Building Better Autism Support Across Midland & Odessa

West Texas Families Need More Than Waitlists

Over the past several months, I’ve spent a significant amount of time across Midland and Odessa continuing to build relationships, expand services, and better understand the realities families are facing throughout West Texas when trying to access autism support.

One thing has become very clear: the need is enormous.

Across conversations with pediatric providers, educators, therapy organizations, social workers, and families themselves, the same themes continue coming up over and over again — long waitlists, limited provider capacity, difficulty navigating systems, and families struggling to access services quickly enough for their children.

At the same time, what has also stood out to me is how many people across this region are genuinely working hard to improve things.

There are educators trying to support increasingly complex classroom needs. Pediatric providers trying to help families navigate developmental concerns. Community organizations trying to connect families with resources before they fall through the cracks. Therapists and support staff trying to create more access despite major operational and workforce shortages across the field.

West Texas is growing rapidly, particularly around Midland and Odessa, and with that growth comes a growing need for developmental, behavioral, and autism-related support services. Yet many families are still finding themselves stuck waiting months — and sometimes much longer — simply trying to access the help they need.

As Bright Pathways ABA continues building across West Texas, one of the things that has become increasingly important to me is not just expanding services, but understanding and strengthening the broader ecosystem surrounding families. No single provider can solve these challenges alone. Real progress will require stronger collaboration between schools, pediatricians, evaluation providers, therapy organizations, ABA providers, and community resources already serving the region.

Over the last several days in Midland and Odessa, I had the opportunity to continue many of those conversations with organizations and individuals who care deeply about supporting children and families throughout West Texas.

Across Midland & Odessa, a Strong Network of Providers and Community Organizations Is Working to Support Families

One of the most encouraging things about continuing to spend time across Midland and Odessa has been seeing how many organizations throughout West Texas are genuinely trying to build stronger support systems for children and families.

While the region continues facing major access challenges, there are also many people locally investing significant time, energy, and resources into helping families navigate developmental, behavioral, educational, and therapeutic needs.

One of the organizations that stood out to me was We Rock the Spectrum, led by Lisa Alexander. The facility itself is incredibly impressive — a large sensory-friendly space designed specifically for children of all abilities, with climbing structures, swings, trampolines, activities, and areas intentionally built to create an inclusive environment for families. More importantly, it was clear in speaking with Lisa how personally invested she is in the mission behind what they are building. Conversations there centered heavily around the importance of creating spaces where families feel supported and children have opportunities to engage, socialize, and grow in an environment designed with their needs in mind.

I also spent time at Region 18 Education Service Center during a meeting with SPED leadership from across the region. Many of the conversations there reinforced just how significant the need for behavioral and developmental support has become throughout West Texas, particularly across rural communities and underserved areas. Educators and school leadership are navigating increasingly complex student needs while also facing major limitations in available services and provider access. What stood out to me most was the openness to collaboration and the shared recognition that stronger coordination between schools, providers, and community organizations is becoming increasingly important moving forward.

Another organization doing deeply important work in Odessa is Permian Basin Rehabilitation Center (PBRC), where I had the opportunity to speak with Stephanie Trotman. PBRC supports many families requiring OT, PT, speech, and additional developmental services, while also helping connect families to outside resources when needed. One thing that stood out to me there was how intentional the organization is about making sure families do not simply get lost in the system. There was a clear focus on maintaining ongoing communication, coordinating referrals, and continuing to help families navigate support options even when immediate services are unavailable. In many ways, organizations like PBRC become critical infrastructure for families trying to navigate a very fragmented system.

In Odessa, I also spent time with the team at PediCare, including Jennifer Pickett, APRN FNP-C and Maria Bryones, PA-C. Like many providers across the region, conversations there centered heavily around the growing number of families seeking developmental and behavioral support services, particularly families covered under Medicaid. Pediatric offices throughout West Texas are often some of the first places families turn when developmental concerns arise, which places pediatric providers in an especially important role when it comes to early identification and connecting families with resources.

In Midland, I also spent time at Plum Pediatrics, another strong pediatric provider serving the community. One thing that became increasingly clear throughout many of these conversations is that developmental and behavioral support needs are affecting families across all demographics throughout the region. As Midland continues growing, demand for pediatric and developmental services is continuing to grow alongside it.

