For many families in our community, First Steps Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities is the place where they finally feel seen.

It’s where an overwhelmed parent exhales because someone understands their child.

Where a teen finds a safe space to belong.

Where neurodivergent individuals are met with compassion, dignity, and respect — without cost, without judgment, and without barriers.

First Steps is the only agency of its kind in Clatsop County providing free, community-based support specifically for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities and their families.

Since opening our doors, First Steps has provided free, inclusive support to children, teens, and families who too often fall through the cracks. We are a small, community-based organization, and every program we offer exists because people believed these families deserved more.