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<title>How Long Is the Wait for an Autism Evaluation at KU Health System or Children's Mercy? What Is Actually Published, Who to Call, and How to Shorten the Wait | Achieving Stars Therapy</title>
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<div class="hero"><div class="hero-inner"><span class="location-badge">Kansas Diagnosis</span><h1>Autism Evaluation Wait Times in Kansas</h1><p>Here is the honest answer: neither the University of Kansas Health System nor Children's Mercy publishes a current wait time for an autism evaluation. Anyone quoting you a precise number is guessing, or repeating something from years ago.</p></div></div>
<div class="quick-info"><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">KU Intake</div><div class="info-value">913-588-1227</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Children's Mercy</div><div class="info-value">816-234-3674</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Published wait</div><div class="info-value">None</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Get on</div><div class="info-value">Multiple lists</div></div></div>
<div class="content">
<section><p>Parents want a number. For an autism spectrum disorder evaluation, that number does not exist publicly, and it is worth being straight about it rather than inventing one.</p>
<p>What Children's Mercy does say about its comprehensive evaluation is that the wait "can be long," anywhere from several weeks to several months. That is the hospital's own language. The widely circulated "about four months at KU" figure traces to a single hospital blog post from <strong>2020</strong>. Six years old. Do not plan around it.</p></section>
<section><h2>Who to call</h2><ul>
<li><strong>KU Health System, Child Development Unit: (913) 588-1227.</strong> A physician referral and records are generally required.</li>
<li><strong>KU Autism Diagnostic Team: (913) 588-6338.</strong> KU has trained dozens of diagnostic teams statewide, including a telemedicine model built specifically to cut wait times for rural families.</li>
<li><strong>Children's Mercy Autism Clinic: (816) 234-3674.</strong> Provider referral or self-referral. Note Children's Mercy is designated as an autism center by <em>Missouri</em>, and serves Kansas families across the state line.</li>
</ul></section>
<section><h2>How to actually shorten the wait</h2><ol>
<li><strong>Get on more than one list.</strong> There is no penalty for holding two appointments and cancelling one. Families who call a single hospital and wait are the ones who wait longest.</li>
<li><strong>Ask about the cancellation list.</strong> Every clinic has one. Very few parents ask. Say you can come on short notice, and mean it.</li>
<li><strong>Ask about the telemedicine diagnostic teams</strong>, especially outside Kansas City or Wichita. That program exists precisely because the in-person queues are long.</li>
<li><strong>Ask your pediatrician what they can do.</strong> Some developmental evaluations do not require a hospital autism center at all.</li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-box"><p><strong>The evaluation is a gate for insurance, not a gate for help.</strong> While you wait, early intervention is available with no diagnosis and no waitlist. Kansas runs tiny-k for children under 3, free regardless of income. The statewide referral line is <strong>1-800-332-6262</strong>, and a parent can refer their own child.</p></div></section>
<section><h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>What should I do the day I get the diagnosis?</h3><p>Request the full written evaluation report, not just the diagnosis letter. Every downstream step, including insurance authorization, needs the report. Families who ask weeks later lose weeks.</p></div>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>How fast can therapy start after that?</h3><p>Most families who call Achieving Stars Therapy begin applied behavior analysis within about two weeks. Sessions run in the home, 8am to 8pm, across <a href="/location/states/aba-therapy-kansas">Kansas</a>, including <a href="/location/city/aba-therapy-wichita-ks">Wichita</a> and <a href="/location/city/aba-therapy-olathe-ks">Olathe</a>.</p></div>
</section>
<p class="disclaimer">Phone numbers verified against the health systems' own sites on July 14, 2026. No current wait time is published by either institution; figures circulating online are dated. Call to confirm.</p>
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