County resource guide
Autism Resources in Summit County, Ohio
Local providers, school contacts, and support services for autism families in Summit County. Ohio statewide resources also apply.
Summit County — home to Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, and Fairlawn — is served by Akron Children's Hospital, a nationally recognized pediatric center and an Autism Treatment Network site. The Summit County Board of Developmental Disabilities coordinates Level One and Transitions waivers and connects families to Medicaid-funded services. Help Me Grow is available for children under 3 in Summit County. OCECD provides free IEP advocacy statewide, and Ohio's ABA insurance mandate covers commercial plans.
Immediate resources
Key contacts for Summit County
Phone numbers you can call today — no referral needed for most.
Federally funded PTI center serving Ohio families.
School evaluation
Request a School Evaluation
Under IDEA, your school district must evaluate your child for free if you request it in writing. Here’s who to contact in Summit County:
Akron Public Schools Special Ed
Serves Akron city limits in Summit County.
Contacts verified May 2026 — call to confirm current numbers
Learn how to write your evaluation request →Provider directory
Local Providers10 providers in Summit 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.
Akron
Akron Children's Hospital — Autism Services
Akron Children's Hospital is northeast Ohio's premier pediatric health system and a primary resource for Summit County autism evaluations. The hospital's developmental-behavioral pediatrics team conducts comprehensive autism assessments with multidisciplinary support from psychology, speech-language pathology, and OT. Consistently ranked among the nation's top children's hospitals.
Expect waitlists for comprehensive evaluations — ask about community-based evaluation options or urgent evaluation pathways.
Early Intervention (0–3)
Free services for children under 3 under IDEA Part C.
Akron
Summit County Help Me Grow — Early Intervention
Ohio's Help Me Grow program provides IDEA Part C early intervention for Summit County children birth to age 3 with developmental delays or disabilities. Free evaluations, service coordination, speech, OT, PT, and family support delivered in natural environments including the home and community. Administered through Summit County DD Board.
FREE under federal law (IDEA Part C). No diagnosis required — call as soon as you have developmental concerns about a child under 3.
ABA therapy
Applied Behavior Analysis therapy — typically requires insurance authorization.
Akron · multi-county
Autism Learning Partners — Akron
Center-based and in-home ABA therapy serving Summit County. BCBA-supervised with naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention approaches. Accepts most commercial insurance and Ohio Medicaid. Ohio requires commercial insurers to cover ABA therapy for autism.
Ohio's ABA insurance mandate applies to commercial plans. Ohio Medicaid accepted.
Cleveland · multi-county
Centria Autism — Cleveland
In-home and center-based ABA therapy in the Cleveland metro. BCBA-supervised. Accepts most commercial insurance and Ohio Medicaid.
Brunswick · multi-county
Centria Autism — Medina/Brunswick
In-home and center-based ABA therapy serving Medina County. Part of Centria's northeast Ohio network. BCBA-supervised. Accepts most commercial insurance and Ohio Medicaid.
Canton · multi-county
Hopebridge — Canton
Center-based ABA therapy in the Canton area. BCBA-supervised therapy with a multidisciplinary approach integrating speech and OT services. Accepts most commercial insurance and Ohio Medicaid.
Kent · multi-county
Hopebridge — Kent/Portage County
Center-based ABA therapy serving Portage County families in the Kent and Ravenna area. BCBA-supervised with multidisciplinary approach. Accepts most commercial insurance and Ohio Medicaid.
Parent & family support
Parent groups, sibling programs, and family peer support.
Akron · multi-county
Autism Society of Greater Akron
Active Akron-area chapter with parent support groups, social skills programs, resource navigation, and family events across Summit County. Connected to the Autism Society of Ohio statewide network and the OhioASD resource directory.
Advocacy & legal
Legal advocates, special education advocates, and disability rights organizations.
Marion · multi-county
Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities (OCECD)
Ohio's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center. OCECD serves Medina County families at no cost with free IEP advocacy, IDEA rights training, and one-on-one support for navigating school district processes and special education disputes.
FREE. Ohio's federally funded PTI — essential before any IEP meeting or dispute.
Akron
Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board
Ohio's county-level DD Board for Summit County connects individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities to services, supports, and funding throughout the lifespan. Provides service and support administration, eligibility determination for county-funded programs, and coordination of HCBS waiver services including the SELF Waiver and Level 1 Waiver through DODD.
Ohio county DD Boards are a unique and essential local resource — no equivalent exists in most other states. Apply early for HCBS waiver services; waitlists can be long.
For providers
Be the first featured provider in Summit County
Featured listings include your logo, extended description, a direct contact button, and top placement above standard listings. Families searching for help in Summit County see you first.
Missing a provider? Submit a listing — it’s free →
School districts & government services
Public programs and school district contacts for Summit County.
School & special education
Services & benefits
- Summit DD
Ohio county-level DD system; handles waiver intake, early intervention, and adult services.
Adult services
- Summit DD
Ohio county-level DD system; handles waiver intake, early intervention, and adult services.
Respite & support
- Summit DD
Ohio county-level DD system; handles waiver intake, early intervention, and adult services.
Helpful guides
Guides for Summit 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.
Communities served
Cities in Summit County
Serving families across Summit County including Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Barberton, Tallmadge, Fairlawn, Norton, Green, Hudson and Macedonia and more.
See all Ohio resources
Waivers, PTI centers, and state programs apply to all families in Ohio.
Ohio state guide →Nearby counties in Ohio
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.
Report a correction →Help the community
Know a great provider in Summit County?
If a therapist, clinic, or specialist helped your family, tell us about them and we’ll add them to the directory so other families can find them too.
Tell us about a provider →For providers
Are you a provider serving Summit County?
Add your practice so families searching for help can find you. Listings are free.
Add your practice →