If your family lives in Northern California, two names often come up when you start looking for autism support: Sutter Health, one of the region’s largest health systems, and StarzMeet, a directory of autism and neurodiversity providers. They are not competitors doing the same job. One is a place you go for medical care; the other is a tool for finding the many community services that surround that care. Knowing the difference can save you time, calls and waitlist spots.
What Sutter Health offers
Sutter Health runs a dedicated autism service that covers evaluations, early intervention and ongoing treatment for children and adults. According to Sutter’s autism services page, its teams work across clinical psychology, speech and occupational therapy, social work, genetic counseling and other specialties to build a coordinated care plan for the whole family, not just the diagnosis. Sutter also lists specialty programs such as a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Program and the Kalmanovitz Child Development Center, plus sensory-friendly clinic options for patients who find standard medical visits overwhelming.
In a talk hosted on the same page, Sutter pediatric neurologist Dr. Michael Chez explains why a medical workup can matter even after a child already has a diagnosis and is receiving therapy: checking for sleep problems, gastrointestinal issues, seizure activity and genetic causes can change how a child is supported. That is the kind of care a health system is built to provide.
Sutter tends to be the right starting point when you need:
- A formal medical or developmental evaluation
- Neurology, genetics, sleep or GI follow-up
- Medication management for co-occurring conditions
- Care coordinated inside one health system and billed through your medical plan
Sutter’s referral team can be reached by phone at 888-834-1788 on weekdays during business hours, or through the referral request form on its website. Coverage, locations and wait times depend on your insurance and where you live, so confirm details directly with Sutter.
What StarzMeet offers
StarzMeet is not a clinic and does not provide medical care. It is a free directory that helps families find local providers across roughly 20 service types, from ABA, speech and occupational therapy to adaptive swimming, martial arts, music therapy, sensory gyms, social skills groups, respite care, special education schools and summer camps.
That breadth matters because much of what helps an autistic child day to day happens outside a hospital. A health system will rarely point you to an adaptive swim class in Livermore or a sensory gym in Hayward, but those are exactly the places many families end up relying on. StarzMeet currently lists providers across dozens of US cities, including San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Palo Alto, Fremont, Oakland and San Mateo.
StarzMeet tends to be the right tool when you want to:
- Compare several independent therapy providers near you
- Find recreation, social and enrichment programs designed for neurodivergent kids
- Look for respite care, tutoring or camps
- Discover local events, workshops and parent support groups
Because StarzMeet is a directory, families should still do their own checks: verify licenses and credentials, ask about insurance and Regional Center funding, and visit before committing. Our guide 8 Questions to Ask When Choosing an ABA Therapy Provider is a good place to start.
Side by side
| Sutter Health | StarzMeet | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Health system and care provider | Free provider and events directory |
| Diagnosis | Yes, medical and developmental evaluations | Helps you find independent diagnostic providers |
| Medical follow-up | Neurology, genetics, psychiatry and more | No medical care |
| Therapy | Within Sutter’s own network | Many independent providers to compare |
| Recreation and social programs | Limited | Adaptive sports, arts, camps, social skills and more |
| Cost to use | Billed through your health plan | Free to search |
| Where it works | Sutter service area in Northern California | Multiple US cities plus India, UAE, Singapore and Malaysia |
Using both together
For many families the practical path looks like this:
- Raise concerns early. Talk to your pediatrician and ask for a developmental screening. If you’re a Sutter patient, ask about a referral to its autism or developmental-behavioral services.
- Connect with your Regional Center. In California, Regional Centers can fund early intervention for children under 3 and other services, sometimes before a formal diagnosis. Our article Paying for Autism Services in California explains how insurance, Regional Centers and schools fit together.
- Fill the gaps locally. While you wait for appointments, or once therapy is underway, use StarzMeet to find speech, OT, ABA, social skills and recreation options close to home. See our city guides, such as ABA Therapy in San Jose.
- Keep the medical team in the loop. Share progress notes from community providers with your child’s doctors so the whole plan stays coordinated.
The bottom line
Choose Sutter Health, or another medical system you belong to, for diagnosis and medical care. Use StarzMeet to find the wider circle of therapists, programs and community support your family will lean on between appointments. Together they cover far more ground than either does alone.
New to the process? Read Your First Steps After an Autism Diagnosis in Silicon Valley.
Source: Sutter Health, Autism Services. Program details, coverage and contact information may change; please confirm directly with Sutter Health. StarzMeet is an independent directory and is not affiliated with Sutter Health.
