Autism Resources in Queen Anne's County, Maryland

Denton · multi-county

Kennedy Krieger Institute — Telehealth (Serving Caroline County)

Kennedy Krieger Institute, one of the nation's foremost autism centers based in Baltimore, provides telehealth evaluation and consultation services widely used by Eastern Shore families including those in Caroline County. The Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) at Kennedy Krieger offers virtual consultations that allow Caroline County families to access world-class expertise without making the 90-minute drive to Baltimore.

Telehealth available statewide. In-person in Baltimore. One of the best autism programs in the country — worth the waitlist.

Easton · multi-county

UM Shore Regional Health — Memorial Hospital at Easton

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health's Memorial Hospital at Easton serves as the medical hub for Talbot County and the mid-Shore region. Developmental referrals coordinate with UM Medical System specialists in Baltimore. Easton's location provides moderate access to Baltimore (approximately 75 minutes) compared to lower Eastern Shore counties.

Easton is the Eastern Shore's most accessible mid-point for Baltimore-area specialist access.

Denton · multi-county

UM Shore Regional Health — Memorial Hospital at Easton

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health's Memorial Hospital at Easton, in neighboring Talbot County, is the nearest regional hospital serving Caroline County families. Developmental referrals coordinate with UM Medical System specialists in Baltimore. Caroline County is the Eastern Shore's most rural inland county — families often travel to Easton (~20 minutes) or Baltimore (~90 minutes) for comprehensive autism evaluations.

Easton (~20 min from Denton) is the nearest specialist hub. Kennedy Krieger telehealth is widely used by Eastern Shore families for complex autism evaluations.

Queenstown · multi-county

UM Shore Regional Health — Queenstown Campus

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health provides the primary healthcare infrastructure for Queen Anne's County. Developmental referrals route through UM Medical System specialists in Baltimore, which is approximately 45–60 minutes via the Bay Bridge. Families on the Bay Bridge corridor have relatively better Baltimore access than the lower Eastern Shore.

Queen Anne's families have relatively good access to Baltimore specialists via the Bay Bridge corridor.

Centerville

Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program — Queen Anne's County

Free IDEA Part C early intervention for Queen Anne's County children birth to age 3. Service coordination, speech therapy, OT, developmental therapy, and family support at no cost. Administered through Queen Anne's County Health Department.

FREE. IDEA Part C entitlement. Call with any developmental concern — do not wait for a definitive diagnosis.

Easton · multi-county

ABA of Maryland — Mid-Shore Outreach

In-home ABA therapy serving Talbot County and mid-Shore communities. BCBA-supervised with naturalistic developmental approach and family training component. Accepts most commercial insurance under Maryland's ABA insurance mandate and Maryland Medicaid.

Centerville · multi-county

ABA of Maryland — Upper Shore / Bay Bridge Corridor

In-home ABA therapy serving Queen Anne's County and the Bay Bridge corridor. BCBA-supervised with naturalistic developmental approach. Accepts most commercial insurance under Maryland's ABA mandate. Proximity to Baltimore means some families choose to commute to Baltimore-based ABA centers.

Some families commute to Baltimore-based ABA centers via the Bay Bridge. In-home services serve families who can't make that trip.

Chestertown · multi-county

ABA of Maryland — Upper Shore Outreach

In-home ABA therapy extending to Kent and Queen Anne's counties on the upper Eastern Shore. BCBA-supervised services with telehealth support for family training. Maryland ABA insurance mandate applies. Given very limited local capacity, in-home delivery is standard in this rural area.

Telehealth parent training supplements in-person therapy given the sparse provider landscape on the upper Eastern Shore.

Statewide · multi-county

Low Intensity Support Services (LISS) — and DDA respite

LISS is Maryland's flexible fund for families and it is broader than most people realise: it pays for respite alongside assistive technology, childcare, home and vehicle modifications and personal care. It serves children living at home with their families and adults living in their own homes, and does not require you to hold a waiver. DDA also funds respite directly, in or out of the home, planned or in an emergency.

LISS operates on an annual application cycle with limited funds — apply as early in the fiscal year as you can rather than when you reach crisis point.

