Memphis sits inside Shelby County, which — unlike Nashville's single consolidated district — split into Memphis-Shelby County Schools plus several independent suburban municipal districts after a 2013 realignment, so which office actually handles a family's Child Find request depends on the exact home address.

Below are the referral numbers and links behind TEIS's Delta-region office, Memphis-Shelby County Schools and its suburban counterparts, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital's developmental pediatrics team, and the West Tennessee intake point for the state's Medicaid disability waivers, sourced directly from each organization's own pages.

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

Early intervention under 3: Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS)

Any child under 3 with a suspected delay qualifies for a TEIS evaluation, Tennessee's federally required Part C program, and referrals come from parents and providers alike — no diagnosis required, no cost to the family. Shelby County cases route through TEIS's Delta office at (901) 937-6738, a number both the state's own TEIS page and Collierville Schools' Child Find page independently confirm; families can also start with the statewide intake line, (800) 852-7157, or DD.TEIS_Referrals@tn.gov. Once a child turns 3, responsibility shifts to Section 619 preschool special education inside the local school district.

• Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS)
• Referral phone: (800) 852-7157 (statewide TEIS referral) · (901) 937-6738 (Delta office, Memphis)

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

School districts and special education

Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is the primary district for Memphis proper and unincorporated Shelby County, running Child Find through its Department of Exceptional Education, which already serves roughly 17,000 students across 18 disability categories. Shelby County also contains several independent municipal districts formed after a 2013 split from the old countywide system — Collierville Schools and Germantown Municipal School District among them — and each runs Child Find separately for its own residents, so a family's home address decides which office to call.

• Memphis-Shelby County Schools — Department of Exceptional Education — serves ~17,000 students across 18 disability categories; district main line (901) 416-5300; Child Find Procedures document available on the site
• Collierville Schools — Department of Exceptional Children (Child Find) — suburban Shelby County municipal district; (901) 286-6381 for ages 3–5, homeschool, or private-school residents; dec@collliervilleschools.org

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Memphis

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.

• Le Bonheur Children's Hospital — Developmental Pediatrics — developmental evaluations for autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, developmental delay, and school-related concerns, staffed by physicians board-certified in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities or Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics alongside psychologists, speech pathologists, and audiologists · 866-870-5570
• Hopebridge — East Memphis Autism Therapy Center — autism testing and diagnosis alongside ABA therapy for children under 10, with occupational, speech-language, and feeding therapy where available at this location · 901-586-8606
• Hopebridge — Collierville Autism Therapy Center — autism testing and diagnosis, ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, and feeding therapy, geared toward early intervention for children under 10 · 901-424-5621
• Hopebridge — Bartlett Autism Therapy Center — autism testing and diagnosis, ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, and feeding therapy for children under 10 · 901-677-0422

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging (DDA) — West Tennessee Region

DDA succeeded the former Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and now handles intake for the state's main IDD Medicaid routes — Katie Beckett, Employment and Community First CHOICES, and Medicaid Alternative Pathways (MAPs) — through three regional offices. Shelby County families work with the West Tennessee region, which assists with applications, runs eligibility assessments, and checks in periodically with anyone on a waiting list.

• Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging (DDA) — West Tennessee Region
• Phone: 1-866-372-5709

Local organizations that help Memphis families

• The Arc Mid-South — Memphis-based; advocacy, career development, family support including summer camp and respite care; (901) 327-2473
• Special Olympics Tennessee — Greater Memphis Area 2 — covers Shelby and Fayette counties; 11 sports including basketball, swimming, and track & field; contact Director Lisa Taylor, (901) 683-1271

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.

• Tennessee's private-insurance autism mandate, TCA §56-7-2367, caps its coverage-parity requirement at age 12 — younger than the age cutoffs many other states use for the same kind of mandate. (source)
• State board rule gives Memphis-Shelby County Schools 60 calendar days from a parent's written consent to finish an evaluation and rule on eligibility, and another 30 days beyond that to hold the IEP meeting. (source)
• TEIS's Delta office answers to the same 45-day clock as every other Part C program in the country — Tennessee has not written in extra days for the evaluation or the first IFSP meeting. (source)
• By the close of 2024, a report to state lawmakers put statewide Katie Beckett enrollment at 4,411 children, with the capped Part B track alone accounting for 4,188 of them — the same program Shelby County families apply to through West Tennessee intake. (source)