Nashville's autism-support system runs through a mix of state programs and a few Vanderbilt-anchored institutions, all made simpler by one quirk of local government: since Nashville and Davidson County govern themselves as a single consolidated metro, there's only one public school district to deal with, Metro Nashville Public Schools, rather than the dozen-plus districts a typical Tennessee metro area splits across.

This guide lists the specific phone numbers, referral rules, and web addresses behind Tennessee's Part C early intervention program (TEIS), MNPS's Child Find office, Vanderbilt's TRIAD autism diagnostic clinic, and the state's regional Medicaid-waiver intake point for Middle Tennessee, so a Nashville family can start more than one process without guessing which door to knock on first.

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

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

Tennessee's Part C program, the Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS), evaluates and serves any child from birth to age 3 with a suspected developmental delay, and literally anyone — a parent, a pediatrician, a daycare worker — can start a referral without a diagnosis in hand. Call the statewide line at (800) 852-7157, email DD.TEIS_Referrals@tn.gov, or use the online referral form; Metro Nashville Public Schools' own Child Find page routes Davidson County families to TEIS's Greater Nashville office at (615) 532-7237. The evaluation is free, and at age 3 a child transitions out of TEIS into Section 619 preschool special education, run by the local school district instead.

• Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS)
• Referral phone: (800) 852-7157 (statewide TEIS referral) · (615) 532-7237 (Greater Nashville TEIS office, per MNPS)

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

School districts and special education

Because Nashville and Davidson County merged into a single consolidated metro government in 1963, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is the sole public school system covering the entire county — there's no separate suburban district to sort out first. MNPS carries the same IDEA Child Find duty as any Tennessee district: locate, evaluate, and serve every student ages 3–21 suspected of having a disability, at no cost to the family, with intake split by whether the child is already enrolled, homeschooled, or new to the system. Families just south of the county line, in fast-growing Williamson County, fall under a separate district, Williamson County Schools, which runs its own parallel Child Find process.

• Metro Nashville Public Schools — Exceptional Education (Child Find) — ages 3–21; enrolled students start with their teacher or principal; ages 3–5 call (615) 687-4551; homeschooled/private-school students contact their zoned school; general info (615) 259-4636
• Williamson County Schools — Student Support Services (Child Find) — covers Franklin, Brentwood, and the rest of Williamson County, just south of Davidson County; ages 3–5 call (615) 472-4130; homeschooled/private-school students call (615) 472-4132

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Nashville

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.

• TRIAD (Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders) at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center — autism diagnostic evaluation for children up to age 18 through Vanderbilt's Division of Developmental Medicine at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, plus statewide training and consultation for families whose children are enrolled in TEIS · 615-322-8240
• Hopebridge — Hendersonville Autism Therapy Center — autism testing and diagnosis alongside ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, and feeding therapy for children under 10, serving the Nashville area from Sumner County (about 25 miles northeast of downtown) · 615-314-3292

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

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

DDA is the state agency that succeeded the former Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and it now runs intake for Tennessee's main IDD Medicaid pathways — the Katie Beckett Program, Employment and Community First CHOICES, and Medicaid Alternative Pathways (MAPs) — through three regional offices. Davidson County falls under the Middle Tennessee region, which helps families apply, assesses eligibility, and keeps periodic contact with anyone still waiting on a program slot.

• Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging (DDA) — Middle Tennessee Region
• Phone: 1-800-654-4839

Local organizations that help Nashville families

• The Arc Tennessee — statewide advocacy org headquartered in Nashville; 15 local chapters; (615) 248-5878 or toll-free (800) 835-7077
• Special Olympics Tennessee — Nashville Area 1 — adaptive sports covering all of Davidson County — 14 sports including swimming, bowling, and track & field; contact Kassie King, (615) 329-1375

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, only requires coverage parity with other neurological disorders for children under age 12 — a narrower cutoff than many states use. (source)
• MNPS has 60 calendar days from the date a parent signs consent to complete testing and decide eligibility under state board rule, with a further 30 days after that to seat the IEP. (source)
• Nashville's Part C referrals move on the unextended federal timeline — TEIS's Greater Nashville office has 45 days from referral to complete the evaluation and hold the first IFSP meeting, the same as anywhere else in the country. (source)
• Tennessee reported 4,411 children enrolled in Katie Beckett statewide as of the end of 2024, 4,188 of them through the capped Part B option that Middle Tennessee families reach via the same regional office as ECF CHOICES. (source)