San Antonio anchors Bexar County, and its autism-related public systems split across more organizations than in some other Texas metros: a behavioral-health nonprofit runs early intervention for part of the county, a regional council of governments — not a mental-health authority — handles the disability-waiver front door, and more than a dozen independent school districts each run their own Child Find process.

That split can make San Antonio harder to navigate than a single-agency city, but every door listed here is real, and the phone numbers below are the ones each organization publishes 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 San Antonio metro (Bexar County).

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

Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) supports children from birth up to their third birthday who have a developmental delay or a qualifying diagnosis, and the referral itself can come from anyone in the child's life — a parent, a pediatrician, a grandparent, a preschool teacher — with no prior diagnosis required. In Bexar County, the Center for Health Care Services (CHCS) runs the ECI program zoned to San Antonio ISD, East Central ISD, Harlandale ISD, Somerset ISD, and Southside ISD; families zoned to a different district can still call and will be routed to the correct contractor. CHCS describes the referral as easy to make by phone, and the resulting developmental assessment is free regardless of income. State rule gives the local ECI program 45 calendar days from referral to finish the evaluation and draft an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), with agreed services beginning within 28 days of a parent's signature.

• Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)
• Referral phone: (210) 261-3300 (CHCS ECI referral line)

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

School districts and special education

Federal law's Child Find mandate obligates every Texas school district and open-enrollment charter to seek out, identify, and evaluate any student they suspect has a disability, from birth through age 21, at no cost to the family. Start the process with a written request to your child's campus or the district's special education office; East Central ISD, for one, describes 15 school days to respond to that request. San Antonio's school-age population is split across more than a dozen independent districts, so which office handles your child's Child Find depends entirely on your home address.

• North East ISD — Special Education Department 210-407-0185; oversees Child Find, psychological services, and related therapies
• East Central ISD — Early Child Find Team (ages 0-5) 210-634-6810; district office 210-634-6100; 15 school days to respond to a written request
• San Antonio ISD — one of the five districts CHCS's ECI program feeds into for children aging out of early intervention

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in San Antonio

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in San Antonio. 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: Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) — Bexar County's IDD services and waiver intake point

Texas routes long-term intellectual and developmental disability services locally, and in Bexar County that function sits with the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) rather than a mental-health authority — a structure that differs from most other Texas metros. AACOG determines eligibility and enrolls children onto the HCS and Texas Home Living Medicaid waiver interest lists at (210) 832-5020 or IDDservices@aacog.gov; the CLASS, DBMD, and MDCP interest lists are instead joined through the state's toll-free line, 877-438-5658. A child can be added to any list before a diagnosis is finished, and position depends only on the date a name was added.

• Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) — Bexar County's IDD services and waiver intake point
• Phone: (210) 832-5020 (AACOG IDD services) · 877-438-5658 (state interest list line)

Local organizations that help San Antonio families

• United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County — operates the local 2-1-1 referral line, available 24/7
• 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
• Partners Resource Network — PATH Project — federally funded parent training center; free help with IDEA rights and the ARD/IEP process (1-800-866-4726)

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.

• Bexar County splits a role most Texas counties give to a single LIDDA: the Alamo Area Council of Governments handles waiver-interest-list intake for the county, while Early Childhood Intervention for children under 3 is run separately, through the Center for Health Care Services. (source)
• San Antonio ISD and the other districts sharing the metro area get 45 school days from a parent's signed consent to complete the full individual evaluation, extended for any run of three or more consecutive absences. (source)
• Once that evaluation report is finished, Texas law requires the district's Admission, Review, and Dismissal committee — its name for the IEP team — to convene within 30 calendar days to decide eligibility. (source)
• Bexar County families with a state-regulated commercial plan can see ABA reimbursement capped at $36,000 a year once a child turns 10, with no such limit before that birthday. (source)