Arlington sits in the Mid-Cities between Dallas and Fort Worth, but for autism-related public services it shares Tarrant County's systems with Fort Worth: the same early-intervention contractor, the same disability-waiver authority, and a state-mandated Child Find duty carried by whichever school district actually covers your street address, whether that's Arlington ISD or a neighboring district like Mansfield.

Below are the specific referral lines, timelines, and web pages those Tarrant County organizations and Arlington-area districts publish for exactly this purpose.

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

Early intervention under 3: Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)

Under Texas's Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) system, any child from birth through age two with a developmental delay can be referred by a parent, physician, grandparent, or care provider, and a diagnosis is not a precondition for that referral. Arlington falls under Tarrant County's ECI contractor, operated as ECI of North Central Texas by MHMR of Tarrant County: calling starts the process, staff schedule a first visit to determine eligibility, and a qualifying child receives a free Individualized Family Service Plan built with the family. MHMR also staffs Help Me Grow North Texas, a related line for expecting families and children ages 0-5 who need a broader developmental screening. ECI services continue up to a child's third birthday, when the family transitions toward the school district's process instead.

• Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)
• Referral phone: 1-800-754-0524 or 817-446-8000 (ECI of North Central Texas)

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

School districts and special education

IDEA's Child Find provision requires Texas districts and open-enrollment charters to find and evaluate any student suspected of having a disability, from birth to 21, and the district — not the family — pays for it. A written request to the campus or district special education office sets the clock running. Arlington sits across parts of more than one independent school district, so the exact Child Find contact depends on your street address rather than on the city listed in your mailing address.

• Arlington ISD — Director of Special Education Cindy Brown, (682) 867-0800; serves children ages 3-21
• Mansfield ISD — covers part of the Arlington area; Special Education office 817-299-4300, serving ages 3-21 (birth-21 for vision or hearing impairments)

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Arlington

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Arlington. 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: MHMR of Tarrant County (My Health My Resources) — Arlington's LIDDA

Arlington's long-term IDD services run through the same county authority as the rest of Tarrant County: MHMR of Tarrant County, a unit of local government under a board the Tarrant County Commissioners Court appoints. MHMR enrolls families onto the HCS and Texas Home Living Medicaid waiver interest lists at 817-335-3022. The CLASS, DBMD, and MDCP interest lists are handled differently — those go through the state's own toll-free line, 877-438-5658, rather than through MHMR.

• MHMR of Tarrant County (My Health My Resources) — Arlington's LIDDA
• Phone: 817-335-3022 (general services) · 877-438-5658 (state interest list line)

Local organizations that help Arlington families

• United Way of Tarrant County — operates the local 2-1-1 referral line, 817-258-8000, covering both Arlington and Fort Worth
• Autism Society of Texas — statewide information and referral line, 512-479-4199; Spanish support available
• SPEDTex — the state's special education parent helpline, cited directly by Arlington ISD: 1-855-773-3839 or inquire@spedtex.org
• Disability Rights Texas — the state's federally designated protection-and-advocacy agency; direct legal help when rights are violated
• Navigate Life Texas — state-supported plain-language resource site for Texas families of children with disabilities

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.

• Once a parent signs consent, Texas law gives Arlington ISD or Mansfield ISD 45 school days to finish the full individual evaluation, and that count pauses for any stretch of three or more consecutive absent school days. (source)
• After the evaluation report is finished, Texas requires the district to convene the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee — the state's name for what most states call the IEP team — within 30 calendar days to decide eligibility. (source)
• Texas's insurance mandate lets commercial plans cap ABA reimbursement at $36,000 a year once a covered child turns 10, though there's no dollar ceiling at all for a diagnosis made before that birthday. (source)