Greater Buffalo–Niagara covers Erie and Niagara counties and far more than downtown: Amherst, Cheektowaga, Tonawanda, West Seneca, Lancaster, Hamburg, and Niagara Falls. This directory is built so a family ANYWHERE in Western New York can find genuinely excellent help nearby, not just options clustered downtown. It's ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, Orton-Gillingham/Wilson accreditation, COPAA, board-certification) — never by reviews or who pays. Start with the free New York options (Early Intervention is run by your county health department), then the best evaluators, schools, 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, New York's Early Intervention Program — run locally by the Erie County Department of Health ((716) 858-6161) and Niagara County for those families — provides free developmental evaluations and services (speech, OT, PT, developmental). The earliest, no-barrier place to start, wherever you live in WNY.
New York's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency — free legal information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are denied, statewide. A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
The Buffalo-based Parent Network of Western New York is the region's federally recognized parent center — free training, information, and individual assistance for families of children with disabilities, including the IEP/504 process. A great first call for WNY families.
The Neuropsychological Evaluation Clinic at Oishei Children's Hospital, with University at Buffalo / UBMD (Director Joy Parrish, PhD), provides comprehensive evaluation of children ages 4–18 with developmental and neurological disorders — learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism. WNY's leading academic pediatric program.
A board-certified neuropsychologist in private practice at DeGraff Hospital in North Tonawanda — comprehensive evaluation north of Buffalo, important coverage for Niagara-side and northern-suburb families. The credential to look for in a private evaluator.
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 (in Amherst, West Seneca, or Niagara Falls), instead of trusting star ratings.
Just outside Buffalo in South Wales, The Gow School is a college-prep day and boarding school (grades 6–12) for students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities — founded in 1926 by Peter Gow with neurologist Dr. Samuel T. Orton himself, giving it deep Orton-Gillingham roots.
A New York State Education Department-approved private school, the Cantalician Center for Learning (Buffalo) serves students with autism, intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, and multiple disabilities — drawing from Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, and Genesee counties.
Parent Network of WNY can help you compare additional Buffalo-area school options for dyslexia, autism, and learning differences at no cost — including district special-education programs and NYSED-approved private schools.
Part of the Scottish Rite-supported national network, the Children's Dyslexia Centers operate in Western New York providing free, multi-year Orton-Gillingham tutoring by certified instructors — one of the best no-cost reading resources for families who can't afford private tutoring.
Jennifer Lynn Hoffman, M.Ed. (Elementary Education & Reading), is the founder of WNY Dyslexia Specialists — Barton Certified with 60 hours of Orton-Gillingham Associate-level training. Her Western New York team delivers structured-literacy dyslexia intervention and also trains other instructors across the Buffalo region.
The Academy's directory lists accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioners across Western New York — searchable by area so you can find one near Amherst, Tonawanda, or Niagara Falls. The gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia tutor.
A huge audiobook/highlighting library — free for students with a qualifying reading disability, so your child keeps up with grade-level books while they learn to decode.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider serving Buffalo, Amherst, Cheektowaga, West Seneca, and many WNY communities — research-based applied behavior analysis for autistic children, accredited for clinical quality rather than ad spend.
The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence directory lists accredited ABA providers across WNY (including Strides ABA and Double Care serving Amherst, Tonawanda, and Niagara Falls) — searchable by zip so families outside the city find the nearest accredited center.
Hearing & Speech of WNY (Cheektowaga / Buffalo area) is led by Mary Anne Furlani, MS, CCC-SLP (director) with Teresa Marioles, OTR/L (occupational therapy supervisor, 25+ years in pediatrics). Their team provides speech, hearing, feeding, motor, and sensory therapy for young children with speech, communication, and special-education needs.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's directory lists speech-language pathologists who hold the CCC-SLP — the national mark of a fully qualified clinician, searchable anywhere in WNY.
The American Occupational Therapy Association helps you find licensed occupational therapists (OTR/L) for sensory, fine-motor, and daily-living support — a credential to verify alongside speech and ABA care.
Oishei Children's Hospital (University at Buffalo) provides developmental-behavioral pediatric diagnosis and care for autism, ADHD, and developmental delay — board-certified specialists at Western New York's leading children's hospital. (ECMC's Pediatric Education & Diagnostic Services is another local evaluation option.)
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians across Western New York — 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 Western New York — the field's real professional standard.
Beyond information, Parent Network's trained staff help you prepare for and understand IEP meetings at no cost — a respected free alternative to hiring a private advocate first.
The Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo's Education Advocacy Program and Attorneys for Children unit represent children in special-education (IEP/504) and school-discipline matters — WNY's largest, oldest provider of free legal services to vulnerable families.
The University at Buffalo's Speech-Language & Hearing Clinic provides low-cost evaluation and therapy for children — including its 'Time to Talk' preschool program — delivered by graduate clinicians under licensed, ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
SUNY Buffalo State's Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic offers affordable speech, language, and hearing services to the community — a second supervised university clinic option, convenient to the city and west side of the metro.
For children birth to 3, New York's Early Intervention Program (run by your county health department) provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies — the earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Federally funded and free — they help New York families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
New York's protection & advocacy agency — free legal-rights information and help if your child's rights are being denied.
A short message — your child, your Buffalo 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 Buffalo providers from the vetted directory above.
A clear written plan, plus a vetted Buffalo 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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