Laredo and Webb County — a proudly bilingual, heavily Hispanic border community on the Rio Grande — has real, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored locally by Driscoll Children's Specialty Center, Laredo Medical Center pediatrics, and the bilingual speech clinic at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU). Your two local districts — Laredo ISD and United ISD (UISD) — each run special education. This is Laredo'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/CALT, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. In Texas your free front door is Early Childhood Intervention (ECI, birth–3) and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+ — by law the district must complete that evaluation within 45 school days of your written consent. Spanish-speaking families: Partners Resource Network's PATH project and Disability Rights Texas both serve you in Spanish. Start there, then the best evaluators, schools, reading specialists, therapists, doctors, and advocates near you.
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United ISD serves roughly 5,200 special-education students ages 3–21 with a full continuum of programs — autism support, behavior, and life-skills classrooms within a least-restrictive-environment model. In Laredo the strongest specialized placements are most often within the two public districts; insist on the right program through the ARD/IEP process.
Laredo ISD runs special-education programs across its 30+ campuses, including autism and behavior support and inclusion services. Request an evaluation in writing and use the ARD/IEP meeting to secure the right placement and supports for your child.
Partners Resource Network, the Texas Parent Training and Information Center, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the ARD/IEP process — with bilingual support through its PATH project for Spanish-speaking Laredo families. Invaluable on the border.
The downtown Laredo public district provides free evaluations and a full continuum of special-education and related services (speech, OT, psychological, assistive tech) for students ages 3–21 under its Child Find program.
Laredo's larger public district serves roughly 5,200 students ages 3–21 across a continuum of settings, from inclusion in general-ed classrooms to specialized self-contained units with sensory rooms for students with autism.
A district-run 21,000-sq-ft center serving students with significant disabilities (including ages 18–21) with vocational, life-skills, and employability programming as an alternative to homebound or out-of-town placement.
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)-led center offering individualized ABA programs, parent training, and school consultation for children with autism in Laredo.
Provides BCBA-supervised ABA therapy, home-based therapy, in-school support, parent training, and autism assessments for Laredo families.
A pediatric rehabilitation and autism center offering occupational, physical, and speech therapy plus specialized services for children on the autism spectrum.
A Laredo pediatric clinic focused on occupational and speech therapy for children who have, or are suspected of having, autism spectrum disorder and related conditions.
A Laredo-based nonprofit that advocates for and supports families of children with autism, connecting them to local educational and therapeutic resources.
The state-designated service center for deep South Texas (including Webb County), providing special-education technical assistance, training, and dispute/transition support to Laredo-area districts and the families they serve.
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.
A free public health resource: Laredo is a participating site in the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, supporting community autism surveillance and family connection to local resources. Not a school placement; program scope changes year to year.
Founded by Dr. Mireles, a Texas Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Specialist in School Psychology trained at Boston Children's Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital. The Laredo clinic offers bilingual autism assessment alongside BCBA-supervised ABA.
Driscoll Children's — South Texas's academic children's hospital — runs a Laredo specialty center whose Developmental Pediatric Medicine team includes developmental-behavioral pediatricians and a pediatric psychologist who provides cognitive, academic, and emotional testing for autism, ADHD, and developmental concerns. A referral from your pediatrician is required. The local academic referral for diagnosis.
Laredo Medical Center provides pediatric and emergency care for Webb County — a local medical starting point for developmental concerns and a source of pediatric referrals to Driscoll Children's for formal autism or ADHD 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 serving Laredo (many families also travel to San Antonio), instead of trusting star ratings.
Texas law requires districts to screen students for dyslexia (kindergarten and first grade) and provide evidence-based, structured-literacy intervention — most Texas districts, including Laredo ISD and UISD, use Take Flight, a CALT-developed Orton-Gillingham program. Request dyslexia screening and services in writing, and know your rights before paying for private tutoring.
Scottish Rite for Children created Take Flight and trains the Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALT) Texas districts rely on. Its dyslexia resources and clinician directory are the gold standard for verifying that any reading help your child receives is genuinely structured-literacy — not a fad method.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators lists accredited O-G practitioners searchable near Laredo. Pair it with the CALT credential (Certified Academic Language Therapist) — the gold-standard markers for a private dyslexia tutor, instead of trusting ads. Avoid Davis, Brain Gym, and vision-therapy 'reading' programs.
Comprehensive clinic-based ABA therapy individualized to each child and guided by experienced Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), focused on communication, social, behavioral, and daily-living skills.
Pediatric therapy clinic whose team includes a CCC-SLP speech-language pathologist with 17 years' experience and a registered occupational therapist (OTR) with 20 years' experience, serving children in Laredo.
Bright Pathways ABA provides BCBA-led applied behavior analysis in Laredo — clinic, home, and in-school support, parent training, and autism assessment, with individualized plans written by board-certified behavior analysts. Ask about BHCOE accreditation and confirm the supervising BCBA's certification.
Circle of Care provides pediatric physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy for children from birth to age 20 in Laredo, with individualized plans for autism and developmental delays. Look for the CCC-SLP credential on speech therapists and OTR/L on occupational therapists.
Laredo Autism Center & Kids Rehab is a local pediatric clinic offering physical, occupational, and speech therapy for children with developmental challenges, including autism. Confirm therapists' CCC-SLP and OTR/L credentials and ask whether ABA is BCBA-supervised.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers near Laredo, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so Webb County families find the nearest credentialed clinician instead of relying on ads.
Driscoll's Developmental Pediatric Medicine team — seeing patients at the Laredo specialty center — includes developmental-behavioral pediatricians who diagnose and manage autism, ADHD, developmental delays, and genetic syndromes. A pediatrician referral is required; call (361) 694-5650. The local board-certified medical home for diagnosis.
Laredo Medical Center provides local pediatric care — a strong starting point for developmental concerns and referrals, with Driscoll Children's as the academic referral for complex autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the Laredo region — 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 Laredo / South Texas region — the field's real professional standard.
Partners Resource Network is Texas's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the ARD/IEP process, with its PATH project serving Spanish-speaking families. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Texas's protection & advocacy agency offers free legal information and advocacy for special-education rights, in English and Spanish — a no-cost first stop before hiring a private advocate or attorney.
The TAMIU CSDO Clinic has served Laredo since 2007, providing speech, language, voice, and fluency assessment and intervention for children and adults — in English, Spanish, and bilingual — delivered by students under the supervision of ASHA-certified, Texas-licensed clinical supervisors. A remarkable low-cost, bilingual local option.
For children birth to 3, Texas ECI provides developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies on a sliding fee scale (evaluation and many services are free) — the earliest, lowest-barrier place to start in Webb County, delivered bilingually.
ESC Region 1 supports districts and families across South Texas with special-education, dyslexia, and early-childhood resources — including parent guidance and bilingual materials that can help you understand the ARD/IEP process at no cost.
Partners Resource Network offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights — with bilingual support through PATH for Spanish-speaking families. A no-cost first call for any Laredo family navigating special education.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay or disability, Texas ECI provides free evaluation and early-intervention services — speech, occupational, and physical therapy, plus developmental and family support, delivered bilingually in Laredo. Call the Texas HHS line (877-787-8999) to find your Webb County ECI provider. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Laredo ISD or United ISD (UISD). In Texas the district must complete the Full Individual Evaluation within 45 school days of your written consent, then hold an ARD/IEP meeting. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA — and you may request it in Spanish.
Texas's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency — free legal information and advocacy in English and Spanish when a child's special-education rights are denied. A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
Federally funded and free — they help Texas families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Texas'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 Laredo?
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 Laredo?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Texas — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.