The Evansville metro — Vanderburgh and Warrick counties in Indiana, reaching across the Ohio River to Henderson, Kentucky — has solid, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by the Ascension St. Vincent / Peyton Manning Children's Evansville Center for Children and the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center, with Deaconess pediatrics close by. Your local districts — Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) and Warrick County School Corporation — each run special education, and Henderson County (KY) families have their own school and early-intervention system across the river. This is the metro'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 Indiana your free front door is First Steps (birth–3) and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+; in Kentucky it is the Kentucky Early Intervention System (First Steps). Start there, then the best evaluators, schools, reading specialists, therapists, doctors, and advocates near you.
✓ Every provider here is vetted by credentials, never pay-to-play. How we choose →
EVSC-authorized tuition-free K-6 charter serving 2.5 years to 6th grade with small classes and individualized instruction for varied learning styles. Long-standing Evansville school (founded 1998) accredited and authorized by the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation.
Statewide nonprofit special-education school fully accredited by the Indiana Department of Education, with state-licensed teachers holding special-education endorsements, serving children with autism and significant developmental, intellectual, and behavioral needs. Contracts with local school corporations across Indiana including the southwest region.
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation serves students ages 3 to 21 with specialized programs — autism support, behavior, and life-skills — within an inclusion model, available at no cost to families in Vanderburgh County. Warrick County School Corporation runs its own. In this metro the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public districts; insist on the right program through the IEP/CCC process.
Warrick County School Corporation provides free special education and related services to eligible students across Newburgh, Boonville, and the rest of the county. If your child attends a Warrick school, this is your IEP team — request an evaluation in writing and hold them to Indiana's 50-instructional-day timeline.
IN*SOURCE, Indiana's Parent Training and Information Center, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the IEP/CCC process — invaluable when you are unsure whether a district placement is the right fit for your child.
The public school district serving Evansville, with a district-wide special education department covering all 13 federal exceptionalities including a dedicated autism spectrum disorder program. Provides the full IDEA continuum (evaluation, IEPs, resource and self-contained services, related therapies, transition) through licensed special-education teachers, SLPs, OTs, school psychologists and BCBAs. This is the primary, free, legally mandated placement option for Evansville families and the entitlement against which any private placement is weighed.
A 26-school accredited Catholic system serving the Evansville region on an inclusion model, with special-education and learning-resource teachers embedded on staff to deliver accommodations and modifications, and a formal LEA referral/service-plan process. Marian Educational Outreach (MEO), the diocese's special-needs ministry founded in 1958, funds and trains those resource teachers and supports students with disabilities and unique learning needs across all diocesan schools. The strongest faith-based, credentialed pathway for Evansville students who need support inside a general-education private setting.
A multidisciplinary autism center serving Evansville-area children (best equipped for those under age 10, focused on early intervention) with diagnostic evaluations, BCBA-supervised ABA therapy, and OT/speech/feeding services. Holds BHCOE accreditation (the recognized ABA quality credential) plus CARF accreditation, BACB ACE provider status, and CASP membership. Not a K-12 day school, but the most credential-strong intensive autism program physically serving the Evansville market; many families use it as a full-day pre-school placement before transitioning to school.
The inclusive early-learning arm of Easterseals SW Indiana, serving children of all abilities ages 30 months to 6 years (Mitchell LEAD Academy: Learn, Engage, Achieve, Discover; plus Milestones for ages 6 weeks to 3 years). Earns NAEYC accreditation, the gold-standard early-childhood credential held by roughly only 10% of U.S. programs, and is run by a long-established disability-services nonprofit with on-site therapy supports. The strongest credentialed inclusive preschool/early-intervention placement in Evansville for young children with developmental delays and disabilities.
These public schools and programs have a solid track record in special education — but we don’t re-check them every year. Staff, leadership, and programs change from building to building and year to year. Treat this as a strong starting point, and confirm the current fit for your child.
Public district serving Posey County with special-education and related services for eligible students under IDEA at no cost. Programs and staffing change year to year; verify current placements with the district.
Downtown Evansville diagnostic center (opened 2023) where youth are assessed by a multidisciplinary team spanning psychology, psychiatry, occupational and physical therapy, speech pathology, audiology, and nutrition. Part of Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare, a long-established regional behavioral-health system.
Newburgh clinic providing comprehensive neurodevelopmental assessments for children as young as 12 months, qualified to administer the gold-standard ADOS-2 autism diagnostic instrument. Local credentialed diagnostic practice serving the Evansville metro.
Statewide Indiana University School of Medicine network of trained primary-care clinicians providing early autism diagnostic evaluations for children roughly 14-48 months, with hub coverage reaching the Evansville/southwest Indiana area. Has evaluated nearly 5,000 children across Indiana.
The Evansville Center for Children, part of Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent, provides developmental and psychological testing for children ages 2 through 17 — assessments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficits, and learning disorders, plus developmental-behavioral pediatrics. The strongest local hospital starting point for a formal diagnosis.
The Easterseals Rehabilitation Center's Department of Psychology & Wellness offers comprehensive assessment and consultation for children and families. Easterseals also partners with Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare on the Neurodevelopmental Center (NDC) — a multidisciplinary team (psychology, psychiatry, OT/PT, speech, audiology) for youth with co-occurring developmental and psychiatric needs. A credentialed local nonprofit.
