Local resources in Tulsa
Ordered by review count, then name. Providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked, or edited.
9 resources in Tulsa
1. ABS Foundations — Tulsa
A Tulsa-based provider whose stated goals are independence and communication rather than compliance — worth pressing on at the first meeting.
Ages Ages not published in the sources we saw — ask when you call
2. Autism Oklahoma – Tulsa
Autism Oklahoma, founded by parents, runs about 85 free or nearly free programmes reaching 4,500 autistic individuals and family members statewide each year, including Mix and Mingle social events in Oklahoma City, Norman and Tulsa from its Tulsa office. It also runs city-specific chapter sites across the state, including AutismNorman.org, AutismOKC.org, AutismTulsa.org and AutismLatino.org.
Ages All ages
3. Behavioral Innovations — Tulsa
Centre-based ABA from a long-established provider with sites in both of Oklahoma's big cities.
Ages Ages not published in the sources we saw — ask when you call
4. Henrich Dental
A Tulsa dental practice offering IV sedation with a local anaesthesiologist for autistic patients who find traditional dental visits uncomfortable.
Ages Not stated in the sources we saw
5. Oklahoma Adaptive Sports Association
The statewide association alongside Tulsa's own centre — between the two, most sports a child might want are covered somewhere.
Ages Children and adults
6. OSU Medicine Behavioral Medicine Clinic
OSU Medicine's Behavioral Medicine Clinic provides psychiatric, psychological and neuropsychological care to adults and children across Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma, including military and veteran populations. Testing for autism, ADHD, learning disorders and memory concerns starts with a 60-minute intake interview, then 2-4 hour testing sessions and a feedback session on the report.
Ages Not stated in the sources we saw
7. Pediatric Dental Group – Tulsa
Pediatric Dental Group offers dental, vision and orthodontic care for kids across its Tulsa locations, led by Dr. Charles Keithline and Dr. Bao Hanh — exams, cleanings, x-rays, fluoride treatments, fillings, extractions, sealants and crowns. It accepts Children's Dental Medicaid, SoonerSelect/SoonerCare and most dental insurance, and offers sedation with a referral at select locations.
Ages Not stated in the sources we saw
8. SoonerStart – Tulsa
SoonerStart's Tulsa office delivers Oklahoma's early intervention programme for infants and toddlers, birth to three, with developmental delays or disabilities. It has partnered with the Oklahoma Autism Center's Early Foundations model, using applied behaviour analysis strategies for toddlers with autism, and takes referrals from any concerned individual via an online form.
Ages Birth to age three
9. Tulsa Center
An unusually broad list for one organisation — climbing and goalball as well as the wheelchair sports — with a distinct youth strand.
Ages Youth and adults
The short answer for Tulsa
- Under 3: SoonerStart referrals go through the Office of Special Education Services at 405-521-3351, jointly run with the state health department; no diagnosis is required to start.
- 3 and up: Tulsa Public Schools handles evaluations at 918-746-7575, and Union Public Schools at 918-357-6125 — call whichever covers your child's home address.
- Both Tulsa-area districts describe their Child Find duty as covering every child from birth through 21, including students in private school or experiencing homelessness.
- For DDS waiver services, the statewide waiting-list line is 405-500-1866; Oklahoma reports having brought that wait down substantially since 2022.
Tulsa's east side and its southern suburbs sit in different school districts, so a Tulsa family's first call depends on address: Tulsa Public Schools downtown and to the north, Union Public Schools toward south Tulsa and Broken Arrow.
Underneath both is the same statewide structure — SoonerStart for children under 3 and DDS for adult and long-term disability supports. This page gathers the phone numbers and referral pages a search turned up for each.
Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Oklahoma page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Tulsa (Tulsa and Union school districts).
Early intervention under 3: SoonerStart (Oklahoma's Part C Early Intervention Program)
SoonerStart doesn't have one lead agency the way many states' Part C programs do — Oklahoma splits the work between its State Department of Education and its State Department of Health. A Tulsa family can start a referral through the Office of Special Education Services at 405-521-3351, and staff will screen the child's development, coordinate an evaluation, and, when a child qualifies, build a family service plan around home and daily routines rather than a clinic setting.
- SoonerStart (Oklahoma's Part C Early Intervention Program)
- Referral phone: 405-521-3351
New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.
School districts and special education
Tulsa Public Schools and Union Public Schools each carry an independent Child Find duty, meaning every child suspected of having a disability inside district boundaries — whether enrolled, homeschooled, or in private school — is supposed to be identified and offered an evaluation at no cost. A teacher, counselor, or parent can trigger a multidisciplinary evaluation once significant difficulty accessing instruction shows up.
- Tulsa Public Schools — Special Education Services, 918-746-7575
- Union Public Schools — Special Services, 918-357-6125; covers south Tulsa and part of Broken Arrow
Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Tulsa
We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Tulsa. 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: Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS), Oklahoma Human Services
DDS operates statewide out of Oklahoma Human Services rather than through a network of local branch offices, so Tulsa families use the same waiting-list line as the rest of the state: 405-500-1866. The division runs Medicaid's Community Waiver for adults with intellectual disabilities and two age-split In-Home Supports Waivers, and it has told policymakers it cut the typical wait for a slot from a stretch as long as 13 years to roughly a year following a funding increase that took hold around 2022.
- Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS), Oklahoma Human Services
- Phone: 405-500-1866
Local organizations that help Tulsa families
We have not yet verified a local parent organization in Tulsa. Statewide help still covers you: the Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma.
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.
- Tulsa and Union Public Schools both work against Oklahoma's 45-school-day statutory limit for completing an initial evaluation and deciding eligibility — 15 school days shorter than the federal default. (source)
- A SoonerStart referral for a Tulsa toddler carries a 45-day deadline for the evaluation and, if the child qualifies, the initial IFSP meeting. (source)
- Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready's August 2021 bulletin removed the age-9 cutoff and dollar caps that had applied to ABA coverage on state-regulated plans since the original 2016 mandate. (source)
Paying for support in Tulsa
Long-term disability funding in Oklahoma flows mainly through DDS's Medicaid waivers — a Community Waiver for adults and separate In-Home Supports Waivers split by age — and after a 2022-era funding boost, the agency says it has pulled the wait for a spot down from a reported 13 years to close to one, with services generally starting 6 to 9 months after approval.
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 Tulsa parents
Sources
- [1]Oklahoma.gov — SoonerStart. Open source
- [2]Oklahoma Health Care Authority — SoonerStart. Open source
- [3]Oklahoma.gov — SoonerStart Parent Handbook. Open source
- [4]Tulsa Public Schools — Special Education Laws. Open source
- [5]Tulsa Public Schools — Exceptional Student Services. Open source
- [6]Union Public School District — Special Services. Open source
- [7]Oklahoma.gov — Developmental Disabilities Services. Open source
- [8]Oklahoma Policy Institute — DDSD Waivers and Wait List. Open source
- [9]Oklahoma.gov — Update DDS Waiting List Contact Information. 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.