Traditional Therapies
Just because your child is diagnosed with autism doesn't necessarily mean you to rush to start intervention, but chances are it could be helpful. I have listed below some providers I have personal experience with, as well as some that have a great reputation within the local special needs community.
Speech Therapy
For a lot of parents, speech therapy is the first intervention you will hear about. Speech therapy can be done in a variety of settings. It can take place in a clinic, in the home or in school. Speech therapy also includes feeding therapy. I encourage every parent to do some research into "Gestalt language processing" This is a form of communication that is highly common in autistic people. Our Max is a gestalt language processor or "GLP". Discovering this with his SLP (speech therapist) has been so helpful in tailoring his therapy to him in a most beneficial way. Feeding therapy falls under the umbrella of speech therapy. Nutrition for Littles is not geared specifically towards autistic kids but her methods have helped us tremendously!!! Most of these resources are in person, although some are online websites or courses you can take.
Does your child need an AAC (Augmentative Alternative Communication) device? We were fortunate enough to have an amazing SLP who worked with our insurance to get our AAC ordered and covered almost entirely by insurance. I know this will not be everyone's experience. I have linked below a helpful resource to hopefully make the process less painful.
I will also mention that if your child is enrolled in the school system, they can get an iPAD with an AAC application on it. The iPAD is theirs to use, both at home, and in school.
*Katie Beckett Funds can be used to cover the cost of an AAC!
Occupational
Therapy
Behavioral
Therapy
If you find yourself in the world or behavioral or "ABA" therapy, you will no doubt hear that it can sometime be considered controversial. I encourage you to do your own research on ABA to see if it's the right fit for your child. I also encourage you to learn what practices are "neuro affirming" and which are not. I am listing only two ABA providers that I have either had personal experience with, or have heard great things about. We had a wonderful experience with ABA and Max truly loved going.
The state of TN also offers a program called Regional Intervention Program to help with challenging behaviors. They involve the whole family in their interventions.