Prince George's County Launches Initiative to Connect Families With Early ASD Resources

Eight years. That is how long Prince George's County families who qualify for Maryland's Autism Waiver currently wait to receive its home and community services, according to Pathfinders for Autism, the state's largest autism advocacy organization. The waiver is full. Statewide, 5,280 people with autism are on Maryland's waiting lists. And nationally, the average child with autism spectrum disorder is not diagnosed until after age four, more than two years after the condition can first be reliably detected.

County Executive Aisha Braveboy and County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha launched "Early Connections: Early Intervention for ASD Support" on April 1 at the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building, directly targeting both of those gaps. The campaign pairs a new online local provider hub with a series of community resource fairs aimed at connecting families of children from birth to age five with screening pathways and clinical supports before the bureaucratic clock works against them.

The research behind the urgency is clear. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends autism-specific screening at 18 and 24-month well-child visits, given that 1 in 36 children will have ASD. While reliable autism diagnosis is possible as early as 18 months, the average age of diagnosis in the U.S. remains above four years, and specialists face pronounced workforce shortages. Families still experience an average wait time of over five months before a diagnosis is given. Children who miss the early window pay a measurable long-term price: children with ASD who receive early behavioral intervention before age four show significantly better language, cognitive, and adaptive outcomes than those who begin intervention after age five.

The practical path for families begins at the pediatrician's office. The validated tools used at 18 and 24-month well-child visits flag concerns that should trigger a referral for a full diagnostic evaluation. Critically, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children under the age of three who are at risk of having developmental delays may be eligible for early intervention services, and treatment for specific symptoms such as speech therapy often does not need to wait for a formal ASD diagnosis. Therapy can begin while the evaluation is still in progress.

If an evaluation does confirm ASD, families should register for Maryland's Autism Waiver immediately, well before services feel necessary. The registry line is 1-866-417-3480. With an eight-year backlog, enrolling early is not cautious planning; it is the difference between services during childhood and services in adulthood.

The county's Early Connections provider hub, accessible through the county's official website, lists local clinical and community contacts. The Children's National Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Lanham and The Arc Prince George's County are among the established local providers; The Arc's Autism Waiver coordinator can be reached at 301-322-8306.

Two resource fairs remain on the Early Connections schedule: April 15 at Spauldings Library and April 22 at Hyattsville Library. Both will connect families directly with local providers and county program staff who can walk through the referral process in person.

The county has not yet published a numeric service-delivery target tied to the campaign. What is already quantified is the cost of waiting: in Prince George's County, the families most likely to lose years on that eight-year list are the ones who enter the system latest.