The mission of Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is to protect, maintain and improve the health of all Minnesotans. The vision is for health equity in Minnesota, where all communities are thriving and all people have what they need to be healthy. DHS also offers programs that provide care for the well-being of eligible families and children.
Preventive care and health management helps keep people healthy. Learn about available healthcare programs through MDH and other state agencies that connect people to medical services and supports and manage health conditions. A health care resource list is also available alphabetically to help you find what you are looking for.
Child and Teen Checkups (C&TC) helps with well-child health care and preventive screenings to support the mission and goals of healthier Minnesotans. Child and teen checkups are provided for free every year to children ages birth up to age 21 who are enrolled in Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare. A Child and Teen Checkup visit will provide your child and family with information about physical and mental health, immunizations, hearing and visions checks, lab tests and more. Be sure to take any forms you need with you to the appointment. Your primary care doctor may also provide ASD screening, diagnosis or referrals.
The Follow Along Program provides developmental and social emotional (behavior) screenings that can help you track your child’s development and let you know if your child is playing, talking, growing, moving and behaving like other children the same age. You can enroll on-line now or contact your local public health department to sign your child / family up for the Follow Along Program.
The Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) is a Minnesota Health Care Program for children, youth and young adults up to age 21 with autism or related conditions. The benefit provides behavioral and developmental intervention services to manage challenging behaviors and teach functional social and communication skills. Services promote a person’s independence and participation in home, school and community life. Contact a Comprehensive Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation (CMDE) provider to determine eligibility and medical necessity for EIDBI services. Search the Minnesota Health Care Program (MHCP) Provider Directory by selecting “Autism-EIDBI” and then “CMDE” as the sub-type.
Child and Teen Checkups (C&TC) helps with well-child health care and preventive screenings to support the mission and goals of healthier Minnesotans. Child and teen checkups are provided for free every year to children ages birth up to age 21 who are enrolled in Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare. A Child and Teen Checkup visit will provide your child and family with information about physical and mental health, immunizations, hearing and visions checks, lab tests and more. Be sure to take any forms you need with you to the appointment. Your primary care doctor may also provide ASD screening, diagnosis or referrals.
It is important part of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process to evaluate whether or not the child has a health condition that is or could interfere with their daily life and ability to learn. If concerns are identified, you can contact the school nurse, psychologist or the child’s primary care doctor. Important factors to evaluate are:
Current health status and health history
Known chronic or urgent health conditions
Medications or treatments prescribed at school or home
Vision and hearing screening results
Any significant illnesses, hospitalizations
Sport physicals and other reports
Attendance
It is also important for youth and young adults to gain knowledge and skills to sustain and advocate for the health and wellness. They need to know how to:
Manage their own health can health care to the best of their abilities
Learn how to talk with their health care providers and ask questions
Find a new adult doctor (typically between ages 18-21)
Got Transition® aims to improve transition from pediatric to adult health care through the use of new and innovative strategies. GOT Transition has resources for youth and their family members as well as clinicians:
Learning and trying out life skills is an important step for students as they plan for moving into adulthood. The Health Care Transition Checklist (PDF) can help youth and young adults (ages 14-25), their families, and team members, build health care transition skills.
The Life Skills Checklist (PDF) can help transition age students (14-22), their families, and team members track independent living/life skills.
Minnesota's seniors are great assets to their communities and our state. The Minnesota Department of Human Services strives to help seniors live as independently as possible so they can continue to contribute and be a part of the communities in which they live. Learn more about economic assistance, healthcare, services and more.
If your child is enrolled in a health plan for their Medical Assistance, MinnesotaCare or TEFRA option coverage, you can call your health plan’s dental customer service line.
Adult dental coverage frequently asked questions under Minnesota Health Care Programs is a helpful guide.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) operates five community dental clinics in key regions of the state for patients with special needs whose conditions make it difficult for them to obtain dental care from other providers. Patients with intellectual disabilities, severe and persistent mental illnesses and traumatic brain injuries are eligible to receive treatment at DHS-operated community dental clinics.
