Hello! I live in the Bay Area and the traffic is quite bad, so you might want to consider your commute time. We live in Richmond in the East Bay, where the rents are still somewhat affordable, but you might try to find a place in South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, or Daly City so you can be closer to work. You may be able to find something in your price range.

Our provider is covered by our insurance and if your employer claims excellent insurance, you should contact the insurance provider now to get a list of providers that are in network and start contacting/interviewing them, so you can make sure you can get services from your preferred, in network ABA provider. It is required that insurance companies cover these services, but you may have to get re-evaluated, since you are coming from another country. I would get all of that set up before you move here because it can take time to get services started and time is of the essence for your child.

I don't think the state system is necessarily group oriented, especially since your son is still so young. So I would look into that further if needed, but it sounds like you will be able to get it through your insurance. You can get answers about the state services from Help Me Grow: http://www.first5sf.org/help-me-grow-san-franci....

Feel free to message me with any other questions!

Felili

There may be an issue get some public services (like the Regional Center) if you are not considered a California resident, but if you are living here permanently, I can't see them denying service. I'm guessing they might not even ask. But your insurance would still have to cover it.

Hi! No, the state will cover services up to the age of 3 if you lack private insurance or for some reason the services offered in network are not available. They prefer your insurance cover it and from my understanding, your private options are better. Our provider does not work with regional services (state funded) because they cannot pay their therapists, who are all at least BAs in child development etc, living wages with what the state offers.
I'm grateful to know we have the states support if needed, but our insurance had a long list of great options for us. There are a lot of options here.
We got our diagnosis through the state's regional center, but I'm not sure that's necessary for you guys. I would call a few ABA providers that are covered by your insurance and ask what is the best way to go about it. Maybe your current diagnosis will suffice. Or maybe they will do the assessment.

Dear @A MyAutismTeam Member,

Again, thanks for excellent tips. I will check the eligibility link but does that mean, even with a diagnosis we might not be eligible for services?

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A MyAutis...

Dear @A MyAutismTeam Member,

Thank you so much for all the great tips! Seriously, this is gold for me.

We will definitely look into these locations as well. The thing is, the company has extensive bus lines I can use and I can use the time on the bus as working hours. Secondly, coming from Europe, I'm quite used to starting very early so I'm kind of hoping I can beat the traffice if I want to drive (I don't mind hitting the road around 6:00 to 6:30).

Our plan is that we do two trips. One for my son to get diagnosed and second when they move here for good - which I will try to make the date match the beginning of therapy. Our doctor in Istanbul also works in the States and he offered to refer us to a doctor in Bay Area. Perhaps, we'll do this before our move to start the process. Good tip!

Reading your email I have the following question; My understanding was that before age of 3, basically insurance leaves it to state. From your email I understand that it might be covered by insurance. Can you elaborate on this? Is it an option and is it better if insurance covers it?

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A MyAutis...