Depending on where you live I would suggest that you take the therapy order and look for as many speech/ot centers that you can call them up and ask how long the wait list is. Go with the one that has the wait list with the least amount of time. Check hospitals, clinics and centers nearby your home as well. In the meantime if you have down time at home check out zacbrowser.com its a fantastic resource to help you with your child and their speech. Good Luck!

I once was told that the "squeaky wheel gets the oil" and is so true, all you have to do is call often and e-mail often.

Get on several lists. Then call frequently (once a week) to see if a spot has opened yet. Always be respectful when you talk to them but its ok to be desperate. But frankly a 3 month wait is not long in this world of too many autistic kids and not enough providers. In our area, we've waited years for a speech therapist. But it was pretty easy to get an OT. I only waited a couple years for funding but I also got my senator's help. I know people that have waited 10 years for that.

Moving up on those lists with the state is hard. To be quite honest EVERY single person I encounter in terms of case workers I am EXTREMELY friendly with them and always place a sense of urgency (which I'm sure you do). Typically I am also very diligent we're talking maybe 6-10 emails a week on what the status is. I've found the more you pry the faster things get done.

It is different for every state so it's hard to say what you can do to bypass this. If I were you I would try to seek local help as well. Typically there are many groups and therapy organizations who can help before your services kick in.

Also perhaps your private insurance... you may want to see if they will cover anything.

Hope this helps.

We has OT, SLP, and are starting ABA. I do a lot of the TEACCH stuff myself and I have found an amazing book called An Early Start for your child with Autism it has really great info and step by step help.