Northern Colorado — Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, and the rest of Larimer County — has strong, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by Colorado State University's health-sciences programs and Foothills Gateway. Your local districts — Poudre School District (Fort Collins) and Thompson School District (Loveland) — each run special education. This is Northern Colorado'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, Barton/Orton-Gillingham, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. In Colorado your free front door is Early Intervention Colorado (birth–3, delivered locally by Foothills Gateway) 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.
✓ Every provider here is vetted by credentials, never pay-to-play. How we choose →
Nonprofit private day school (grades 2-8) for students with dyslexia and other reading/language-based learning disabilities, using the Orton-Gillingham approach. Serves Northern Colorado families; located in the Denver metro and a recognized statewide option.
Specialized school whose staff are highly trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach, serving students with specific learning disabilities to become confident, effective learners and self-advocates. A recognized regional resource for Colorado dyslexia/LD families.
Poudre School District operates specialized in-district programs — autism/significant-support-needs centers, affective-needs (emotional) programs, and resource services — that your IEP team can place your child in. In Northern Colorado the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public districts; insist on the right program through the IEP process.
Thompson School District in Loveland runs special-education services and specialized programs across the south end of the metro — autism support, life skills, and behavior programs your IEP team can access for students with significant needs.
The Arc of Larimer County provides free navigation, autism resources, and support understanding placements and services — a helpful local nonprofit when you're weighing program options or feel stuck in the IEP process.
The Fort Collins public district runs IEP-driven special education including center-based autism programs and Integrated Learning Supports across its schools, serving students at no cost.
A Fort Collins dyslexia provider offering formal dyslexia screening and structured-literacy, Orton-Gillingham-based reading intervention for students in Northern Colorado.
A nonprofit, strengths-based day school for neurodiverse students with autism and related profiles, with small 1:3 classes and a long track record (~45 miles from Fort Collins).
A long-running nonprofit special-education center for students with autism spectrum and developmental disabilities, with certified staff across multiple Colorado campuses.
A state-approved facility/day-treatment school providing ABA-based specialized programming for students with autism and neurodiversity, with a young-adult transition program.
An accredited independent day school with 50+ years serving bright students with dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning differences via small classes and differentiated instruction.
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.
Poudre School District elementary that hosts a center-based autism program where students receive specialized instruction alongside inclusion in general-education classrooms. A free public option for students whose IEP team determines a center-based placement. Programs change year to year — verify with PSD.
Fort Collins practice offering comprehensive neuropsychological and psychological assessment for children, teens, and adults — ADHD, autism-spectrum, learning-disorder, and twice-exceptional (2e) evaluations with a neurodiversity-affirming approach.
Fort Collins assessment center providing evaluation and testing for Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, learning differences, and related cognitive/behavioral conditions across children and adults.
Independent Fort Collins clinic serving children with developmental, learning, and behavioral challenges. Provides diagnostic evaluations (incl. pediatric neuropsychology under Dr. Aaron Skalicky, PhD) plus follow-up educational and behavioral services.
Action Behavior Centers' Fort Collins location offers autism diagnostic evaluations — including the gold-standard ADOS-2 — for children in Northern Colorado, often at no cost with insurance, with Board Certified Behavior Analysts on staff. A local diagnostic-and-treatment option.
Colorado State University's Psychological Services Center provides psychological assessment delivered by supervised doctoral clinicians on the CSU campus — a lower-cost route to a thorough evaluation. Ask about availability for child developmental, learning, and ADHD assessment.
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 Northern Colorado (Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora is the renowned academic referral for complex cases), instead of trusting star ratings.
NOCO Dyslexia provides structured-literacy tutoring for children and adults with dyslexia in Fort Collins, Windsor, and Northern Colorado using the Barton Reading & Spelling System — an Orton-Gillingham-based, evidence-based curriculum. A deep, credentialed local dyslexia resource.
Tutoring Excellence uses the Barton Reading & Spelling System — a scientifically based, structured-literacy program recognized by the Colorado Department of Education — to support struggling readers in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Longmont.
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.
Northern Colorado's only nonprofit children's communication clinic, offering individualized speech-language therapy (led by an executive-director SLP with 30+ years' experience) and structured-literacy reading therapy. Free screenings and sliding-scale fees.
Pediatric ABA center delivering individualized, research-informed care with Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians, grounded in ethical, evidence-based practice.
Passport Autism provides applied behavior analysis for children with autism in Fort Collins and Loveland and is accredited by the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE) — the quality credential to verify in any ABA provider, rather than relying on reviews.
Beyond diagnosis, Action Behavior Centers' Fort Collins clinic provides center-based applied behavior analysis for children with autism across Northern Colorado, with BCBAs and registered behavior technicians — a coordinated diagnose-and-treat option.
Colorado State University's nationally regarded Department of Occupational Therapy operates clinical and community programs in Fort Collins — a credentialed, often lower-cost route to occupational-therapy evaluation and intervention for children. Ask about current pediatric clinic offerings.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across Northern Colorado (Key Autism Services and Behavior Frontiers also serve Fort Collins/Loveland), ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Fort Collins, Loveland, or Windsor find the nearest credentialed clinician.
UCHealth's Poudre Valley network provides pediatric and specialty care in Fort Collins — a strong local medical starting point for concerns about development, with Children's Hospital Colorado (Aurora) as the academic referral for complex autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses.
Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora offers nationally regarded developmental-behavioral pediatrics and autism diagnostics — the state's academic referral for complex cases, about 75 minutes south of Fort Collins.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving Northern Colorado — 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 Northern Colorado — the field's real professional standard.
PEAK Parent Center is Colorado's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process, with workshops and one-to-one support. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Colorado'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.
Colorado State University's health-sciences training clinics (psychology, occupational therapy) provide lower-cost assessment and therapy delivered by supervised graduate clinicians right in Fort Collins — a strong-value option for evaluation and ongoing services.
Foothills Gateway provides free Early Intervention (birth–3) plus case management and disability supports across Larimer County — the local Community Centered Board and the earliest no-barrier place to start.
The Arc of Larimer County offers free help navigating disability services, benefits, and the school system — an accessible nonprofit hub for families across Fort Collins and Loveland.
Free accessible audiobooks for students with a qualifying reading disability — so your child keeps up with grade-level material while building reading skills.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay, Foothills Gateway — Larimer County's Community Centered Board — delivers free Early Intervention Colorado services (speech, OT, PT, developmental) through a parent-coaching model at no cost to families. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Poudre School District (Fort Collins) or Thompson School District (Loveland). In Colorado, once you sign consent the district must complete the evaluation and hold an eligibility/IEP meeting within 60 calendar days. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA.
Colorado'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 Colorado families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Colorado'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 Fort Collins?
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 Fort Collins?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Colorado — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.