~3,000 providers nationwide

ARCH National Respite Locator

A free national database of respite providers searchable by state and locality — home care agencies, community-based organizations and state programs. The single best starting point for finding respite anywhere in the country, and it is the tool state agencies themselves point families toward.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Before you pay out of pocket, check what your state's Medicaid waiver funds — respite is covered by nearly every state waiver, and many families never think to ask.

Most states run one

Your state's Lifespan Respite Care Program

Lifespan Respite Care Programs are federally seeded, state-run programs that help families of any age and any disability find and pay for respite — often including vouchers or subsidies that do not depend on having a Medicaid waiver. Most states have one, they are chronically under-used, and they are rarely mentioned by anyone else in the system.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Search for "[your state] Lifespan Respite" or use the ARCH directory. Ask specifically about voucher or subsidy programs — that is the part families most often miss.

Centerville · multi-county

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay — Bay Bridge Region

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay serves Queen Anne's County families with peer support groups, family resource navigation, and statewide advocacy connections. The Bay Bridge location gives Queen Anne's families reasonable access to both Eastern Shore and Baltimore-area ASCHB programming.

Easton · multi-county

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay — Mid-Shore

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay provides family peer support, resource navigation, and community events for Talbot County and mid-Shore families. Easton's central Eastern Shore location makes Talbot a natural hub for regional ASCHB programming.

Denton · multi-county

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay — Mid-Shore Outreach

The Autism Society Chesapeake Bay provides peer support, family resource navigation, and community connections for Caroline County families. As Maryland's most rural Eastern Shore county, Caroline families benefit from ASCHB's virtual support groups and connections to the broader mid-Shore autism parent community in Easton and the Bay region.

Virtual participation is strongly recommended for Caroline County families given limited local programming.

Chestertown · multi-county

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay — Upper Shore

Autism Society Chesapeake Bay provides family support, peer connections, and resource navigation for Kent County and upper Eastern Shore families. Virtual support groups and statewide events supplement limited local programming in this very rural area.

Denton · multi-county

Parents' Place of Maryland (PPM) — Eastern Shore Outreach

Maryland's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, serving Caroline County families with free IEP advocacy, special education rights training, and dispute navigation. Provides phone consultations and webinars for rural Eastern Shore families. In a small county with limited local resources, PPM is often the most accessible expert resource for navigating the Caroline County school system.

FREE. Federally funded PTI. Phone and virtual support available. Essential resource before any IEP meeting in Caroline County.

Elkton · multi-county

Parents' Place of Maryland (PPM) — Upper Bay Region

Maryland's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center supporting Cecil County families with IEP advocacy, special education rights training, and dispute navigation. Provides phone consultations and webinars for families in the upper Chesapeake region.

FREE. Federally funded PTI. Serves all of Maryland.

Centerville · multi-county

The Coordinating Center — Eastern Shore

The Coordinating Center provides care coordination and advocacy for Maryland families with developmental disabilities, including Queen Anne's County. Helps families navigate DDA waiver applications, transition planning, and complex multi-agency service systems. Kennedy Krieger affiliated.

Millersville · multi-county

The Coordinating Center — Maryland

The Coordinating Center is a Maryland nonprofit (with Kennedy Krieger affiliation) that provides care coordination, family support, and advocacy for Marylanders with developmental disabilities. Helps families navigate DDA waiver waitlists, transition planning, and complex service systems across all counties including rural Eastern Shore communities.

Invaluable for navigating Maryland's DDA waiver system. Serves all Maryland counties including rural Eastern Shore.

Easton · multi-county

The Coordinating Center — Mid-Shore Region

The Coordinating Center provides DDA waiver navigation, care coordination, and family advocacy for Talbot County and mid-Shore families. Helps families access Maryland's complex disability services infrastructure from a rural setting with limited local specialist capacity.

Chestertown · multi-county

Easterseals Camp Fairlee

A residential summer camp on the Eastern Shore for children AND adults with all kinds of disability. Residential provision that continues into adulthood is scarce, and for many Maryland families this is the main option after school services end.

