Local resources in Corpus Christi
Ordered by review count, then name. Providers cannot pay to be listed, ranked, or edited.
3 resources in Corpus Christi
1. Children's Physician Services of South Texas — Developmental and Behavioral Pediatric Medicine
The physician group behind Driscoll's developmental paediatrics clinic — a sparse site, so phone first.
Ages Children and young people
2. Driscoll Children's — Developmental Pediatric Medicine
Developmental-behavioural paediatric specialists and a paediatric psychologist evaluate developmental delay, ADHD, autism diagnostic clarification, genetic syndromes and other neurodevelopmental concerns; the clinic states it is not equipped for more significant co-occurring mental-health needs such as severe mood disorders or psychosis, which it refers on to psychology or psychiatry.
Ages Children and young people
3. Driscoll Health Plan — autism services
Driscoll Health Plan is the local Medicaid and CHIP managed care plan for South Texas; its autism page does not run its own evaluation or therapy services but signposts families to information from Driscoll Children's Hospital, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Mayo Clinic.
Ages Children and young people covered by the plan
The short answer for Corpus Christi
- Under 3: Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) is contracted locally; use the state's ECI Program Search tool to confirm the exact provider covering your Corpus Christi address.
- Once your child turns 3, request a school evaluation in writing instead of going through ECI; Tuloso-Midway ISD publishes online Early Childhood and School-Age Child Find referral forms.
- Long-term Medicaid waiver services route through the Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities, the county's LIDDA, at 361-886-6900.
- CLASS, DBMD, and MDCP interest lists bypass the Nueces Center; call the state directly at 877-438-5658 for those three.
- United Way of the Coastal Bend, at 361-882-2529, is a starting point for families who aren't sure which service to call first.
Corpus Christi is the seat of Nueces County, and the county's long-term disability system runs through a single, decades-old local authority, the Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities, which the state designates as both the area's mental-health authority and its LIDDA.
For school-age children, Corpus Christi ISD and the smaller Tuloso-Midway ISD each carry their own federally required Child Find duty, and both publish a public referral process for a family to start.
Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Texas page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Corpus Christi metro (Nueces County).
Early intervention under 3: Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)
ECI — Texas's Early Childhood Intervention program — evaluates children from birth to 36 months for developmental delays, and the referral can be made by anyone close to the child, including a parent, doctor, or daycare worker, without needing a diagnosis in hand first. ECI is contracted out locally rather than run by a single statewide office, and we could not independently confirm one named contractor serving all of Nueces County; the Texas Health and Human Services Commission's ECI Program Search tool is the authoritative way to look up the current provider for a specific address. Once referred, state rule gives the program 45 calendar days to complete the evaluation and write an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), with services starting within 28 days of a parent's signature, and the evaluation itself is always free.
New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.
School districts and special education
Federal special-education law places a Child Find duty on every Texas school district and charter, requiring them to locate, identify, and evaluate students suspected of having a disability from birth through age 21 at no expense to families. The process usually starts with a written evaluation request to your campus or the district's special education department. Corpus Christi ISD is the area's largest district, though smaller districts like Tuloso-Midway also serve parts of Nueces County, so confirm which one covers your address.
- Corpus Christi ISD — the district's dedicated Child Find page, part of a broader special education section
- Tuloso-Midway ISD — Dr. Barbara Greses, Director of Special Education & 504 Program, 361-903-6740, bgreses@tmisd.us; online referral forms for early childhood and school-age Child Find
Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Corpus Christi
We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Corpus Christi. 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: Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities — Nueces County's LIDDA
The Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities has served Nueces County residents since 1969 and is formally designated as both the area's Local Mental Health Authority and its Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority (LIDDA). Families reach the organization at 361-886-6900 to begin eligibility determination and enrollment onto the HCS (Home and Community-based Services) and Texas Home Living (TxHmL) Medicaid waiver interest lists. As elsewhere in Texas, the CLASS, DBMD, and MDCP interest lists are joined separately, through the state's own toll-free line, 877-438-5658.
- Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities — Nueces County's LIDDA
- Phone: 361-886-6900 (main) · 877-438-5658 (state interest list line)
Local organizations that help Corpus Christi families
- United Way of the Coastal Bend — regional United Way affiliate, 361-882-2529; connects families to Driscoll Children's Hospital, Goodwill Industries of South Texas, and other Coastal Bend partners
- Autism Society of Texas — statewide information and referral line, 512-479-4199; Spanish support available
- SPEDTex — the state's special education parent helpline: 1-855-773-3839, weekdays, with email and live chat
- 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.
- Corpus Christi ISD and the smaller districts around it have 45 school days from a parent's signed consent to complete the full individual evaluation, a window Texas law extends whenever a student misses three or more school days in a row. (source)
- Texas law then requires the district's Admission, Review, and Dismissal committee — its version of the IEP team — to meet within 30 calendar days of that finished evaluation report to decide eligibility. (source)
- State-regulated commercial plans covering Corpus Christi families must pay for ABA without a dollar limit before a child's 10th birthday, then are allowed to cap the annual benefit at $36,000 after that. (source)
Paying for support in Corpus Christi
For years beyond early childhood, Texas families generally pay for autism-related home and community support through Medicaid waiver enrollment rather than a dedicated state grant. Nueces County's Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority (LIDDA), the Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities, enrolls families onto the HCS and Texas Home Living interest lists at 361-886-6900; the CLASS, DBMD, and MDCP interest lists are instead joined through the state's toll-free line, 877-438-5658. Registering earlier is the only thing that moves a child up these lists — clinical need doesn't factor into the order.
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 Corpus Christi parents
Sources
- [1]Nueces Center for Mental Health & Intellectual Disabilities — homepage. Open source
- [2]Corpus Christi ISD — Child Find. Open source
- [3]Tuloso-Midway ISD — Child Find. Open source
- [4]United Way of the Coastal Bend. Open source
- [5]Texas HHS — Early Childhood Intervention Services. Open source
- [6]Texas HHS — ECI Program Search (find your contractor by address). Open source
- [7]Texas HHS — Children's Autism Program. Open source
- [8]TMHP — Texas Medicaid ABA benefit effective February 1, 2022. Open source
- [9]Texas Insurance Code §1355.015 (autism coverage mandate). Open source
- [10]SPEDTex. Open source
- [11]Autism Society of Texas. Open source
- [12]Disability Rights Texas. Open source
- [13]Navigate Life Texas. Open source
Last checked 2026-08-11. Programs and links change — confirm with the agency before relying on any detail. This page is information, not legal or medical advice.