Three steps. Start with a free screening to find out whether a full evaluation is warranted. If it is, we coordinate that evaluation with a licensed psychologist, usually within about two weeks instead of the six months most Indianapolis families wait. Then we help you read the results, verify your insurance benefits, and begin ABA therapy if it is a good fit. Step one costs nothing and carries no obligation. Our office near 96th and Keystone serves families across the Indianapolis metro, including Washington, Lawrence, Pike, and Warren townships.
The screening is free. Always, regardless of your insurance. If a full evaluation is the right next step, a full evaluation costs $1,000 out of pocket. Sunpetal does not bill insurance for autism evaluations. If you have Indiana Medicaid, we will refer you to a provider who can evaluate at no cost to you, and you are still welcome to start ABA therapy with us afterward. We tell you which path applies to you at the screening, before you have spent anything.
In Indiana, an autism diagnosis must come from a licensed developmental pediatrician, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Indiana Medicaid will not authorize ABA therapy without one. This matters because many providers advertise autism "testing" without being licensed to diagnose. Sunpetal performs the screening and coordinates the evaluation with a licensed psychologist who can issue a diagnosis. Our team delivers the therapy that follows.
No, and this costs Indianapolis families months. An evaluation from IPS or from Washington, Lawrence, Pike, or Warren Township schools determines whether your child qualifies for special education services under IDEA. It is free, thorough, and worth requesting in writing. But it produces an educational eligibility determination, not a medical diagnosis. Your insurance will not authorize ABA therapy on a school determination alone.
Most Indiana families wait 6 to 12 months, and some developmental pediatricians book 18 months out. Indiana has a faster public option most parents have never heard of: the Early Autism Evaluation Hub system, run by IU School of Medicine, is a statewide network of primary care physicians trained in autism diagnosis, averaging 3 to 4 months from referral to evaluation for children aged 14 to 48 months. Sunpetal's free screening has no waitlist at all, and the evaluations we coordinate typically happen within about two weeks.
Children develop at their own pace. Watch for limited or delayed speech, not responding to their name by 24 months, little eye contact or back-and-forth interaction, repeating words or movements, strong reactions to sounds or textures or routine changes, difficulty with pretend play or playing alongside other children, or losing skills they previously had. If you have a gut feeling something is different, that counts. Parents notice first, and they are often right.