This page gathers autism and disability resources for families in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. You'll find 14 local resources listed here, alongside Massachusetts statewide programs and nationwide services, all verified and in one place. For children under three, Massachusetts's starting point is Massachusetts's early intervention program; for school-age children, special education and IEPs run through your local school district. Confirm details directly with each provider.
Diagnosis & Early Intervention
Getting an evaluation and accessing early services.
Free CDC milestone checklists and a Milestone Tracker app help you follow your child's development from 2 months to 5 years, so you know what to watch for and when to act. A gentle first step when you're unsure whether to seek an evaluation.
One of the country's leading pediatric autism centers, offering diagnostic evaluations and ongoing care from developmental pediatricians, neurologists, and psychologists all under one roof. A trusted place for families seeking clear answers and a full team behind their child.
Boston Medical Center's Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics team provides autism evaluations and clinical care for children, alongside a family support program. A welcoming option for families across Greater Boston seeking a diagnosis.
A specialized team in Worcester evaluates infants, toddlers, and preschoolers (birth to age 5) for autism, developmental delays, and behavioral concerns. One of Central Massachusetts' most experienced programs for early diagnosis.
The Lurie Center at Massachusetts General Hospital provides comprehensive autism evaluations and developmental assessments for children and adults, including those with complex needs. A well-established academic center in Lexington offering diagnosis and long-term care.
Massachusetts' free, statewide Early Intervention program serves babies and toddlers from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or a diagnosis like autism, with evaluations and in-home services. Call the Central Directory to find the local program near you and get started, no referral or diagnosis required.
A hospital-based center where developmental-behavioral pediatricians and psychologists evaluate children with complex developmental and behavioral concerns. Families can receive either a single-provider consultation or a full team evaluation with ongoing follow-up care.
This local early intervention program gives free developmental evaluations and home-based support to children birth to age 3 who may have autism or delays, serving East Boston, Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop, and Charlestown. A caring team comes to you, and no diagnosis or referral is needed to start.
School & IEP Rights
IEPs, 504 plans, special education, and school advocacy.
Every state has a federally funded Parent Training & Information Center offering free help with IEPs, special-education rights, and early intervention. This hub's directory locates the center that serves your state.
A national nonprofit protecting the rights of students with disabilities. Use their member directory to find a special-education attorney or trained advocate near you when you need help with an IEP or a dispute with a school.
Every state has a federally mandated Protection & Advocacy agency that offers free legal help when a school isn't following your child's IEP or evaluating them as required. This directory connects you to the office serving your area.
The Disability Law Center is the federally designated protection and advocacy agency for Massachusetts, offering free information, advice, and sometimes legal representation on disability rights, including special-education issues. If your child's rights at school are being violated, they are a trusted place to turn.
FCSN is Massachusetts' federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, run by parents for parents, and their free helpline can walk you through the IEP process, your child's special-education rights, and what to do at team meetings. They also offer free workshops and a plain-language Parent's Guide to Special Education.
This long-established nonprofit fights for the education rights of Massachusetts children, with dedicated resources on autism and special education, including a Special Education Rights video series, sample letter templates, and a helpline. They were behind the state's Autism IEP Act that requires teams to address your child's full range of needs.
The state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education hosts the official IEP forms, plain-language parent guides, and translated materials to help you prepare for your child's yearly IEP meeting. It's also the home of the Problem Resolution System if you have a dispute with your district.
The official Massachusetts state agency that resolves disagreements between families and school districts over IEPs, evaluations, eligibility, and placement through free mediation and hearings. This is where you go when you and the school can't agree.
Based right in Lynn, this nonprofit gives free legal help to families whose kids need advocacy in special education, IEP disputes, and school discipline matters. Call their statewide KidLaw helpline if your child's education rights aren't being honored.
Run by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, PRS handles complaints when a school isn't following special education law. It's a free, non-adversarial way to have the state investigate and help fix the problem.
MAC is a long-established Boston nonprofit that helps families protect their child's special education rights and works one-on-one with low-income parents on IEP problems. They were behind the state's Autism IEP Act, which requires school teams to address a child's communication, social, and behavioral needs.
Therapy & Treatment
ABA, speech, OT, and finding the right providers.
You matter too. Psychology Today's therapist finder filters for 'caregiver stress' and 'autism family,' and Open Path Collective offers reduced-cost therapy sessions nationwide. You cannot support your child well without also supporting yourself.
A Western Massachusetts nonprofit offering a searchable directory of autism providers, plus family support, resource navigation, and support groups. Their information and resources line can help you find therapy and services near you.
A comprehensive hospital program offering autism evaluations and diagnosis for children from infancy through adolescence, with specialists in psychology, neurology, speech, and occupational therapy. Their family support team helps connect you to community resources and next steps.
This free UMass Chan Shriver Center program helps you understand and fight for your insurance coverage for ABA and other autism treatments, including MassHealth questions. Their team offers one-on-one help by phone or email at no cost.
A long-established Massachusetts nonprofit and national leader in applied behavior analysis, offering center-based, home-based, and school ABA programs for autistic children and those with other developmental disabilities. Families can reach their ABA centers directly to ask about services.
Financial Assistance & Benefits
Medicaid waivers, SSI, ABLE accounts, and legal aid.
ABLE accounts let people with disabilities (onset before age 26) save money tax-free without losing Medicaid or SSI eligibility. This center compares every state's ABLE program so you can pick the best one for your family.
