Greater Portland — South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, and the rest of Cumberland County — has strong, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by MaineHealth's Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and Spurwink, one of New England's largest autism and special-education providers. Your local districts (SAUs) — Portland Public Schools, South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth — each run a special-education department. This is southern Maine'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, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. Maine works a little differently: Child Development Services (CDS) is your free front door for BOTH early intervention (birth–2) AND preschool special education (ages 3–5); your school district takes over for school-age. 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 →
A Maine state-approved special purpose private school serving students (roughly grades 4-12) with dyslexia, language-based learning differences and ADHD, using a remedial, individualized model with a very low student-teacher ratio (about 3:1). Accepts both private and public-school-referred students.
Part of the national Children's Dyslexia Centers network, providing free, intensive one-on-one Orton-Gillingham reading instruction to students with dyslexia delivered by specially trained, certified tutors. Decades-long track record serving Maine children.
Spurwink operates state-approved Special Purpose Private Schools (including a Portland campus) serving students ages 5–21 with autism and significant behavioral-health and developmental needs — combining special education with embedded clinical services. One of Maine's largest and most established specialized placements (LINK team 207-871-1200).
Maine approves Special Purpose Private Schools for students whose needs can't be met in the district; the Maine DOE directory helps you find approved specialized placements serving the Portland area — a placement your IEP team can fund when appropriate.
A searchable directory for comparing Greater Portland private and special-education school options by location, grades, and program — useful if you're seeking a specialized placement.
Maine's premier nonprofit special-education and behavioral-health school, founded in 1960. Operates state-certified Special Purpose Private Schools (Portland and other campuses) serving roughly 180 students ages 5-21 with autism, emotional/behavioral disorders, and developmental disabilities. Every student gets an IEP plus on-site speech, OT, and clinical therapy delivered by staff trained in both education and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention.
Licensed special-education placement and day-treatment school operating since the 1980s, with a Saco campus serving the Portland area. Provides intensive educational and therapeutic clinical services for children (toddler through grade 12, birth to 22) with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, developmental delays, and emotional/behavioral disorders. Certified special educators plus BCBA, speech, OT, and PT staff in age-grouped wings.
Certified K-12 Special Purpose Private School on the flagship campus of Sweetser, one of Maine's largest behavioral-health nonprofits. Serves students with significant social, emotional, behavioral, and academic challenges through individualized instruction and an Experiential Learning Program (farm science, woodworking, culinary, media arts). Top-ranked among Maine special-education schools.
Maine DOE-approved Special Purpose Private School and licensed mental-health facility serving the developmental-disabilities population for 60+ years. K-12 program (plus integrated preschool) for students with significant developmental disabilities, staffed by certified teachers and special-education paraprofessionals plus on-site Speech, OT, PT, Social Work, BCBA, and nursing. Scarborough campus serves Greater Portland.
Maine DOE-listed Special Purpose Private School within MaineHealth's Spring Harbor Hospital Developmental Disorders Program. Serves students ages 4-20 with developmental disorders and active IEPs, using evidence-based ABA methods (discrete-trial teaching, functional communication training) with 1:1 support from certified Educational Technicians. A credentialed placement for the highest-need autism/developmental cases.
MaineHealth's flagship 28,000-sq-ft autism center in Portland housing a certified children's day-treatment school program (preschool through grade 12) alongside outpatient care and clinical research. Specialized autism classrooms with certified staff, biosensor/assistive technology, and the first state-approved preschool autism classrooms in Maine. A high-credential autism-focused education option for the Portland area.
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.
Maine's largest district runs specialized in-district programs (including the Beach program embedding daily-living skills within the academic day) and a continuum of IEP-driven services for autism, emotional/behavioral and developmental needs. Programs and seats change year to year.
South Portland's public district provides a full IEP-based special education continuum with self-contained and inclusion programming for autism and learning disabilities, and partners with regional specialized placements. Programs vary year to year.
Well-regarded suburban Portland-area public district (Cumberland and North Yarmouth) offering IEP-based special education services and learning-support programming across its schools. Specific program availability changes year to year.
