Arizona Autism Family Medicine: A Valle del Sol Clinic opened in mid-August 2026 at 1430 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix. It is the first primary care clinic in Arizona built for children and young adults with autism and developmental disabilities. Any Valley family can use it — not just students at the school next door.
If your child has autism, here is what this clinic changes for you
Standard doctor visits are hard for autistic kids. Bright lights, loud waiting rooms, rushed appointments — these are everyday barriers. Phoenix had no primary care clinic built to remove them. Until now.
This clinic has a sensory room. Appointments run longer than at a typical office. Staff are trained in autism care and speak Spanish. They can also treat seizures, stomach problems, and anxiety. That means fewer separate specialist trips.
No insurance? That matters less here than at most clinics. Valle del Sol is a Federally Qualified Health Center and a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. That status means the clinic gets federal funding and can set fees on a sliding scale based on your income. Medicaid and AHCCCS are accepted. Uninsured patients are not turned away.
The clinic sits on the Arizona Autism Charter Schools campus near 16th Street and Indian School Road. Bus routes along Indian School Road serve the area. More than half of Valle del Sol’s existing patients across Phoenix are Hispanic or African American. Bilingual staff remove a longstanding language barrier in pediatric autism care.
Where the clinic is and how to reach it
The address is 1430 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. It is on the AZACS campus, close to 16th Street in central Phoenix. Valle del Sol runs the clinic. To schedule an appointment, go to valledelsol.com or use the patient portal there. The clinic takes patients from the general community — not just AZACS families.
The Arizona Autism Charter Schools campus at 1430 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix, where Arizona Autism Family Medicine: A Valle del Sol Clinic now operates. (InsideTheValley.com)
Who the clinic serves
The clinic serves more than 1,200 AZACS students and their families. It is also open to the broader Phoenix Valley community. Any family with a child or young adult who has autism or a developmental disability can come here. You do not need any connection to AZACS to book an appointment.
The twelve-year fight that built this clinic
Diana Diaz-Harrison was a Univision news anchor. She could not find a good school for her autistic son, Sammy. So she founded Arizona Autism Charter Schools in 2013. The first class started in fall 2014. AZACS became Arizona’s first tuition-free public charter school network built for neurodivergent students.
In December 2022, AZACS won the Yass Prize. The Yass Foundation calls it education’s largest and most prestigious award. The prize was one million dollars. That money helped the network grow from 90 students in 2014 to more than 700 students across multiple Arizona campuses. That growth made a dedicated medical clinic possible.
Diana Diaz-Harrison has since moved into federal policy. She now serves as HHS National Autism Coordinator and Principal Deputy Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier in 2025, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited the AZACS Phoenix campus and appointed Diaz-Harrison as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The clinic’s founder now shapes autism policy at the federal level.
Ron Harrison is co-founder and CEO of AZACS. Mike Renaud is President and CEO of Valle del Sol. Valle del Sol was founded in 1970 by civil rights activists. It has served underserved Phoenix communities for more than five decades.
The $355,000 grant that opened the doors
A 2025 Mercy C.A.R.E.S. Community Reinvestment Grant from Mercy Care provided $355,000 to launch the clinic. Mercy Care is a long-standing Valle del Sol partner. The grant gave the three-way partnership — AZACS, Valle del Sol, and Mercy Care — the money it needed. The clinic opened in August 2026.
City hall and the state legislature showed up
Arizona State Representative Cesar Aguilar and Phoenix City Councilwoman Laura Pastor joined clinic leaders at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Arizona Autism Family Medicine in August 2026. (InsideTheValley.com)
The ribbon-cutting drew elected officials. Arizona State Representative Cesar Aguilar and Phoenix City Councilwoman Laura Pastor both attended. Their presence signals that city and state government see this clinic as a public-health priority. That kind of civic backing matters when a clinic seeks future public funding.
The gap this clinic fills — and the limits of one location
Standard clinics often expose autistic patients to sensory overload and rigid schedules. Arizona Autism Family Medicine was built to fix that. But one clinic in central Phoenix cannot serve every Valley family that needs this care. The unmet demand across Maricopa County is far larger than one location can meet. The founders have been clear: this is a first step.
What to do right now
No expansion timeline appeared in any source reviewed for this article. What is known: the clinic is open now. It takes community patients. Sliding-scale fees mean cost is not an automatic barrier. If your child needs autism-friendly primary care, contact Valle del Sol at valledelsol.com. Ask about availability and your insurance options. The clinic is at 1430 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, near 16th Street.
