Little Rock and central Arkansas — North Little Rock, Conway, Benton, Bryant, Cabot, Jacksonville — have strong, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by Arkansas Children's Hospital and the state's only dyslexia-dedicated school. This is Little Rock's own yellow pages of the best, most relevant help — named experts and schools where we can verify them, not just directories. It's ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, CALT/Orton-Gillingham, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification) — never by reviews or who pays. Arkansas has no Regional Center system, so your free front door is First Connections for birth–3 and your school district's evaluation for ages 3+ — start there, then the best evaluators, schools, reading specialists, 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.
First Connections is Arkansas's early-intervention program (DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities Services) for children birth to 3 with a delay or disability — free developmental evaluation and supports at home or in the community. Anyone can refer a child. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
The Arkansas Parent Training and Information Center (a project of the Arkansas Disability Coalition) offers free help understanding your rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings — empowering parents as decision-makers and advocates. A great first call.
Arkansas'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.
The Dennis Developmental Center at Arkansas Children's Hospital specializes in assessing developmental conditions that affect learning — autism, developmental delay, and related concerns — with speech-language pathologists and clinical specialists on staff. The state's premier academic evaluation home.
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 central Arkansas, instead of trusting star ratings.
The Hannah School in Little Rock is the only school in Arkansas dedicated exclusively to teaching students with dyslexia — structured-literacy instruction with full scholarships available, so cost is not a barrier to a specialized education. A remarkable local resource.
A searchable directory for comparing additional Little Rock-area private and special-education school options by location, grades, and program — useful alongside the named school above.
Beyond a school day, The Hannah School is Little Rock's hub of dyslexia expertise — structured-literacy instruction by trained staff, with scholarships that make it reachable for more families. A strong first stop for reading intervention.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham and the Academic Language Therapy Association list accredited O-G practitioners and CALTs across central Arkansas — searchable by area near Little Rock, Conway, or Benton. The gold-standard credentials for a private dyslexia tutor.
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.
Dorecie Renee Lenzie, M.S., CCC-SLP, owns ABC Therapy Connections in Little Rock, with 12+ years providing speech-language and occupational therapy — covering autism, early intervention, feeding, AAC, and learning disabilities. A named, nationally certified clinician leading the practice.
Kidsource Therapy provides outpatient developmental, occupational, physical, speech, and ABA therapy for children birth to 21 with delays and special needs — a multidisciplinary option with a West Little Rock location.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across central Arkansas, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Conway, Benton, or Cabot find the nearest.
The Dennis Developmental Center at Arkansas Children's diagnoses and helps manage autism, developmental delay, and learning-related developmental conditions — the state's main academic developmental medicine program.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians across central Arkansas — 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 Little Rock area — the field's real professional standard.
The Arkansas PTI's trained specialists help families prepare for and understand IEP meetings at no cost — a respected, statewide free alternative to hiring a private advocate first.
Arkansas'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.
The Hannah School offers full scholarships for its dyslexia-dedicated program — making a specialized, structured-literacy education reachable for families who couldn't otherwise afford private tuition. A standout no-/low-cost option in Little Rock.
For children birth to 3, First Connections provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention supports — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in Arkansas.
The Center for Arkansas Legal Services provides free civil legal help to income-eligible families across central Arkansas — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
The Arkansas Disability Coalition offers free workshops and one-on-one parent support statewide — a rich free resource for families learning their rights and navigating the system.
Federally funded and free — they help Arkansas families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Arkansas's protection & advocacy agency — free legal-rights information and help if your child's rights are being denied.
A short message — your child, your Little Rock 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 Little Rock providers from the vetted directory above.
A clear written plan, plus a vetted Little Rock 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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