County resource guide
Autism Resources in Clay County, Minnesota
Local providers, school contacts, and support services for autism families in Clay County. Minnesota statewide resources also apply.
Clay County — home to Moorhead, Dilworth, and Glyndon — shares the Fargo-Moorhead metro with North Dakota's Cass County. Sanford Health and Essentia Health both provide developmental evaluation services in the metro. Moorhead Area Public Schools serves children with disabilities. Minnesota's Early Intervention program is available through county services. PACER Center provides free IEP advocacy, and the cross-border metro provides broader provider access for families.
Provider directory
Local Providers16 providers in Clay County
About our listings
Provider listings on Autism Parent Club are submitted by practices or researched from public sources. All listings are reviewed for accuracy before publication. To suggest a correction, use the “Suggest a correction” link below.
Diagnostic clinics
Formal autism evaluations by developmental pediatricians, psychologists, or neuropsychologists.
Ada · multi-county
Altru Health System — Developmental Referral (Grand Forks)
Altru Health System in Grand Forks, ND provides the nearest comprehensive autism evaluations for Norman County families. Telehealth intake and in-person evaluations serve the Ada and Halstad areas of northwest Minnesota.
Cross-border care in Grand Forks, ND — nearest comprehensive developmental center.
Moorhead
Sanford Health — Pediatric Developmental Services, Moorhead
Sanford Health is the dominant health system in the Fargo-Moorhead metro, providing pediatric developmental evaluations and autism assessments on the Minnesota side in Moorhead. Clay County families benefit from a large regional medical system serving both North Dakota and Minnesota.
Sanford's Fargo campus has more specialist availability — ask about cross-border evaluation options for ND/MN families in the metro area.
Early Intervention (0–3)
Free services for children under 3 under IDEA Part C.
Moorhead
Clay County Early Intervention — ECSE Program
Clay County's Early Childhood Special Education program provides free developmental evaluations and services for children birth through age 5 under IDEA. Works with Moorhead Public Schools and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton districts for smooth early intervention access.
FREE under IDEA Part C/B. Contact Clay County Public Health to begin the referral process.
ABA therapy
Applied Behavior Analysis therapy — typically requires insurance authorization.
Detroit Lakes · multi-county
Bluestone Physician Services — Becker County
Bluestone Physician Services provides ABA and behavioral health services reaching Becker County. In-home and telehealth-supported ABA for families in Detroit Lakes and rural Becker County. Accepts Minnesota Medical Assistance and commercial insurance.
Minnesota requires commercial insurance to cover ABA. Telehealth is especially practical in this rural lake-country county.
Moorhead
Bluestone Physician Services — Moorhead Autism Services
ABA and behavioral health services serving Clay County and the Fargo-Moorhead region. BCBA-supervised with in-home and community-based options. Accepts Minnesota Medical Assistance and commercial insurance per Minnesota's ABA coverage mandate.
Minnesota requires commercial insurance to cover ABA. Cross-border families should verify coverage for MN vs. ND Medicaid.
Breckenridge · multi-county
Bluestone Physician Services — Wilkin County
Telehealth and in-home ABA services for Wilkin County families in this Red River Valley border region. BCBA-supervised programming accepting Minnesota Medical Assistance and commercial insurance under Minnesota's ABA mandate.
Cross-border families: MN and ND Medicaid have separate coverage rules for ABA. Minnesota requires commercial insurance to cover ABA.
Mental health
Therapists and psychiatrists experienced with autistic children and adults.
Ada · multi-county
Lakeland Mental Health Center — Norman County
Lakeland Mental Health Center serves Norman County with outpatient mental health and behavioral health services for individuals with autism and co-occurring conditions. Therapy and psychiatric support available in Ada with telehealth options.
Crookston · multi-county
Lakeland Mental Health Center — Polk County
Lakeland Mental Health Center provides outpatient mental health and behavioral health services for Polk County including children and adults with autism. Therapy, psychiatric evaluation, and case management available in Crookston.