I also had the opportunity to speak with Giselle Cruz at Action Behavior Centers. One of the major themes discussed there was the scale of demand currently facing ABA providers across West Texas, particularly for clinic-based services. Long waitlists continue to be a major reality for many families trying to access services, reinforcing how urgently additional provider capacity and expanded service models are needed throughout the region.

Another important part of the ecosystem is access to evaluations and diagnosis. Conversations with Mackenzie Vaught at Insight Counseling Center highlighted the importance of ensuring families can access autism and ADHD evaluations early enough to begin receiving appropriate support and intervention services.

Throughout many of these conversations, one thing became increasingly obvious to me: there are many good people across Midland and Odessa genuinely trying to improve things for families. The challenge is not a lack of people who care. The challenge is that the demand across West Texas has simply grown far beyond the current infrastructure available to support it.

One Reality Kept Coming Up Across Nearly Every Conversation: Families Are Still Struggling to Access ABA Services

While every organization and provider I spoke with serves a different role within the ecosystem, one theme kept surfacing consistently across nearly every conversation: families across West Texas are still struggling to access ABA services quickly enough and consistently enough.

In many cases, families are spending months navigating waitlists, referrals, evaluations, insurance requirements, and provider shortages before they are ever able to begin receiving meaningful support.

This challenge becomes even more significant for families covered under Medicaid.

Texas was one of the later states to implement Medicaid coverage for ABA services, but despite coverage existing on paper, the operational realities surrounding access remain extremely difficult for many families and providers across the state. Throughout Midland and Odessa, I continued hearing about the same barriers repeatedly — long credentialing timelines, workforce shortages, administrative complexity, and limited provider availability for Medicaid populations.

One of the biggest operational challenges is the amount of time it can take for providers to become fully credentialed and authorized to work with Medicaid plans. In practice, this creates a situation where many providers simply cannot begin serving Medicaid families quickly enough to meet the level of demand that currently exists across the region.

At the same time, ABA providers throughout Texas are also navigating increasingly complex authorization and administrative requirements that create additional strain on already-limited provider capacity. The end result is that many families remain stuck waiting for services despite a very real need for support.

In regions like Midland and Odessa, where provider shortages are already more pronounced than larger metropolitan areas, these problems become amplified even further. Many families do not have multiple nearby options. Transportation can be difficult. Access to evaluations may already be delayed. And when long ABA waitlists are added on top of that, families can quickly find themselves navigating an incredibly frustrating system.

What makes this especially difficult is that many of the organizations throughout West Texas are genuinely trying hard to help. Pediatricians are making referrals. Schools are trying to support students. Community organizations are coordinating resources. ABA providers are attempting to expand capacity. But the current infrastructure still falls short of the actual level of need that exists throughout the region.

And that reality is not theoretical anymore. It is something that continues coming up directly in conversations with providers, educators, clinicians, and families across Midland and Odessa every single week.

In a Region Like West Texas, Home-Based ABA Services Need to Be Part of the Solution

One of the things that has become increasingly clear to me while continuing to work across Midland and Odessa is that expanding access in West Texas will likely require more than traditional clinic-only models.

Clinic-based care plays an incredibly important role, and many organizations across the region are doing excellent work serving children and families in those settings. But in a geographically large region like West Texas — where communities are spread out, provider shortages remain significant, and waitlists continue growing — additional service models are needed to help close the gap.

For many families, home-based ABA services can create a level of flexibility and accessibility that is extremely important.

Transportation alone can become a major barrier for families trying to consistently access care. Parents are balancing work schedules, school schedules, siblings, long drive times, and limited provider availability — often all at the same time. In some situations, even when services technically exist, they may still not be practically accessible for families trying to navigate day-to-day life.

Home-based services also create opportunities for support to occur within the child’s natural environment, where many behavioral, communication, social, and daily living challenges are actually occurring in real time. In many cases, this allows therapy to become more integrated into the family’s day-to-day routines rather than existing entirely outside of them.

