Some of what we offer is money. Some of it is us doing the paperwork with you. Some of it is just a straight answer from someone who has seen it before. All of it is free to ask for.
Financial grant
We may be able to pay a cost on your behalf. Funding is limited and reviewed case by case.
Hands-on assistance
We do the work with you — paperwork, phone calls, and follow-up. Always free.
Free guidance
Straight answers from people who do this every day. Always free, nothing to sell you.
Your insurance decides how long you wait
This is the part almost nobody explains. Many clinics keep separate waitlists by insurance. The wait for a diagnostic evaluation on Medicaid is often far longer than the wait at the very same clinic for a child with commercial coverage — and some providers take only a limited number of Medicaid families, or none at all.
It is not only diagnosis. Which ABA, speech, occupational and physical therapy providers will take your child, and which medical specialists you can reach outside your current network, all move with your coverage.
So when a family tells us they have been waiting a year, the first question we ask is not "where are you on the list" — it is "what would this look like on a different plan". Sometimes the answer changes everything. Sometimes it changes nothing, and we will say so.
You can often keep Medicaid alongside a commercial plan — the access of one with the low out-of-pocket cost of the other. Worth asking us about before you drop anything.
Insurance premium help — shorter waits, more providers
Getting your child seen sooner, by more of the providers you actually want.
Financial grant
The premium is not really the point — access is. Many clinics keep separate waitlists by insurance, and the wait for a diagnostic evaluation on Medicaid is often far longer than the same clinic’s wait for a child with commercial coverage. Some good providers take only a limited number of Medicaid families, or none. Commercial coverage can also widen who your child can see for speech, occupational and physical therapy, and for medical specialists outside your current network. Where the monthly premium is the only thing standing between your child and that access, we may be able to carry it.
Who it is for: Families whose child is waiting too long, or cannot get in to the providers they need, and who have access to a commercial plan they cannot afford to carry.
What we do
·Work out whether commercial coverage would genuinely get your child seen sooner — we call the clinics and ask what each waitlist actually looks like
·Check which ABA, speech, OT, PT and medical providers open up under the plan, and which you would lose
·Confirm the plan really covers ABA, and at what number of hours, before anyone commits to it
·Look at whether you can keep Medicaid alongside a commercial plan, which often gives you the access of one and the low out-of-pocket cost of the other
·Pay the premium directly where approved, so coverage never lapses mid-treatment
What we will need from you
○Which providers you have contacted and what you were told about waiting
○Your current coverage, and details of any plan you have access to
○The monthly premium amount
○Household size and monthly income
Commercial coverage is not automatically better — it can mean higher out-of-pocket costs, and for some families Medicaid or ATAP is the stronger route. We will tell you honestly if that is your situation. Funding is limited and every request is reviewed case by case.
We complete and file the state autism funding application with you.
Hands-on assistance
The Autism Treatment Assistance Program is the main state funding source for autism treatment in Nevada. The application is not hard so much as unforgiving — the diagnostic report has to contain specific things, and proof of residency has to be in the right form.
Who it is for: Any Nevada family whose child has an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, or is waiting on one.
What we do
·Fill the real ATAP application from answers you give once
·Check the diagnostic report contains the developmental history, observations, and test scores ATAP requires
·Tell you exactly which office to send it to and what to bring
·Stay with you through intake and follow up if it stalls
What we will need from you
○The full written diagnostic evaluation, not just a letter
○Proof of Nevada residency — a utility bill, pay stub, or lease
○Your insurance or Medicaid card
ATAP does not apply financial requirements to families already on Nevada Medicaid.
Regional center eligibility and home-and-community-based services.
Hands-on assistance
Desert Regional Center opens the door to supports that follow your child into adulthood — service coordination, respite, family training, and eventually job and residential supports. The packet is the obstacle: DRC will not accept an application with anything missing, and gaps can stop an eligibility determination outright.
Who it is for: Clark County families whose child has a disability that substantially limits everyday functioning in several areas.
What we do
·Build the packet and check it against DRC’s own checklist before it goes in
·Help you describe your child’s functional limitations in the terms DRC assesses
·Point you to the right regional center if you are outside Clark County
·Explain what waiver services exist and which are worth pursuing
What we will need from you
○Medical documentation of the disability and its functional effects
○School records including the current IEP
○Three recent pay stubs and last year’s tax return for the household
○Birth certificate and Social Security card
Eligibility requires the condition to have begun before age 22 and to substantially limit at least three areas of adaptive functioning.
Medicaid for your child without your income counting against it.
Hands-on assistance
Katie Beckett lets a child under 19 qualify for Nevada Medicaid on their own medical need, setting parental income aside. It exists for children who would qualify in an institution but are cared for at home. It is the least understood of the three, and the one families most often start in the wrong place.
Who it is for: Children with significant medical or care needs who were denied Medicaid because the parents earn too much.
What we do
·Walk you through the SSI denial you need first — including telling Social Security it is for Katie Beckett, which is the step that costs families a year when it is missed
·Prepare the full packet: the assistance application, the disability questionnaire, and the release forms
·Act as your authorized representative if you want us to, so we can chase the case directly
·Check in with the Katie Beckett supervisor after it is submitted
What we will need from you
○The formal SSI denial letter, once you have it
○Medical records showing the level of care your child needs
○Last year’s tax return and three months of pay stubs for every parent on it
There is a monthly premium once approved, based on income and household size. Nevada Medicaid can also backdate coverage up to three months with proof of care in those months.
Therapy only works if your child gets there. Families driving across the valley several times a week, or in from a rural county for an evaluation, run into a cost nobody accounts for. We can help with fuel and travel.
Who it is for: Families for whom the cost or distance of travel is limiting their child’s access to care.
