County resource guide
Autism Resources in Knox County, Tennessee
Local providers, school contacts, and support services for autism families in Knox County. Tennessee statewide resources also apply.
Knox County — home to Knoxville, Farragut, and Powell — is served by the University of Tennessee Medical Center and East Tennessee Children's Hospital for developmental evaluations. Knox County Schools provides special education and autism support programs across the district. Tennessee's Early Intervention System (TEIS) serves children under 3. STEP (Support and Training for Exceptional Parents) is Tennessee's federally funded PTI providing free IEP advocacy, and Tennessee's DIDD waivers (Employment and Community First CHOICES) coordinate Medicaid services for eligible individuals.
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 Knox County:
Knox County Schools Special Ed
Serves all of Knox County including Knoxville.
Contacts verified May 2026 — call to confirm current numbers
Learn how to write your evaluation request →Provider directory
Local Providers9 providers in Knox 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.
Maynardville · multi-county
East Tennessee Children's Hospital — Union County Referral
Union County families in Maynardville are approximately 20 miles north of Knoxville, providing excellent access to East Tennessee Children's Hospital for comprehensive autism evaluations. ETCH is the regional pediatric hub for all of East Tennessee.
Knoxville (~20 miles south) is the primary diagnostic hub. Union County families have relatively good urban access.
Early Intervention (0–3)
Free services for children under 3 under IDEA Part C.
ABA therapy
Applied Behavior Analysis therapy — typically requires insurance authorization.
Knoxville · multi-county
Autism Center of Tennessee — Knoxville
Maynardville · multi-county
Centria Autism — Union County
In-home ABA therapy serving Union County families in Maynardville and surrounding communities. BCBA-supervised individualized programs accepting TennCare and commercial insurance.
Tennessee requires commercial insurance to cover ABA therapy.
Speech therapy
Speech-language pathology, AAC, pragmatic language, and feeding.
Knoxville · multi-county
Pathways Pediatric Therapy — Speech Knoxville
Occupational therapy & sensory
Occupational therapy, sensory integration, and sensory diets.
Knoxville · multi-county
East Tennessee Children's Hospital — OT & Sensory
Parent & family support
Parent groups, sibling programs, and family peer support.
Maynardville · multi-county
Autism Tennessee — East TN / Union County
Autism Tennessee connects Union County families to the Knoxville area autism support network. Maynardville's proximity to Knoxville gives families access to the full range of East Tennessee autism resources and parent support.
Advocacy & legal
Legal advocates, special education advocates, and disability rights organizations.
Maynardville · multi-county
Support & Training for Exceptional Parents (STEP) — Union County
STEP serves Union County families with free IEP advocacy and special education rights training for families navigating Union County Schools.
FREE. Tennessee's federally funded PTI.
For providers
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School districts & government services
Public programs and school district contacts for Knox County.
School & special education
Services & benefits
- TN DIDD — Knox County Regional Office
Contact DIDD's Knoxville regional office for waiver enrollment and DD services.
Adult services
- TN DIDD — Knox County Regional Office
Contact DIDD's Knoxville regional office for waiver enrollment and DD services.
Respite & support
- TN DIDD — Knox County Regional Office
Contact DIDD's Knoxville regional office for waiver enrollment and DD services.
Helpful guides
Guides for Knox 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 Knox County
Serving families across Knox County including Knoxville, Farragut, Powell, Maryville (Blount), Oak Ridge (Anderson), Bearden, Fountain City, Halls, Powell and Corryton and more.
See all Tennessee resources
Waivers, PTI centers, and state programs apply to all families in Tennessee.
Tennessee state guide →Nearby counties in Tennessee
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 Knox 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.
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