Throughout many of my conversations across Midland and Odessa, there was strong recognition that additional access points are needed throughout the region. The reality is that no single model alone is likely capable of supporting the level of demand currently facing West Texas families. Expanding access will require a combination of strong clinic-based care, school collaboration, evaluations, community organizations, pediatric support, and home-based services working together as part of a broader ecosystem.

As Bright Pathways ABA continues building across West Texas, one of my goals is not simply to expand services, but to help contribute to a more connected and accessible support system for families throughout the region. That means continuing to build local relationships, hiring locally, collaborating with existing providers and organizations, and finding practical ways to reduce barriers to care wherever possible.

There is still a tremendous amount of work to do. But I also believe West Texas has an opportunity to build something very strong over time if enough organizations continue investing collaboratively into the families who need support the most.

What Gives Me Optimism About Midland & Odessa Is the Number of People Genuinely Working to Improve Things for Families

Despite many of the challenges currently facing autism services across West Texas, one of the biggest things I continue walking away with after spending time across Midland and Odessa is optimism.

Not because the challenges are small — they are not.

The need across the region is very real. Waitlists are real. Provider shortages are real. Access barriers are real. Families are often navigating extremely complicated systems while simply trying to get support for their children.

But what gives me optimism is the number of people across this region who are still showing up every day trying to improve things for families.

I saw it in conversations with educators working to support increasingly complex classroom needs. I saw it in pediatric providers trying to help families navigate developmental concerns early. I saw it in organizations coordinating OT, PT, speech, evaluations, behavioral support, and community resources. I saw it in providers trying to expand access despite workforce and operational limitations that continue affecting the entire field.

I also saw it in the level of openness toward collaboration throughout Midland and Odessa.

One of the things that stood out to me most across many of these conversations was that people are not approaching these issues from a mindset of competition. The reality is that the need across West Texas is simply too large for any single organization to solve independently. More and more, there seems to be growing recognition that stronger outcomes for families will require providers, schools, pediatricians, therapists, and community organizations to work more collaboratively moving forward.

That is extremely encouraging to see.

I believe West Texas has the foundation to build something very strong over time. There are good people here. There are organizations deeply invested in the community. There are educators and providers who care tremendously about the families they serve. And there is growing momentum around improving access and expanding support systems throughout the region.

For me personally, continuing to build in Midland and Odessa has only reinforced how important this work is. Bright Pathways ABA is already serving families across West Texas, and we remain deeply committed to continuing to grow locally, collaborate locally, and help strengthen the broader autism support infrastructure throughout the region.

There is still a long way to go. But I genuinely believe meaningful progress is possible when enough people across a community remain committed to building together.

Building Stronger Autism Support Infrastructure Across West Texas Will Take Collaboration — But Meaningful Progress Is Possible

The more time I continue spending across Midland and Odessa, the more convinced I become that West Texas is at an important turning point when it comes to autism and developmental support services.

The demand is growing rapidly. Families are asking for help. Schools are navigating increasingly complex student needs. Providers are trying to expand capacity. Community organizations are working hard to connect families with resources before they fall through the cracks.

At the same time, the current infrastructure still has significant gaps that need to be addressed — especially when it comes to timely access to ABA services, provider availability, evaluations, and support for Medicaid families throughout the region.

But despite those challenges, I remain very optimistic about where things can go from here.

One of the biggest reasons is because of the people and organizations already investing deeply into this community. Throughout Midland and Odessa, there are educators, pediatric providers, therapists, social workers, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders who care tremendously about improving outcomes for children and families. That foundation matters.

I also believe there is a major opportunity moving forward to build stronger coordination between schools, pediatricians, evaluation providers, ABA organizations, therapy providers, and community resources throughout West Texas. Families should not have to navigate fragmented systems on their own. The stronger the collaboration becomes across the region, the stronger the long-term support infrastructure can become for children and families who need help.

As Bright Pathways ABA continues growing across West Texas, my commitment remains the same: continue building locally, continue investing into relationships throughout the community, continue expanding access to care, and continue working collaboratively with the many organizations already doing important work throughout the region.

I’m incredibly grateful to everyone across Midland and Odessa who continues contributing to these conversations and supporting families every day. I truly believe meaningful progress is possible across West Texas, and I’m excited about what can continue being built together over the years ahead.

Organizations & Providers Mentioned Throughout This Article