Easton · multi-county

Mid-Shore Challenger Sports

Organized recreation on the Eastern Shore for children and young adults with moderate to profound physical and intellectual disabilities - baseball, ten-pin bowling and therapeutic horse riding. Worth noting because provision for higher support needs is thinner than for lower.

200+ locations nationwide

ACEing Autism

Weekly Saturday tennis clinics built specifically for autistic children aged 5 to 18, run by volunteers at more than 200 locations across the country, serving over 7,000 players. Sessions run in six-week blocks of an hour. This is the clearest example of the interest-based model working: the sport supplies the structure, the turn-taking and the reason to be there, so the social side happens sideways rather than being the task.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Cost varies by location — around $120 for a six-week session at some sites, with scholarships available. Use the map on their site to find your nearest program, schedule and local contact.

~4,000 camps nationwide

American Camp Association — camp finder

A free searchable directory of close to 4,000 summer camps that can be filtered for camps serving autistic campers, by distance, session length, activities and cost. The best single starting point for finding a day or overnight camp anywhere in the country.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Registration for specialized camps typically opens December–February and popular overnight camps fill within days. Start the funding conversation in autumn.

Nationwide — find your local chapter

Best Buddies

One-to-one friendship matching between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, plus employment, leadership and inclusive living programs. Over 4,000 chapters across all 50 states, serving school-age through adult. If what your family wants is a friend rather than an activity, this is the most direct answer in the country.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

A national organization, not a local listing — use the finder on their site, or call 1-800-89BUDDY, to locate your nearest chapter.

Local affiliates across most of the country

Easterseals — camps and recreation

Day and overnight camps run through local Easterseals affiliates, several of them autism-specific, with weekend respite and family camp sessions as well. Many affiliates operate sliding-scale fees, and several camps serve adults alongside children.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Programs vary a great deal between affiliates — check what your nearest one actually runs rather than assuming the national description applies.

Week-long camps hosted nationwide

iCan Shine (iCan Bike)

Teaches people with disabilities to ride a conventional two-wheeled bicycle, using adapted roller bikes over a week-long camp that gradually transfers balance to the rider. Learning to ride a bike is a milestone a lot of autistic children are quietly written off for, and this is the program that most reliably delivers it. Camps are hosted by local organizations across the country, so availability is by host town rather than by chapter.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Check their site for host locations and dates — camps run in different towns each year, so somewhere near you may host this year and not next.

Local chapters in a number of US cities

KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now)

Volunteer-led one-to-one recreation for children and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities, at no cost to families or carers. The one-to-one model is the point: a volunteer is paired with your child for the session, which makes it workable for people who cannot manage a group setting unsupported.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Free to families. Runs through local chapters in a number of US cities rather than everywhere — check whether yours has one.

900+ divisions nationwide

Little League Challenger Division

Baseball for children and adults with a physical or intellectual disability, across more than 900 divisions. The main division serves ages 4–18, or up to 22 if still enrolled in school; the Senior League Challenger Division serves 15 and above with no upper age limit.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Use the league finder on their site to locate the nearest Challenger division, or ask about starting one.

200+ communities

Miracle League

Baseball on purpose-built accessible fields in more than 200 communities. Every player bats and every player scores, so ability differences do not decide the game.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Check their location list for the nearest field — coverage is good but not universal.

Every state — county-level programs

Special Olympics

Year-round sports training and competition at no cost to the athlete or their family, for children and adults alike. Programs run at county level in every state.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Eligibility centers on intellectual disability or a closely related developmental disability. If your child is autistic without an intellectual disability, have a direct conversation about fit before signing up rather than after.

Through local clubs and state associations

TOPSoccer (US Youth Soccer)

The Outreach Program for Soccer — recreational soccer for children and adults with intellectual, emotional or physical disabilities, usually with buddy support on the pitch. Run through ordinary local soccer clubs rather than as a separate organization.

A national programme with local chapters — we have not verified a chapter in this county. Use their finder to locate the nearest one.

Ask your state youth soccer association which local clubs run TOPSoccer — it is often not advertised on the club's own website.