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<title>The South Carolina PDD Waiver Is Closed: Why You Cannot Apply, When It Ended, and the Medicaid Path That Replaced It for ABA Therapy | Achieving Stars Therapy</title>
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<div class="hero"><div class="hero-inner"><span class="location-badge">South Carolina Funding</span><h1>The PDD Waiver Is Closed. Here Is What Replaced It.</h1><p>South Carolina's Pervasive Developmental Disorder waiver no longer accepts new applicants. It was terminated, and existing participants were moved to other programs. If you are trying to fund ABA therapy, the waiver is not your path.</p></div></div>
<div class="quick-info"><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Status</div><div class="info-value">Terminated</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">New Applicants</div><div class="info-value">Not accepted</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Expired</div><div class="info-value">May 2022</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Use Instead</div><div class="info-value">Medicaid EPSDT</div></div></div>
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<section><p>The PDD Waiver was South Carolina's Medicaid home and community based services waiver for children with pervasive developmental disorder, now folded into the broader autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Parents still get told to apply and get on the list. That advice is years out of date.</p>
<p>The federal waiver record lists it as <strong>terminated</strong>, with an expiration date of May 31, 2022. The <a href="https://scautism.org/get-started/aba-therapy/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">South Carolina Autism Society</a> says it plainly: no longer accepting new applicants, no new waiver slots being assigned, existing participants transitioned to other programs.</p>
<div class="highlight-box"><p><strong>If a blog, a Facebook group, or a well-meaning case manager tells you to apply for the PDD Waiver to get ABA, stop.</strong> There is nothing to apply to. Time spent chasing it is time your child is not in therapy.</p></div></section>
<section><h2>What replaced it</h2><p>South Carolina folded autism services directly into Medicaid. Healthy Connections covers applied behavior analysis under EPSDT, the federal rule requiring states to cover medically necessary treatment for children. SCDHHS built a formal autism services program around this in 2017.</p>
<p>The difference matters. A waiver has a fixed number of slots and a queue. EPSDT is an entitlement.</p>
<table>
<tr><th></th><th>PDD Waiver</th><th>Medicaid EPSDT</th></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Open?</strong></td><td>No, terminated</td><td>Yes</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Slot limit</strong></td><td>Capped</td><td>None</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Covers ABA</strong></td><td>Not anymore</td><td>Yes, to age 21</td></tr>
</table></section>
<section><h2>What to do instead</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>Confirm Medicaid eligibility.</strong> Traditional Healthy Connections is income-based. If your income is too high, South Carolina has a TEFRA pathway counting only the child's own income.</li>
<li><strong>Get the diagnostic evaluation</strong> from a physician, licensed psychologist, or licensed psychoeducational specialist. It must be in person.</li>
<li><strong>Pick an ABA provider already enrolled with your plan.</strong> They submit the authorization, not you.</li>
</ol>
<p>Achieving Stars Therapy accepts South Carolina Medicaid and runs BCBA-led in-home programs across <a href="/location/states/aba-therapy-south-carolina">South Carolina</a>, including <a href="/location/city/aba-therapy-columbia-sc">Columbia</a> and <a href="/location/city/aba-therapy-charleston-sc">Charleston</a>.</p></section>
<section><h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>My child was already on the PDD Waiver. What happens?</h3><p>Existing participants were transitioned to alternative programs rather than dropped. Contact your case manager or SCDHHS to confirm what your child moved to.</p></div>
<div class="faq-item"><h3>So is there any waitlist for ABA?</h3><p>Not a waiver queue. The real-world wait is provider capacity, meaning how soon a company can staff your case. That varies, which is why it is worth asking every provider you call how soon they can actually start.</p></div>
</section>
<p class="disclaimer">PDD Waiver status verified against the federal Medicaid waiver record and the South Carolina Autism Society on July 14, 2026. Confirm current program details with SCDHHS.</p>
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<h2>Start ABA Through Medicaid Instead</h2>
<p>Free benefits check. BCBA-led, in-home, flexible day and evening scheduling.</p>
<a href="https://www.achievingstarstherapy.com/contact" class="cta-button">Check Your Coverage</a>
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<div class="cta-item"><div class="cta-item-label">Call</div><div class="cta-item-value"><a href="tel:8336663115">(833) 666-3115</a></div></div>
<div class="cta-item"><div class="cta-item-label">Email</div><div class="cta-item-value"><a href="mailto:info@achievingstarstherapy.com">info@achievingstarstherapy.com</a></div></div>
<div class="cta-item"><div class="cta-item-label">Ages</div><div class="cta-item-value">18 months to 15 years</div></div>
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