Greater Kansas City spans two states — Kansas City and Independence, MO, plus Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa and Shawnee, KS. It's home to Children's Mercy, the renowned Horizon Academy for dyslexia, and strong parent centers on both sides of the line. The hard part is knowing which help is genuinely excellent and how to reach the free options first — and which program serves the Missouri or Kansas side. This is Kansas City'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 bi-state 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, free developmental evaluations and early-intervention services (speech, OT, PT, developmental) are available through Missouri First Steps on the MO side and Kansas Infant-Toddler Services (tiny-k, ksits.org) on the KS side. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Each state's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency gives free legal information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are denied — Missouri Protection & Advocacy Services (MO) and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas (drckansas.org, KS). A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
Both states have a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center offering free IEP/504 help, training, and one-on-one support — MPACT (Missouri Parents Act) on the MO side and Families Together, Inc. (familiestogetherinc.org) on the KS side. A great first call.
Children's Mercy Kansas City's neuropsychology team (with an ABCN/ABPP-aligned fellowship) and its Autism Clinic provide comprehensive developmental and neuropsychological evaluation of learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism for children ages 1–17 — the region's leading pediatric hospital.
On the Kansas side, KU Medical Center provides pediatric neuropsychological and developmental evaluation — an academic option for assessing learning, attention, and autism concerns for families in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.
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.
The Kansas City area's flagship school for learning disabilities, Horizon Academy (Roeland Park) teaches grades 1–12 with dyslexia and related LDs using the Orton-Gillingham approach, Multisensory Math, and SIM — with a student-teacher ratio under 3:1. Accredited by ISACS, AdvancED, and the Academy of Orton-Gillingham; integrated speech, OT, and social-skills support.
A trusted Kansas City school-finder to compare additional special-education and learning-difference programs across both the Missouri and Kansas sides of the metro.
The states' parent centers can help you compare additional Kansas City-area school options for dyslexia, autism, and learning differences at no cost — MPACT on the MO side, Families Together on the KS side.
Dr. Stacy Cates, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, and Dr. Amy Burns, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, founded Kansas City Speech Professionals (Leawood, KS) in 2014, offering evidence-based Orton-Gillingham reading and dyslexia intervention alongside speech-language therapy — doctoral-level clinicians serving the entire KC metro (Overland Park, Prairie Village, Olathe).
The Academy's directory lists accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioners across the Kansas City metro — 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.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider (Overland Park) and member of the Council of Autism Service Providers, serving families across the Kansas City metro — clinic-based applied behavior analysis for children with autism, accredited for clinical quality.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider with centers serving both sides of the metro (Lenexa/Overland Park, KS and Kansas City, MO) — play-based, center-based early intervention for young autistic children.
The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence directory lists accredited ABA providers across the Kansas City metro (including The Behavior Project and Autism Services of Kansas) — the real quality bar for autism therapy.
Children's Therapy Services (Overland Park, KS), a woman-owned clinic established in 2002, is owned by speech-language pathologist Tara Krause, with Dana Nagel, OTR leading occupational therapy. They offer speech and OT plus on-staff autism/ADHD evaluation for children of all ages across the KC metro.
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.
Children's Mercy's Developmental and Behavioral Health division and Autism Clinic provide expert diagnosis and management of autism, ADHD, and developmental concerns by board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians and psychologists — serving both states.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians across the Kansas City 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 Kansas City metro on both sides of the state line — the field's real professional standard.
Both states' parent centers offer free trained parent mentors to help you prepare for and understand IEP meetings — MPACT (MO) and Families Together (KS). A respected free alternative to hiring a private advocate first.
Free civil legal help for income-eligible families is available on both sides — Legal Aid of Western Missouri (MO) and Kansas Legal Services (KS) — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
The University of Kansas Medical Center's Hearing & Speech clinics (and KU's Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic) offer low-cost evaluation and therapy for children with communication and autism-related needs — delivered by graduate clinicians under ASHA-certified supervisors.
The Autism Society of the Heartland provides free information, referrals, and support groups for Kansas City-area families affected by autism — a warm, no-cost community resource alongside clinical services.
For children birth to 3, free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies are available through Missouri First Steps and Kansas tiny-k — the earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Federally funded and free — they help Missouri families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Missouri's protection & advocacy agency — free legal-rights information and help if your child's rights are being denied.
A short message — your child, your Kansas City 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 Kansas City providers from the vetted directory above.
A clear written plan, plus a vetted Kansas City 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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