Parent & family support
Parent groups, sibling programs, and family peer support.
Ada · multi-county
Autism Society of Minnesota — Norman County Support
Autism Society of Minnesota provides helpline services, peer support, and resource referrals for Norman County families in one of Minnesota's most rural and isolated regions. Virtual connections and statewide resources help bridge the service gap.
FREE helpline. Essential resource for extremely rural NW Minnesota families.
Crookston · multi-county
Autism Society of Minnesota — Northwest Outreach
Autism Society of Minnesota offers helpline services, virtual peer support, and resource navigation for Polk County families. Assists with finding evaluators, waiver programs, and connecting to the broader Minnesota autism community.
FREE helpline. Virtual support available for rural northwest Minnesota.
Moorhead
Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) — Red River Valley
AuSM connects Clay County and the Fargo-Moorhead region's Minnesota families to statewide support networks, social programming, and advocacy. The Red River Valley chapter serves both the urban Moorhead area and rural Clay County communities.
Contact AuSM for Red River Valley chapter contacts and support group schedules.
Advocacy & legal
Legal advocates, special education advocates, and disability rights organizations.
Ada · multi-county
Northwest Service Cooperative — Norman County Special Ed
The Northwest Service Cooperative provides special education support and consultation for Norman County districts, assisting with autism evaluations, IEP development, and school programming across northwest Minnesota.
Thief River Falls · multi-county
Northwest Service Cooperative — Special Education
The Northwest Service Cooperative (NWSC) supports Polk County school districts with special education consultation, evaluation, and programming for students with autism. Provides regional support across northwest Minnesota counties.
Detroit Lakes · multi-county
PACER Center — Becker County & Northwest MN
PACER Center serves all Minnesota families statewide including those in Becker County. Free IEP advocacy, training, and remote consultation for families navigating Detroit Lakes area school districts.
FREE. Federally funded PTI serving all 87 MN counties statewide.
Moorhead
PACER Center — Clay County & Northwest MN Families
PACER Center, Minnesota's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, serves Clay County and all northwest Minnesota families with free IEP advocacy, training, and one-on-one support. Essential resource for families navigating Moorhead Public Schools or Clay County special education.
FREE. Federally funded PTI serving all 87 MN counties statewide.
Breckenridge · multi-county
PACER Center — Wilkin County & Red River Valley
PACER Center provides free IEP advocacy and virtual consultation for Wilkin County families navigating Breckenridge area schools. Cross-border families should note that PACER specifically covers Minnesota schools and IDEA rights.
FREE. Federally funded PTI serving all 87 MN counties statewide.
For providers
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Helpful guides
Guides for Clay County families
Step-by-step help on the topics that matter most.
School & IEP
Navigating the IEP process
Your rights under IDEA, how evaluations work, and what every IEP section means.
Finding help
ABA, OT, speech and waitlists
How to find qualified providers, navigate insurance, and get off waitlists faster.
Getting started
Where to start after diagnosis
A week-by-week checklist for the first 90 days — from evaluation to early intervention.
Benefits & money
SSI, Medicaid waivers, ABLE accounts
Federal benefits your child may qualify for and how to apply without losing your spot.
Mental health
Co-occurring conditions and support
Managing anxiety, ADHD, and depression alongside an autism diagnosis.
Daily life
Sensory processing and OT
Understanding sensory needs, sensory diets, and how occupational therapy helps.
Adulthood
Employment, housing, legal planning
Supported employment, housing options, guardianship alternatives, and ABLE accounts.
See all Minnesota resources
Waivers, PTI centers, and state programs apply to all families in Minnesota.
Minnesota state guide →Nearby counties in Minnesota
See something that needs fixing?
Providers move, phone numbers change, and links break — it happens. If anything on this page is out of date, wrong, or no longer working, please tell us and we’ll fix it. Keeping this accurate for autism families is the whole reason we’re here.
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