A long-established public alternative education program on Mackworth Island serving students with significant behavioral, emotional and learning challenges through small, hands-on, therapeutic instruction via sending-district placements. Enrollment and offerings vary year to year.
Portland practice providing comprehensive psychological, neuropsychological and psychoeducational evaluations for ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities, including play-based autism assessment with the gold-standard ADOS-2 plus caregiver/teacher rating scales. Conducted by licensed psychologists.
Portland-based neuropsychology practice offering psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for children and adults, including assessment of autism, ADHD and learning challenges by licensed clinicians.
MaineHealth's Barbara Bush Children's Hospital (Maine Medical Center, Portland) provides developmental-behavioral pediatric evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment — board-certified physicians with subspecialty training plus pediatric neuropsychologists, including early childhood (0–5) autism and developmental evaluation. The region's premier diagnostic home (207-662-2221).
The MaineHealth Glickman Lauder Center of Excellence in Autism and Developmental Disorders provides specialized autism and developmental diagnostic evaluation and care — a dedicated, statewide-leading center for complex cases.
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 southern Maine, instead of trusting star ratings.
The Children's Dyslexia Center of Portland provides free one-on-one Orton-Gillingham reading instruction for children in grades 1–12 with dyslexia, delivered by specially trained tutors — part of the Scottish Rite-supported network. One of the best no-cost reading resources in Maine.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham and the Academic Language Therapy Association list accredited O-G practitioners and CALTs across southern Maine — searchable near Portland, South Portland, or Westbrook. 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.
Maine nonprofit serving people with disabilities for more than 80 years, offering speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, audiology and assistive-technology services for children, with a clinic on Route 1 in Scarborough just south of Portland.
Statewide behavioral-health provider offering autism services grounded in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and supervised by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), plus home- and community-based supports for children and families in the Portland area.
Hammond Associates provides speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, applied behavior analysis, and audiology for children and adults in Maine, with Portland and Sanford locations — a coordinated, multidisciplinary option with ASHA-certified (CCC-SLP) and licensed clinicians.
Whole Circle Pediatric Therapy provides pediatric occupational and speech therapy in Portland with experienced, nationally certified (CCC-SLP, OTR/L) clinicians — custom support for communication, sensory, and motor development.
Parkwood Clinic provides speech-language therapy in Portland with nationally certified clinicians, many holding specialized credentials (PROMPT, SOS feeding) and recognized as Certified Autism Specialists — a strong option for complex speech, motor-speech, and feeding needs.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across Greater Portland, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in South Portland, Westbrook, or Scarborough find the nearest.
Barbara Bush Children's Hospital's developmental-behavioral pediatricians diagnose and help manage autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, and complex developmental conditions — Maine's premier academic developmental-medicine team.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the Portland area — 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 southern Maine — the field's real professional standard.
The Maine Parent Federation is Maine's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process, with trained parent specialists. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Maine'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.
Free one-on-one Orton-Gillingham reading instruction for children in grades 1–12 with dyslexia in Portland — an outstanding no-cost reading resource for qualifying families.
Pine Tree Legal Assistance provides free civil legal help to income-eligible families across Maine (Portland office) — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
The Autism Society of Maine offers free information, referral, and family support — helping Maine families find services, understand options, and connect with support. A warm, no-cost first point of connection.
For children birth to 5, Maine's CDS REACH (Cumberland) provides free developmental evaluations, early intervention (0–2), and preschool special education (3–5) — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in Greater Portland.
In Maine, Child Development Services (CDS) — the local CDS REACH site for Cumberland County, in Falmouth — provides free early intervention for birth–2 and free preschool special education (FAPE) for ages 3–5, under the Maine Department of Education. The earliest, no-barrier place to start (and the route to a preschool IEP).
At kindergarten age, your school district (SAU) takes over special education — request an evaluation in writing from Portland Public Schools, South Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, or Cape Elizabeth. This is the free legal route to an IEP and services under IDEA and Maine Unified Special Education Regulation (MUSER).
Maine'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 Maine families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Maine'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 Portland, ME?
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 Portland, ME?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Maine — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.