Resources
Answers, Honestly.
The questions families actually ask — including the hard ones. If yours isn't here, ask us.
Getting Started — timelines, staff
Insurance
The Therapy — what it is, hours, settings, progress
Your Child's Stage — turning six, starting at seven
Local Support
Help that has nothing to do with us.
These are the programs and organizations we'd point you to whether or not you ever become a Propel family. We're not affiliated with any of them — have a look and see what fits.
Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)
For children under three
Texas ECI serves children from birth to 36 months with developmental delays or a diagnosis that affects development.
You do not need a diagnosis or a doctor's referral. Anyone can make a referral, including you. Most parents wait months for a pediatrician to start a process they could have started themselves.
Evaluations are free. If your child qualifies for ongoing services, families share costs on a sliding scale based on income, and many pay nothing.
School Support and Your Child's Rights
For school-age children
In Texas, the IEP team meeting is called an ARD — Admission, Review and Dismissal. Your child's school will use that word; now you know it.
Ask for an evaluation in writing. A written request starts a legal timeline the district has to meet. A conversation at pickup doesn't.
An IEP changes what and how your child is taught. A 504 changes the conditions they're taught under. Which one fits depends on whether your child needs specialized instruction or access supports.
Texas requires transition planning in your child's IEP by their 14th birthday — two years earlier than federal law. If your child is approaching 14 and you haven't heard the word "transition," ask.
Texas Medicaid and Waivers
For families at any stage
STAR Kids is Texas Medicaid for children with disabilities, and it covers ABA when medically necessary for children under 21.
Put your child on the waiver interest lists now, even if you don't think you'll qualify. Some lists run more than fifteen years. You can decline when their name comes up. You cannot get back the years you didn't spend waiting. The interest list line is 1-877-438-5658.
Waiver programs cover what standard Medicaid doesn't: respite, attendant care, and support that follows a child at home rather than in a facility.
Parent Support Groups
For families at any stage
Texas Parent to Parent will match you one-to-one with another parent whose child has a similar diagnosis, at no cost. It is the closest thing to being handed a guide by someone who has already walked it.
Local groups are where families trade the things nobody puts in a pamphlet: which pediatricians listen, which dentists will see an autistic child, what a good ARD meeting feels like.
Autism Moms of Houston is one of the larger networks in the area, with more than 10,000 caregivers and regular events across the metro.