

NEIS is Nevada's IDEA Part C program for children from birth to age 3, and in Clark County it operates as the Southern Nevada region under the state's Aging and Disability Services Division. A parent, pediatrician, or child care provider can call the regional referral line directly — no diagnosis or doctor's referral is required, only a concern about a child's development. Federal Part C rule gives the team 45 days from referral to complete the evaluation and hold the first Individualized Family Service Plan meeting, and the evaluation itself carries no cost to the family.

• Nevada Early Intervention Services (NEIS) — Southern Nevada
• Referral phone: 702-486-9200

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

School districts and special education

Clark County School District is one of the largest school systems in the country, and it carries the same federal Child Find duty as any other Nevada district: locate and evaluate, at no cost, every child from birth through 21 who may have a disability. Start with a written request to your child's school or directly to the district's Child Find Project; because CCSD is so large, the state Department of Education's own special education office is worth knowing as a second point of contact if a district-level question stalls.

• Clark County School District — Child Find Project — childfind@nv.ccsd.net; identifies and evaluates students ages 3–21 who are not yet enrolled or already receiving services

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.

• Nevada Department of Education — Office of Inclusive Education — the state's special education office, not a district — Carson City, 775-687-9171; oversees every Nevada district's Child Find duty, including CCSD's

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Las Vegas

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Las Vegas. 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: Nevada ADSD — Desert Regional Center

The Desert Regional Center is the Aging and Disability Services Division's developmental-services office for Clark County, handling intake, eligibility determination, and service planning for autistic children and adults, including Nevada's Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waiver. Call the intake line to start, or the main administrative number if you're transferred; a diagnosis in hand helps but isn't required to begin the conversation. Families of a child specifically diagnosed with autism can also apply to ADSD's Autism Treatment Assistance Program (ATAP), which can fund up to $700 a month toward autism-specific treatment — Southern Nevada has a separate intake line for that program.

• Nevada ADSD — Desert Regional Center
• Phone: 702-486-7850 (Desert Regional Center intake) · 702-486-6200 (administration) · 702-688-3271 (ATAP Southern Nevada intake)

Local organizations that help Las Vegas families

• The Arc Nevada — the state chapter of The Arc, serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, across Nevada
• Nevada PEP — Nevada's federally designated parent training and information center; guides more than 5,000 families a year through IEPs, early intervention, and special-education rights
• Nevada 211 — Autism Support Services — searchable directory of respite, social-skills, and treatment-funding resources for Nevada families of autistic children
• Grant a Gift Autism Foundation — Southern Nevada nonprofit that funds diagnosis, treatment, and family support after an autism diagnosis, through its Ackerman Center

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.

• Nevada writes its own evaluation deadline into state regulation: NAC 388.337 gives a district 45 school days from signed consent to finish testing and reach an eligibility decision, tighter than the federal 60-calendar-day floor most states use. (source)
• A 2026 nationwide tally of Medicaid waiver waitlists counted 295 Nevadans waiting for the intellectual-disability HCBS waiver and a further 1,710 waiting for the physical-disability waiver — figures from ADSD's Desert Regional Center system. (source)