Greater Indianapolis — Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Greenwood, Speedway — is home to Riley Children's Health, the Fortune Academy (Indiana's only Orton-Gillingham-accredited school), and IN*SOURCE, the state's parent center. The hard part is knowing which help is genuinely excellent and how to reach the free options first. This is Indianapolis's own directory, ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, Orton-Gillingham accreditation, COPAA, board-certification) — never by reviews or who pays. Start with the free Indiana options, 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, Indiana's First Steps provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention services (speech, OT, PT, developmental) through a family-centered, local network. The earliest, no-barrier place to start if you have any concern about your baby or toddler.
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.
Indiana's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings, with training for families and service providers statewide. A great first call.
Riley Children's (IU Health) pediatric neuropsychology and psychology testing clinic conducts comprehensive evaluation of intelligence, memory, executive function, language, and academic skills — most often for specific learning disorders (including dyslexia), executive-function delays, and ADHD.
Riley Children's Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders Outpatient Program provides comprehensive assessment and treatment for autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders from birth to age 18 — a leading academic option for a formal diagnosis.
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, instead of trusting star ratings.
Fortune Academy is the only Orton-Gillingham Academy-accredited school in Indiana — grades 1–12 for students with language-based learning differences like dyslexia, with all staff trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach and a low 6:1 teacher ratio.
Founded in 1988, Worthmore Academy serves K–12 students with a range of learning differences — dyslexia, autism spectrum, ADD/ADHD, communication disorders, and cognitive differences — with the goal of helping each child return to a traditional setting within one to two years.
Indiana's accredited middle- and high-school program developed specifically for students on the autism spectrum, The Independence Academy (Indianapolis) is accredited by the Indiana State Board of Education and ISACS — with strong post-graduation college and career outcomes.
Part of the Scottish Rite Masons' national network (downtown Indianapolis, 650 N. Meridian St.), the Children's Dyslexia Center of Indianapolis provides free, one-on-one Orton-Gillingham structured-literacy tutoring twice a week for children with dyslexia — multi-year intervention at no cost to families, one of the metro's best-kept free resources.
The Academy's directory lists accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioners across greater Indianapolis — the gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia tutor, verified by training rather than advertising.
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.
Founded in 2009, BACA is a BHCOE-accredited provider with learning centers across greater Indianapolis (including Fishers), offering center-based and in-home ABA plus speech and language therapy — accredited for clinical quality rather than chosen by ad spend.
A BHCOE-accredited Indianapolis-area autism center focused on early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children — research-based ABA, accredited for clinical quality.
The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence directory lists accredited ABA providers across greater Indianapolis (including Hopebridge and Centria) — the real quality bar for autism therapy.
Abbie Lande, M.S., CCC-SLP, founded UpWord Speech Therapy in Carmel, serving the greater Indianapolis metro (Zionsville, Westfield, Fishers, Whitestown) with evidence-based, family-centered speech and language therapy for children from birth through young adulthood.
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.
Riley Children's and IU School of Medicine's Developmental Medicine team provides expert diagnosis and management of autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, and developmental delay — board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians at Indiana's leading children's hospital.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians in greater Indianapolis — 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 greater Indianapolis — the field's real professional standard.
Beyond information, IN*SOURCE's trained staff can help you prepare for and understand IEP meetings at no cost — a respected free alternative to hiring a private advocate first.
Indiana Legal Services provides free civil legal help to income-eligible families across the Indianapolis region — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
Part of IU's Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, IRCA provides free, research-based information, articles, and guidance for Indiana families and educators on autism — a deep, no-cost knowledge resource alongside clinical services.
University speech-language clinics offer low-cost evaluation and therapy delivered by supervised graduate clinicians. ASHA's directory helps you locate the nearest accredited program serving the Indianapolis area.
For children birth to 3, Indiana First Steps provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies — the earliest, no-barrier place to start.
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.
A short message — your child, your Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis providers from the vetted directory above.
A clear written plan, plus a vetted Indianapolis 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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