For years, 7-year-old Israel Solis couldn’t communicate with the world around him. Born with autism and nonverbal, he would bite and scratch himself in frustration when someone couldn’t understand his needs. Therapy through a state-subsidized program gave him a voice: using a picture system he’s learned from his providers in Houston, he’s now able to convey his desires.

But Texas wants to eliminate the state program, which allows some families to pay nothing for services, because of state budget cuts. In its budget request to the Legislature for the 2028-2029 biennium, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) proposed eliminating funding for the Children’s Autism Program (CAP) entirely, stunning advocates, providers and parents.

“If the doors just completely close to access that at all, you just feel like it’s all caving in on you, like ‘how am I going to get some help?’” said Israel’s mother Elizabeth Solis, who has another son who obtains services through a CAP-funded program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities; she pays nothing for their services.

CAP, which started in 2008, contracts with 16 providers across Texas to provide focused applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to autistic children at a reduced cost based on their families’ incomes and insurance coverage. Children are eligible for up to 720 hours of ABA therapy, which advocates consider the gold standard for autism treatment, over their lifetime.

Over the last two years, the state spent $13.7 million on the program, and this year even expanded the program, extending eligibility to those up to 21 years old and removing a cap on yearly hours. In fiscal year 2026, the state autism program funded treatment for 583 children, but contractors report there are at least 1,000 more children on waitlists statewide.

“We were really shocked to see nothing, and it’s just blank where the line item should be,” said Jacquie Benestante, executive director of the Autism Society of Texas. “We’re used to having to fight for funding, but to actually have a program just slashed and canceled is pretty shocking.”