Getting an Autism Diagnosis in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Hampton Roads' diagnostic hub is Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk — one of the five VDH-funded interdisciplinary child development clinics in Virginia. Its developmental pediatrics program and autism diagnostic clinics evaluate children (the dedicated autism clinic focuses on children 5 and under), follow national guidelines, and connect families to an autism resource coordinator afterward. CHKD requires a physician referral.

Beyond CHKD, private psychologists and diagnostic practices across Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake offer autism evaluations, sometimes with shorter waits than the hospital clinic. Wait times at hospital-based clinics can run several months to over a year.

For children under 3, the Infant & Toddler Connection of Virginia Beach (and neighboring cities' ITC programs) evaluates based on developmental delay — no diagnosis needed to start. For school-age children, Virginia Beach City Public Schools can evaluate for educational eligibility.

Virginia's insurance mandate (any age) and Cardinal Care Medicaid both cover diagnostic evaluation; TRICARE covers it for military families.