Washtenaw County — Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, and Milan — has some of the deepest, most credentialed help in Michigan for kids with special needs, anchored by the University of Michigan: C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and the Mary A. Rackham Institute (MARI) clinics. Your local districts — Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ypsilanti Community Schools, Saline Area Schools, and Dexter Community Schools — each run special education, coordinated through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD). This is Washtenaw's own yellow pages of the best, most relevant help — named experts and clinics where we can verify them, ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, Orton-Gillingham, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. In Michigan your free front door is Early On (birth–3) and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+. Start there, then the best evaluators, schools, reading specialists, therapists, doctors, and advocates near you. Then, if you want it, an expert reads your child's records and builds your plan.
We don't rank by star ratings — they're noisy and easy to game. Every group below earns its place by credentials: board certification, school accreditation, professional licensure, and standing in the field's real professional bodies. The honest bar, not the loudest reviews.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay or disability, Early On — Michigan's Part C system, delivered locally by the Washtenaw ISD Early Childhood team (with Ann Arbor Public Schools as a delegate partner) — provides free evaluation and early intervention: speech, occupational, and physical therapy, special instruction, and family coaching. Refer your child directly at 1-800-EARLY-ON. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, or Milan. In Michigan the district has 10 school days to respond and seek consent, then must complete the evaluation and hold a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) meeting within 30 school days of your written consent, followed by an IEP if eligible. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA.
Michigan's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency — free legal information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are denied. A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital runs the Mott Autism Collaborative — a Multidisciplinary Developmental Evaluation Clinic (M-DEC) for children 5 and under and a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic for older children — the region's academic home for autism and developmental diagnosis. The referral for complex cases right here in Ann Arbor.
The Mary A. Rackham Institute's University Center for Language and Literacy (UCLL) provides science-based language, literacy, and learning evaluations for children and adults — a credentialed University of Michigan clinic for speech-language and reading diagnostics, distinct from but complementary to a full neuropsychological evaluation.
The American Board of Professional Psychology's directory lists clinicians who passed board certification in clinical neuropsychology — the credential to verify in any private evaluator across Washtenaw County, instead of trusting star ratings.
The Washtenaw Intermediate School District runs cooperative, center-based programs for the county's highest-needs students — autism (ASD), severe cognitive/multiple impairments, and early-childhood special education — serving Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, and Milan. In Washtenaw the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public ISD and districts; insist on the right program through the IEP process.
Ann Arbor Public Schools serves students with disabilities through resource, categorical, and inclusion programs across its buildings. Ypsilanti, Saline, and Dexter run their own as well. Request the placement and services your child needs in writing and hold the team to the IEP.
Michigan Alliance for Families, the state's Parent Training and Information Center, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the IEP process — invaluable when a district resists a more specialized or inclusive placement.
The Children's Dyslexia Center of Southeastern Michigan provides free, Orton-Gillingham-based, multisensory structured-literacy tutoring — one-on-one, twice a week after school — regardless of a family's ability to pay. A drive from Washtenaw but a remarkable no-cost option for a child with dyslexia.
The University Center for Language and Literacy at MARI delivers evidence-based, structured-literacy reading intervention for children with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities — a credentialed University of Michigan option right in Ann Arbor.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators lists accredited O-G practitioners — searchable near Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, or Saline. The gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia tutor; verify it instead of trusting ads, and avoid non-evidence-based programs like vision therapy or Brain Balance.
Total Spectrum's Ann Arbor learning center provides BCBA-supervised, 1:1 applied behavior analysis for children with autism — a credentialed local ABA provider. Ask about BHCOE accreditation and confirm a board-certified behavior analyst designs and oversees the program.
MARI delivers BCBA-led ABA therapy (through its University Center for the Child and Family) and CCC-SLP speech-language therapy (through the University Center for Language and Literacy) — credentialed University of Michigan clinics for autism, communication, and learning needs, all in Ann Arbor.
A2 Therapy Works provides pediatric speech-language therapy (CCC-SLP) and occupational therapy (OTR/L), including sensory-integration OT, for children with autism, SPD, ADHD, and learning disabilities across Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County — a credentialed local clinic (Anwar House of Therapy also serves Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti).
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across Washtenaw, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, or Saline find the nearest credentialed clinician.
The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics program offers board-certified specialists for autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses — the academic medical home for Washtenaw County, with the Mott Autism Collaborative for younger children.
Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health) provides the full range of pediatric specialty care in Ann Arbor — a strong local medical home for developmental concerns and referrals into the Mott autism and DBP clinics.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving Washtenaw County — the credential to verify for a formal autism or ADHD diagnosis.
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates' directory lists active, vetted special-education advocates and attorneys serving Washtenaw County — the field's real professional standard.
Michigan Alliance for Families is the state's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process for children birth to 26. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
The Student Advocacy Center of Michigan is a Washtenaw-rooted nonprofit (based in Ann Arbor) that provides free education advocacy for students, including special-education and discipline issues — a credible local first call before paying for representation.
For children birth to 3, Early On — delivered by the Washtenaw ISD Early Childhood team — provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies. The earliest, no-barrier place to start in Washtenaw County.
Free, Orton-Gillingham-based reading tutoring for children with dyslexia, regardless of a family's ability to pay — one-on-one, twice weekly. A drive from Ann Arbor but a rare no-cost structured-literacy option.
MARI's University of Michigan clinics offer language, literacy, ABA, and mental-health services at university-clinic rates with financial-assistance options — a lower-cost, credentialed path to evaluation and therapy in Ann Arbor. Ask about fee assistance.
Michigan Alliance for Families offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights — a no-cost first call for any Washtenaw family navigating special education.
Federally funded and free — they help Michigan families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Michigan's protection & advocacy agency — free legal-rights information and help if your child's rights are being denied.
A short message — your child, your Ann Arbor district, and what you're facing. We set up a secure way to share the IEP.
We review the records against your rights and match your child to the right Ann Arbor providers from the vetted directory above.
A clear written plan, plus a vetted Ann Arbor advocate, found and recommended for you, for the in-person help.
Free first reply with honest next steps. No pressure, no surprises — just an expert in your corner.
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