This page gathers autism and disability resources for families in Bergen County, New Jersey. You'll find 18 local resources listed here, alongside New Jersey statewide programs and nationwide services, all verified and in one place. For children under three, New Jersey's starting point is the New Jersey Early Intervention System; 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.
A free helpline staffed by specialists who help you find autism evaluations, services, and support anywhere in New Jersey. If you're not sure where to start, they'll listen to your situation and point you to the right next step.
A statewide hospital program offering autism screening, diagnostic evaluations, and early intervention across its New Jersey sites. Trained providers assess how your child plays, communicates, and interacts, and connect you with speech, occupational, and psychology services as needed.
State-funded Child Evaluation Centers providing comprehensive developmental and autism evaluations for children from birth through adolescence. Their teams use structured observations and standardized testing to give families clear answers and a path forward.
An autism diagnostic center in southern New Jersey offering formal evaluations and in-person testing for children ages 4 and up, plus adolescents and adults. After testing, they provide individualized recommendations and help connecting you to community resources.
New Jersey's free statewide program for babies and toddlers from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or disabilities. Call the statewide referral line and a service coordinator will talk through your concerns and set up evaluations at no cost to your family.
A long-established Paramus-based autism organization that provides screenings and comprehensive diagnostic evaluations using gold-standard tools like the ADOS. They serve Bergen County families and offer consultations with licensed psychologists.
This is the regional office that arranges early intervention services right here in Bergen County (along with Hudson and Passaic). They help connect your child to therapists and a service coordinator who walks the process with your family.
Run by Bergen County's Valley Health System, this clinic offers focused, faster autism evaluations for young children ages 24 to 48 months, helping families avoid the long waits many face for a diagnosis. A referral from your child's pediatrician is needed to get started.
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.
ACNJ's staff attorneys offer a plain-language Basic Guide to Special Education and limited personal help for NJ parents with questions about their child's IEP and school services. Their special education specialist provides bilingual (English/Spanish) assistance.
Based in Newark, the Education Law Center works to make sure students with disabilities receive the full range of services they're owed under IDEA, offering know-your-rights guides and pro bono legal help. Their guide 'The Right to Special Education in New Jersey' is available free in English and Spanish.
The state's Office of Special Education explains your parental rights under IDEA and offers a Special Education Ombudsman and Family Support Specialist who can answer questions and help resolve disputes with your school district. It's the official place to file a complaint or request mediation.
SPAN is New Jersey's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, where staff help you understand your child's special education rights, prepare for IEP meetings, and connect with other parents. Their support and resources are free for NJ families.
Free civil legal assistance for lower-income New Jersey families, including help with special education, IEP meetings, and school discipline disputes. One statewide hotline connects you to your local legal-services office.
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.
The state's official starting point for connecting your child with autism to therapy, care management, and developmental services at every age. It links you to PerformCare for behavioral care, Project Child Find for evaluations, and other state programs.
Based in Hackensack, this children's hospital program provides comprehensive evaluations for autism, ADHD, and other developmental concerns, assessing communication, motor skills, behavior, and social interaction. They connect families to therapy and support after diagnosis.
A hospital-based center in Paramus where a team of specialists evaluates and treats developmental delays and autism, with speech, occupational, physical, and feeding therapy all under one roof. A social worker walks you through intake by phone before any evaluations are scheduled.
PerformCare is New Jersey's around-the-clock access point for reaching behavioral, in-home, and developmental disability services for children with autism, and can help you start eligibility for treatment supports. You can call any time, day or night, and no application is required to begin behavioral health services in a crisis.
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.
LSNJ provides free civil legal help to lower-income New Jerseyans, including appeals for SSI and disability benefits, Medicaid coverage, and other public-benefit problems. One free statewide hotline connects you to help near you.
NJ ABLE lets people with disabilities save and invest money for disability-related expenses without losing SSI, Medicaid, or other benefits, with tax-free growth. It's run by the state's Division of Disability Services, and you can open an account by phone or online.