Attainable is Massachusetts's official ABLE savings plan, letting people with disabilities and their families set aside money for disability expenses without losing SSI or MassHealth benefits. It is sponsored by MEFA and managed by Fidelity, with tax-free growth on qualified expenses.
Every DDS area in Massachusetts has Family Support Centers that offer respite care, service navigation, support groups, and other help to relieve the day-to-day stress of caregiving. Any family caring for a child or adult with a developmental disability can reach out for information and referrals.
These Massachusetts Medicaid waivers, run through the Department of Developmental Services, help pay for in-home and community services like ABA, respite, and skill-building so your child can get support at home instead of an institution. There is also a Children's Autism Waiver for kids birth through age 9 with an autism diagnosis.
SSI is a federal program that provides monthly cash payments to children with qualifying disabilities in families with limited income and resources, starting as early as birth. You can begin an application online or by phone with the Social Security Administration.
BCIL is a Boston-based, disability-led nonprofit offering benefits advocacy, personal care attendant services, peer support, and help navigating the systems families rely on. They have served the greater Boston area since 1974.
GBLS provides free civil legal help to lower-income families across Boston and Suffolk County, including a Children's Disability Project and staff who help win SSI and disability benefit appeals. They can stand beside you if a benefits claim is denied.
MassHealth is the state's Medicaid program, and its CommonHealth coverage can insure a child or adult with a disability even when family income would otherwise be too high. It helps pay for therapies, doctors, and services that support your child.
Support Groups & Community
Find your people, in person and online.
The nation's oldest grassroots autism organization. Their National Helpline connects families to information and referrals, and their affiliate finder points you to a local chapter in your area for in-person support and events.
The largest national community-based organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Local chapters offer advocacy, family support, and lifelong services. Use the chapter finder to locate the office nearest you.
Dial 2-1-1 (or visit 211.org) to reach a free, confidential referral line for local health and human services in almost every US community, including disability services, respite, food, housing, and financial assistance.
A long-established Watertown-based nonprofit offering warm, welcoming support groups for autistic teens and adults, parents, spouses, and grandparents, both online and in person. They also offer a free 30-minute call to help you find resources and figure out next steps.
A Massachusetts nonprofit that runs monthly support groups and activities for the whole family, including groups just for dads, moms, and siblings, plus social skills groups for young adults. Their team includes parents of autistic children who help you find your footing after a diagnosis and at every stage after.
A national nonprofit that builds one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, plus leadership and family support programs. It's a caring way for your child to form genuine, lasting friendships in the community.
A trusted Boston-based center that connects Massachusetts parents of children with disabilities to a Parent-to-Parent Network, workshops, and one-on-one guidance. It's also home to Massachusetts Family TIES, which matches you with another parent who has been through something similar.
Free year-round sports, recreation, and community for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, with 23 sports and a Young Athletes program for the little ones. It's a joyful way for your child to build friendships, confidence, and skills alongside teammates.
This hospital-based center helps families cope with a diagnosis and navigate care, with a dedicated family support and education team, caregiver wellness resources, sibling support, and connections to community programs. It's located in Boston's Longwood medical area.
Best Buddies builds one-to-one friendships and inclusive community for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so your child has real connections and social outings with a matched buddy. The regional headquarters is right in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood.
Adult Transition & Long-Term Planning
Aging out of school, adult services, and long-term planning.
A neurodivergent employment agency offering job support nationwide over Zoom: resume building, mock interviews, and career guidance, plus direct outreach to employers to help secure placements. Supports neurodivergent individuals roughly ages 16 to 50, and has been in business over 15 years.
When your child ages out of special education at 22, the Department of Developmental Services' Turning 22 program helps plan the move into adult day, employment, residential, and family supports. A DDS Service Coordinator walks the family through a person-centered plan, and it's best to start the process around age 18.
Exceptional Lives offers free, step-by-step guides that walk Massachusetts families through guardianship and its less-restrictive alternatives, SSI, and the transition to adulthood. Everything is written in plain language for parents figuring out these decisions for the first time.
MassAbility is the state agency that helps adults with disabilities find and keep jobs through vocational counseling, job coaching, training, and placement support. If your young adult is thinking about work, this is the state's front door to employment help.
This DDS-funded center supports autistic adults 18 and older with navigation, workshops, community events, and support groups for both individuals and their families. A good landing spot when a young adult is finding their footing in community life.
The Arc of Massachusetts' After I'm Gone program helps families build a long-term life plan so a loved one is cared for even when parents no longer can. It connects you to guidance on special needs trusts, estate planning, guardianship, benefits, and building lasting relationships.
A long-established Boston nonprofit offering adults with developmental disabilities community day supports, supported employment with job coaching, and residential programs across Greater Boston. They walk alongside families for the long haul as needs change over a lifetime.
PLAN is a long-established nonprofit that sets up and manages special needs trusts and provides ongoing social support so your loved one can keep public benefits while their assets are protected. They walk families through the money side of long-term planning, which many parents find the most overwhelming part.
Based in Dorchester, WORK Inc has helped adults with autism and disabilities find and keep jobs since 1965, with day programs, supported employment, and support for young people moving from school to work. A warm place to start when you're thinking about what comes after high school.
A note on these listings. This directory is informational and not an
endorsement. Programs, phone numbers, and eligibility change, so always confirm details
directly with the provider before relying on them. Nothing here is medical or legal advice.
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