Finding Dentist and Doctors can be a challenge when a loved one has ASD. The Autism of Society of Minnesota has a resource directory you can search for dentists who have experience with clients on the spectrum. You would still need to check with your dental insurance to see what providers are in your network for coverage.
Children with autism are likely to suffer many more oral health problems, including tooth decay, gum disease, and dental injury than children without autism. On top of that, sensory sensitivities also make effective oral hygiene routines and visits to the dentist challenging. ByteME created a Guide to Dental Care for Children with Autism.
Encourage Good Dental Care Practices at Home
Move away from sugary food and drinks
Establish an oral hygiene routine
Try using visual supports
Be a model of good dental hygiene or use video modeling
Try using timers
Offer praise and rewards for healthy habits
Find the right toothbrush that works for you
Visit the dentist regularly
Hearing
The Children & Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN) is part of the Minnesota Department of Health. The What You Need to Know Resources (PDF) for families has information to help families finding information for loss of hearing.
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy focuses on improving daily activities, such as eating, drinking, dressing, bathing, reading, and writing. The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. fact sheet (PDF) has information on an OT’s role with Autism. They help support productive and meaningful participation in community activities that enhance quality of life for individuals with autism and other activities.
Physical therapy uses exercises to help you learn or relearn movement and coordination skills A physical therapist can help increase overall function and participation in daily activities. The Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy fact sheet (PDF) has practice recommendations for school based physical therapy evaluation of children with ASD.
Many SLPs provide social skills groups across all ages. They also help non-speaking clients to identify and use alternative methods of communication. Parents and caregivers are key providers of speech therapy for children with autism, and they can collaborate with speech language pathologists (SLPs) to embed communication lessons for their children as they grow. 2U Inc. has Tips for Speech Therapy at Home for Children with Autism.
A Health Care Home (HCH) is primary care clinic or clinician certified by the Minnesota Department of Health to coordinate care among the primary care team, specialists and community partners to ensure patient-centered whole person care and improve total health and well-being. You can find certified health care homes on the clickable map.
Behavioral Health Home (BHH) services expand upon the concept of person-centered medical homes to serve the whole person across primary care, mental health, substance use disorder treatment, long-term services and supports and social service components of our health care delivery system. BHH services include the following:
Comprehensive care management
Care coordination
Health promotion and wellness
Comprehensive transitional care
Patient and family support
Referral to community and social support services
For advocacy, legal and cultural supports, see Supports.
For a patient to receive medical cannabis, the law requires that a licensed health care practitioner certify that the patient has one or more of the qualifying conditions. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered a qualifying condition. For more information, including the registration process, see medical cannabis information for patients.
Vaccinations and immunizations are a safe, effective way to protect children from illness, hospitalization, disability, and death. It is especially important during a pandemic or other public health emergency to maintain routine immunizations to prevent further outbreaks.
Some people have had concerns that ASD might be linked to the vaccines children receive, but studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing ASD. Visit CDC: Autism and Vaccines for more information.
Vaccinations use a small piece of the virus or bacteria to help your body trigger an immune system response. This allows people to develop natural immunity, while significantly reducing the risk of illness and complications compared to acquiring immunity through an actual infection.
The most common side effects of vaccinations are insignificant in almost all cases, and generally include injection site soreness, lump or bump at the site, fatigue, fussiness, headache, decreased appetite or low-grade fevers. Mayo Clinic has additional information on vaccines.
Medical appointments can be overwhelming for a person with autism for a variety of reasons, including:
Sensory overload (e.g., lights, sounds, smells)
Out of the familiar routine
Unpredictable (e.g., wait times, noises, new people)
Quick transitions
Invasive procedures
Communication Barriers
May be ill or in pain.
Missed medical appointments and lack of access routine healthcare, leads people with autism to have high rates of unmet care. To better meet the needs of the autism community, hospitals and clinics can incorporate the following strategies into their practice.