New Jersey's DDD runs two Medicaid home- and community-based waiver programs that fund supports like day services, respite, and in-home help based on your loved one's assessed needs. Call the Division to ask about eligibility and how to get started.
This state program gives family caregivers a short-term or periodic break from the daily demands of caring for a loved one, with fees on a sliding scale based on income. Call the Aging & Disability Resource Connection to reach the program in your county.
NJ ABLE is the state-sponsored savings account that lets your family set money aside for disability-related expenses without risking SSI or Medicaid eligibility. Earnings grow tax-free when used for things like education, housing, and personal support.
New Jersey's state agency runs the Medicaid-funded Supports Program and Community Care (HCBS) waiver, which can pay for respite, behavioral supports, and other in-home services so your child can live and grow at home. Their step-by-step page walks you through eligibility and how to apply through the office that serves Bergen County.
When you're not sure where to start, this state helpline connects you with a live, trained specialist who can point you toward respite funding, benefits, and programs like NJ ABLE. It's a warm, single front door for families navigating the system.
NNJLS gives free civil legal help to lower-income Bergen County families, including problems with public benefits like Medicaid and SSI. If a benefit is denied or you need help protecting your child's eligibility, their intake line can connect you with an attorney at no cost.
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 statewide nonprofit and the go-to hub for New Jersey autism families, offering a free helpline that connects you to services, referrals, support groups, and answers to your questions. Their team can point you toward local resources and community programs no matter where in NJ you live.
A New Jersey 501(c)(3) that supports families touched by autism and developmental disabilities through over 30 statewide programs, including weekend respite getaways and community inclusion outings. They also help families navigate services and connect with others facing similar journeys.
The state agency that funds and coordinates services for New Jersey residents with developmental disabilities, including respite, family support, and home- and community-based supports. Their staff can help you understand eligibility and apply for the services your family needs.
A New Jersey nonprofit that runs a monthly parent support group plus hundreds of free recreation events, dances, and family gatherings across the state each year. It's a warm place to meet other autism parents and give your child fun, welcoming activities.
A trusted Paramus-based autism organization serving Bergen County families for over 35 years, with on-site workshops for parents of newly diagnosed children and in-home parent training and clinical support. A warm first call if you're just getting started.
A statewide nonprofit offering after-school care, Saturday recreation, and respite so autism families across New Jersey get both support and a break. They also host the Annual Autism Beach Bash, the largest gathering of autism families in the state.
The Ridgewood Y offers adaptive swim, fitness, social, and life-skills programs built with local parents and autism experts, giving Bergen County kids and adults a friendly place to move, learn, and connect. They also keep a community resource list for families.
A River Vale-based nonprofit that has served Bergen County families for 40 years, offering family respite so caregivers can take a needed break, plus recreation and adult day programs for people with developmental disabilities. Respite can happen in your home or in the community.
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.
DVRS helps your teen or adult with a disability find and keep a job, offering career counseling, job coaching, supported employment, and pre-employment transition services for students starting at age 14. All services are provided at no cost to you.
PLAN|NJ helps families answer the hardest question, who will care for my child when I'm gone. They administer special needs trusts, offer life-planning consultations, and provide guardianship and care coordination so your loved one stays secure long after you.
New Jersey's university center on disability offers a clear, parent-friendly timeline that maps out what to plan and when as your child moves toward adult life, from guardianship decisions to state agency services. Available free in English and Spanish.
The official New Jersey Courts guide to adult guardianship walks families through what guardianship means, limited versus full guardianship, and how to petition through your county surrogate's office when a loved one turns 18 and cannot make all decisions alone. It explains the process step by step in plain terms.
This statewide nonprofit helps families answer the question of who will care for their loved one when they no longer can, by administering special needs trusts and, when family cannot, serving as legal guardian. It is a trusted resource for long-term financial and life planning.
Based in Oakland in Bergen County, REED runs the PATH program, a two-year, college-based certificate for young adults with autism ages 18 to 21 hosted on Felician University's campus, building job readiness and independent-living skills. It is approved by the state and registered as a DDD vendor.
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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