Can we help? Ages 3 and older
Also see: babies and toddlers, birth to 3
We help people who have a developmental disability. A developmental disability affects how a person grows and learns. It can make it harder to talk, learn, move, or take care of yourself.
Four things must be true
To get services from us, all 4 of these must be true for the person.
1. They have one of these conditions
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy
- Intellectual disability
- Epilepsy
- A condition that is a lot like intellectual disability, or that needs the same kind of support
2. It started before they turned 18
3. It is expected to last
The condition is not expected to go away.
4. It makes daily life much harder
The person has big challenges in at least 3 of these areas:
- Taking care of themselves, like eating, dressing and washing
- Language: understanding words and using them
- Learning
- Moving around
- Making their own choices and plans
- Living on their own
- Earning and handling money
What does not count
Some conditions do not count on their own. A mental health condition does not count by itself. A learning disability does not count by itself. A physical disability does not count by itself.
You also need to live in our area
We serve part of Los Angeles County. Check the list of cities and ZIP codes we serve. If you live somewhere else, we will help you find your regional center.
Children who are 3 or 4
A child who is 3 or 4 may get services without a diagnosis. We call this provisional eligibility. It is for children who have big challenges in at least 2 areas of daily life. A physical disability does not count by itself.
Your child does not need to have been in Early Start. Your child will get an Individual Program Plan. This is a plan we write with you. It lists the services your child needs.
Who can ask us for help
Anyone can tell us about a person who may need help. This can be a parent, a guardian, a doctor, a neighbor, a family member, a foster parent or a child care provider. You can also ask for yourself.
We need permission from the parent or legal guardian. A court or the Department of Children and Family Services can also ask us to do an evaluation.
What happens next
Applying is free. You can apply no matter what your citizenship status is. We will tell you our decision within 120 days. If you do not agree with our decision, you can appeal.
For the details: what the law says
- Who can get services is set by Section 4512 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code (the Lanterman Act).
- “Substantial disability” is defined in Title 17, Section 54001 of the California Code of Regulations.
- Provisional eligibility for children who are 3 or 4 is in Section 4512(a)(2). DDS publishes a letter, an enclosure and FAQs about it.
- Live outside our area? Use the DDS Regional Center Lookup.
Links to each source are on the current page (on the current WRC website); the built page links them directly.
This rewrite says the same thing as your live page in shorter words. Before it is published, WRC’s intake and clinical staff check every rule, and we test it with people WRC serves.