In Lancaster, early intervention for a child under 3 runs through the county's own Behavioral Health & Developmental Services office; at age 3, responsibility shifts to the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, which runs preschool special education for the county. Both steps are based on a documented developmental delay, not a diagnosis.

This guide lists those numbers and links, the evaluation pathway at Penn State Health, ABA and speech/OT resources including the nonprofit Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development, Lancaster County's disability office, and the PH-95 Medicaid category many Pennsylvania families can use no matter their income.

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

Early intervention under 3: Lancaster County Early Intervention (birth–3) and Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 Preschool Early Intervention (3–5)

Lancaster County Behavioral Health & Developmental Services (BHDS) administers Early Intervention for children under 3 directly, assigning a service coordinator after a free developmental evaluation — a medical diagnosis is not required. At age 3, responsibility for special-education services moves to the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 (IU13), which runs preschool early intervention on the basis of a documented developmental delay across 13 recognized disability categories, including autism. At school age, the family's own district takes over.

• Lancaster County Early Intervention (birth–3) and Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 Preschool Early Intervention (3–5)
• Referral phone: 717-399-7323 (Lancaster County BHDS, birth to 3) · 717-606-1601 (IU13 Preschool EI referral hotline, ages 3–5)

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

School districts and special education

A written request to your child's school is the first step toward a school-age evaluation in Lancaster. The School District of Lancaster completes an initial evaluation and presents the report to parents within 60 calendar days of written consent. Conestoga Valley School District follows the same 60-day window and develops an IEP within 30 calendar days of the evaluation report; it names specific autism placements, including an Expressions Autistic Support classroom for grades K-12 and an Itinerant Autistic Support option for grades 6-12.

• School District of Lancaster — 717-299-2700; Director of Special Education and Gifted Services Charles Hample
• Conestoga Valley School District — 717-397-2421; runs Expressions Autistic Support (K-12) and Itinerant Autistic Support (6-12) classrooms

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Lancaster

These are hospital and university programs with public intake information. Listing here is informational — it is not a recommendation, and it is not medical advice. Public school evaluation is free and does not require any of these.

• Penn State Health — Division of Developmental Pediatrics — autism and developmental evaluation serving the Lancaster area through Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center · 717-531-8414 · the division's own site states it is 'temporarily closing to referrals from providers outside of Penn State Health' due to capacity limits, and that autism referrals are currently accepted only for patients age 14 and older for diagnosis or medication management
• NeurAbilities Healthcare — Lancaster ABA Autism Treatment Center — 1:1 ABA therapy at a dedicated Lancaster clinic · 856-346-0005
• Acclaim Autism — Lancaster Central — in-home, IBHS-licensed ABA therapy, BCBA-supervised, accepting Pennsylvania Medicaid · 888-805-8206
• Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development — nonprofit speech-language, occupational, and physical therapy for children from birth through age 21, serving more than 2,000 children a year, plus adaptive swim, music-therapy camps, and an inclusive preschool (S.T.A.R.S.) program · 717-393-0425

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Lancaster County Behavioral Health & Developmental Services — Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Program

Lancaster County BHDS's Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities office registers children for ID and autism services, including Medicaid waiver eligibility; call to reach a case manager. PerformCare is the separate HealthChoices plan that funds and authorizes IBHS-delivered ABA for Medicaid-enrolled children in Lancaster County.

• Lancaster County Behavioral Health & Developmental Services — Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Program
• Phone: 717-399-7355 (BHDS Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities) · 1-888-722-8646 (PerformCare member services)

Local organizations that help Lancaster families

• Special Olympics Pennsylvania — Lancaster County softball — non-unified summer softball season at Lancaster Bible College, Tuesday and Thursday evenings
• Special Strong Lancaster County — adaptive, inclusive fitness training for ages 8 and up, including autism-specific programming (717-734-7574)
• PAAutism.org (ASERT) — Pennsylvania's statewide autism resource and support-group directory

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.

• Penn State Health's Division of Developmental Pediatrics states on its own site that it is 'temporarily closing to referrals from providers outside of Penn State Health' due to capacity limits, and that its autism program currently accepts new referrals only for patients age 14 and older for diagnosis or medication management. (source)
• Beyond the 60-day evaluation and 30-day IEP clocks that Conestoga Valley already names, Act 62 layers on a state insurance benefit worth up to $36,000 a year for an autistic person under 21 on a state-regulated plan. (source)
• Pennsylvania's main long-term-support waiver list topped 11,600 people statewide in recent counts, with roughly 980 of those registrants specifically identified as autistic, and reported waits running past seven years for some categories. (source)