What we do
·Help with fuel costs for regular therapy appointments
·Help with travel for a diagnostic evaluation that is not available locally
What we will need from you
○Where you are travelling from and to, and how often
○Confirmation of the appointments from your provider or clinic
Reviewed case by case and limited by available funding.
Straight answers about what your child actually needs.
Free guidance
ABA, speech, occupational therapy, feeding therapy — what each is for, how many hours is reasonable, what a good provider looks like, and what to do when a clinic is telling you something that does not sound right. We are not a provider, so we have nothing to sell you.
Who it is for: Any family trying to work out what to do next, at any stage — including before a diagnosis.
What we do
·Explain what the evidence supports and what it does not
·Help you read an evaluation, a treatment plan, or an insurance denial
·Tell you what questions to ask a clinic before you commit
·Talk through waitlists and what to do while you are on one
What we will need from you
○Nothing. Ask us a question and we will answer it.
Straight answers about who we are, who qualifies for the premium grant, and how it all works.
What is the Nevada Autism Support Alliance?
NASA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps Nevada families of children with autism get to services. That includes family navigation and education support, help understanding insurance and school options, help understanding and applying for state funding programs, and financial assistance through the premium grant program.
What is the premium grant program?
NASA covers the monthly premium for a commercial health insurance plan for a child with autism, typically around $270 a month. The goal is to give the child access to more providers, shorter waits, and lower out-of-pocket costs than they would have otherwise.
Who qualifies?
It's need-based. It's open to families on Medicaid and to families who already have commercial insurance but are struggling with copays, deductibles, or limited coverage for autism services. Priority goes to children enrolled in or prescribed an intensive therapy program such as ABA.
Will my child lose Medicaid or our current insurance?
No. Nothing gets dropped. If your child is on Medicaid, the new commercial plan becomes primary and Medicaid stays in place as secondary. If your child is already on a commercial plan through a parent, the new plan will most likely become primary for the child and your existing plan becomes secondary. Either way, the two plans work together, and the secondary plan can pick up copays and deductibles the primary leaves behind. The insurance carriers make the final call on which plan pays first, so let both plans and your providers know about the new coverage once it starts.
Will I and the rest of my family be covered by this insurance?
No. The grant pays for a policy covering only the child with autism. Parents and siblings are not on the plan, and their current coverage — whether Medicaid, an employer plan, or anything else — stays exactly as it is. If a family has more than one child with autism, each child can apply for their own grant.
Do I have to use a particular provider?
No. The grant is provider-neutral. It follows the family, and you can use any provider in the plan's network. NASA doesn't require or steer families to any clinic.
Can I use the insurance that NASA covers for my child’s other doctors and therapists?
Yes. The plan we help cover is your child's own health insurance — it works just like any other insurance plan. You can use it for all of your child's doctors, therapists, specialists and prescriptions, at any provider in the plan's network, not only for ABA. NASA doesn't limit what the insurance is used for.
Do I have to pick a specific insurance carrier?
No. Ambetter is the most common choice because of its network and pricing, but the grant can be applied to other plans.
How long will NASA pay the premiums?
The grant is month to month, not a yearly commitment. NASA reviews every grant on an ongoing basis, looking at things like available funding, whether the family still qualifies, and whether the child is enrolled in an active therapy program and maintaining good attendance at their sessions. Because funds are limited, NASA prioritizes children in intensive programs such as ABA, where the coverage makes the biggest difference in the care a child can receive. NASA reserves the right to stop covering premiums at any time, but will always give the family at least 21 days' written notice first. If the grant ends, the family can choose to keep the plan by paying the premium themselves or let it lapse. Any other coverage the child has, such as Medicaid or a parent's plan, is not affected.
What does it cost me?
The premium is covered by NASA. If you do not have any secondary coverage, such as Medicaid or another commercial plan, then you will be responsible for the copays on the new plan when there's no secondary coverage to absorb them.
My child only receives speech or OT. Can we still apply?
You can apply, but grants are limited and NASA directs them where they do the most good. Priority goes to children with a prescription for intensive services, most commonly ABA, because those are the families facing the highest costs. That's true whether the family has no commercial coverage at all or already has a plan, since copays and deductibles on 10 to 30 hours of therapy a week add up fast. A child receiving only speech or OT once or twice a week usually would not be prioritized. If your child has been recommended for ABA but hasn't started, NASA's navigator can help you find a provider.
How do I apply and how fast does it start?
You can apply using the application form link on this website. Marketplace plans generally start the first of the following month, and outside open enrollment a family may need a qualifying event to enroll. NASA will confirm the enrollment window for each family before giving a start date.
Who funds NASA, and is it connected to a clinic?
NASA is an independent nonprofit funded by donations and grants. Its president also runs an ABA clinic, which is why the program was built to be need-based and provider-neutral. Grant decisions are based on family need, not on where the child gets services.
Can you buy health insurance right now?
Outside the yearly enrollment window, you can only sign up if something specific has happened to your family — and you get 60 days from the day it happened. Most families miss it because nobody tells them the clock is running.
Tick anything that has happened in the last two months. Nothing here is saved or sent.
This is a guide, not a decision. Nevada Health Link determines who qualifies, and they will ask for proof of the date.
How funding decisions work
We are a Nevada 501(c)(3) non-profit and our funding is finite. Every request for money is reviewed case by case, and asking does not guarantee approval.
What we weigh: whether the money removes a real barrier to your child getting care, whether another program should cover it first, and how far the funds will stretch across the families waiting.
If we cannot fund something, we will say so plainly and tell you what we would do instead. We would rather give you an honest no quickly than leave you waiting on a maybe.
Ask for support
One short form. Tell us about your family, check whichever of these you are interested in, and attach your insurance card if you have it. We respond within a few business days. It is completely fine to ask for only one thing — travel and gas help on its own, for example.