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 Evansville, Newburgh, or Henderson, instead of trusting star ratings.
Indiana law requires districts to screen K–2 students for dyslexia indicators, employ an authorized reading specialist trained in dyslexia, and provide evidence-based, structured-literacy intervention. EVSC and Warrick County must offer this free — request dyslexia screening and services in writing, and know your rights before paying for private tutoring.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators lists accredited O-G practitioners — searchable near Evansville, Newburgh, or Henderson. The gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia tutor (look for O-G, Wilson, or Barton training), instead of trusting ads. Avoid programs that promise quick cures, vision therapy, or 'brain training' — they are not evidence-based for dyslexia.
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.
Established Evansville-based nonprofit rehabilitation center serving SW Indiana, southern Illinois and western Kentucky, with master's-level ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists plus occupational and physical therapy, audiology and psychology for pediatrics. Decades-long regional track record.
Comprehensive sensory-based outpatient clinic in Evansville offering occupational, physical and speech therapy plus developmental therapy and social work through Indiana First Steps, with licensed pediatric therapists. Dedicated pediatric facility.
Center-based ABA therapy on Eagle Crest Blvd for children and teens 18 months to 17 years, with BCBA-designed and supervised individualized treatment plans. Indiana-based accredited ABA provider.
Hopebridge's Evansville center provides BCBA-led applied behavior analysis, diagnostic evaluations, and occupational and speech therapy for children with autism — a credentialed local autism provider. Associates in Pediatric Therapy and Applied Behavior Center also serve the metro. Ask about BHCOE accreditation and confirm a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) oversees your child's care.
Associates in Pediatric Therapy provides speech-language (CCC-SLP), occupational (OTR/L), physical, and ABA therapy for children at its Evansville clinic off Burkhardt Road — a credentialed multidisciplinary option serving Vanderburgh and Warrick families. The Easterseals Rehabilitation Center also offers pediatric speech, OT, and PT.
The Easterseals Rehabilitation Center delivers pediatric speech-language, occupational, and physical therapy — including sensory-integration OT and feeding and audiology services — as a long-established credentialed nonprofit serving the Evansville region. A deep, coordinated local option.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across the metro, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Evansville, Newburgh, or Henderson find the nearest credentialed clinician.
Developmental-behavioral pediatricians at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at Ascension St. Vincent specialize in the early diagnosis and treatment of pediatric developmental disorders, including autism and ADHD — the strongest local medical home for a formal diagnosis in the Evansville metro.
Deaconess, the region's other major health system, provides pediatric care across Evansville and surrounding counties — a strong local medical starting point for developmental concerns and referrals to a developmental-behavioral pediatrician or autism evaluation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the Evansville metro — 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 the Evansville metro and southern Indiana — the field's real professional standard.
IN*SOURCE is Indiana's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP/CCC process, with parent resources across the state. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Indiana's protection & advocacy agency offers free legal information and advocacy for special-education rights — a no-cost first stop before hiring a private advocate or attorney.
For children birth to 3, Indiana First Steps provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies on a sliding family-cost scale — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties.
For families across the river in Henderson, Kentucky, the Kentucky Early Intervention System (KEIS, formerly First Steps) serves children birth to 3 with developmental delays — the Green River District covers Henderson, Webster, and Union counties. The KY counterpart to Indiana First Steps, at little or no cost.
As a long-standing nonprofit, the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center serves children regardless of family circumstances, with financial assistance and program funding to reduce barriers — a key low-cost path to evaluation and therapy in the Evansville region.
IN*SOURCE offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights — a no-cost first call for any Evansville-metro family navigating special education in Indiana.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay or disability, First Steps is Indiana's free early-intervention system (IDEA Part C) — free developmental evaluation and a coordinated plan of services: speech, occupational, physical, and developmental therapy, delivered in your home or community. The earliest, no-barrier place to start in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — EVSC (Evansville Vanderburgh) or Warrick County. In Indiana the district must complete the evaluation and hold a case conference committee (CCC) meeting within 50 instructional days of your written consent. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA. Henderson County, KY families request a referral from their district's Admissions & Release Committee (ARC).
Indiana'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.
Federally funded and free — they help Indiana families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Indiana's protection & advocacy agency — free legal-rights information and help if your child's rights are being denied.
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How do I start the special-education process in Evansville?
Put your request in writing to your child's school, asking for a full special-education evaluation — that is the legal first step. On A New Story you'll find a free, ready-to-send evaluation-request letter you can use today.
How long does a special-education evaluation take?
Once you give written consent, the school generally must complete the evaluation and hold an eligibility meeting within a set timeline (often around 60 days, though it varies by state). Putting your request in writing starts the clock.
Can my school district pay for a private special-education school?
Sometimes. If the public school can't provide an appropriate education, the district can be required to fund a state-approved nonpublic placement. It isn't automatic — it takes the right evaluation and advocacy — but families do it every year, including ones with limited funds.
What's the difference between an IEP and a 504 plan?
An IEP provides specialized instruction and services under IDEA; a 504 plan provides accommodations under civil-rights law. A New Story's free guides walk you through which one fits your child.
Where can I find free special-education help in Evansville?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Indiana — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.