Medicaid waivers for autism in Connecticut
Connecticut residents with autism and no intellectual disability, plus a separate DDS route for those with an intellectual disability.
- Main program
- DSS Waiver for Persons with Autism, plus the DDS Individual and Family Supports Waiver
- Typical wait
- Around 2,000 autistic people waiting; no general I/DD waiting list
- Administered by
- Department of Social Services, Division of Autism Spectrum Services, alongside the Department of Developmental Services
- Phone
- (866) 433-8192
- Age rules
- Waiver services start at age 3. You can apply at any age provided there is evidence the condition existed before 18. Intelligence testing must date from before 18, and psychological testing must be within the last three years.
How to get on the list
Call (866) 433-8192, or download and complete the application and HIPAA release and send it to dds.eligibility@ct.gov, or by post to the DSS Eligibility Unit, 460 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106. Before you apply, check that your autism evaluation used a standardised diagnostic instrument — if it did not, arrange one first, because that single gap is enough to fail the application.
Open the official Connecticut page →Does autism qualify?
This is the most autism-specific program found in any state, and it is built for exactly the group other states exclude. Four requirements: a primary autism diagnosis supported by a standardised instrument such as the ADOS, CARS or GARS; a Full Scale IQ of 70 or above; substantial limitations in two or more of self-care, understanding and use of language, learning, mobility, self-direction, or capacity for independent living; and functional impairment diagnosed before 22 and expected to continue indefinitely. Two details matter enormously in practice. An evaluation that did not include a standardised autism test will not qualify you — no matter how confident the clinician was. And for children under eight, where IQ testing is unreliable, eligibility rests on the autism diagnosis and developmental delays instead.
How the waiting list works
Connecticut reports no general waiting list for intellectual and developmental disability services, but around 2,000 autistic people waiting, with roughly 1,846 on the Individual and Family Supports waiver. The more useful thing to understand is that Connecticut has deliberately built the program most states are missing. Compare it with Alabama, where the Intellectual Disabilities Waiver requires a tested IQ below 70: the same young person, with the same needs, is excluded in one state by having too high an IQ and eligible in the other for exactly that reason. If you are in Connecticut with a verbal, capable autistic family member who has been turned away from disability services elsewhere, this is the program to ask about by name. The service list gives the intent away — a specialized driving assessment and a job coach are not things you fund for someone you expect to need residential care.
- Autistic people on a waiting listaround 2,036
- Individual and Family Supports waiverroughly 1,846 waiting
- General I/DD waiting listnone reported
What it can pay for
- Clinical behavioral support services
- Respite
- Social skills groups
- Community mentor
- Life skills coach
- Job coaching
- Assistive technology
- Non-medical transportation
- Specialized driving assessment
- Individual goods and services
- Interpreter
- Personal emergency response system
Other programs worth knowing
DDS route — for those with an intellectual disability
If IQ is below 70, the Department of Developmental Services rather than the autism division is your route. Connecticut splits the two deliberately, so being refused by one does not mean being refused by the state.
Individual and Family Supports (IFS) Waiver
The DDS waiver with the largest reported queue, at roughly 1,846 people.
Connecticutproviders & resources →
Local help you can access now, while you wait.
Waivers explained →
What to do while you're on the list, and what to ask.
Sources · last checked August 2026
- Connecticut DSS — autism spectrum disorder eligibility
- Connecticut DDS — eligibility for an individual with autism and no intellectual disability
- MyPlaceCT — DDS Individual and Family Supports Waiver
Waiting lists and eligibility rules change. Always confirm current details with the agency before making decisions. If something here is out of date, tell us.