The Quad Cities straddle a state line — Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, Moline and Rock Island in Illinois — and that means special education works two different ways depending on which side of the river you're on. Your free front door for the youngest children is Early ACCESS through Mississippi Bend AEA on the Iowa side, and Child & Family Connections (Early Intervention) on the Illinois side. For school-age kids, your districts run the IEP: Davenport, Pleasant Valley, and Bettendorf in Iowa; Moline-Coal Valley and Rock Island-Milan in Illinois, with the Black Hawk Area Special Education District serving the Illinois cluster. Below is the Quad Cities' own yellow pages of the best, most relevant help — named experts and clinics where we can verify them, ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE/BCBA, Orton-Gillingham, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. Because you live in a two-state metro, we list the right Iowa AND Illinois agencies so you call the correct one. 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 →
Long-standing Iowa nonprofit (founded 1994) delivering campus, clinic, and community autism services including center-based ABA staffed by BCBAs. Decades-long track record serving children and adults across the spectrum.
AMS-affiliated private Montessori school (PreK-6) with a low 12:1 student-teacher ratio and an individualized, multi-sensory approach that often suits learners who need a flexible, child-paced environment. Established Davenport school.
On the Iowa side, Davenport, Pleasant Valley, and Bettendorf each run specialized special-education programs — autism support, behavior, resource rooms, and life-skills — backed by Mississippi Bend AEA's special-education staff. In Iowa the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public districts; insist on the right program through the IEP process.
On the Illinois side, the Black Hawk Area Special Education District (BHASED) is the special-education joint agreement serving Moline-Coal Valley, Rock Island-Milan, and other districts across Rock Island, Henry, and Mercer counties. It coordinates specialized programs and services for the Illinois Quad Cities — the body to know when your child attends an Illinois-side school.
ASK Resource Center, Iowa's Parent Training and Information Center, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the IEP process for Iowa-side families. Illinois-side families can get the same free help from Family Matters (the Illinois PTI). Invaluable when you're not sure which placement is right.
A specialized private therapeutic day school operated by Specialized Education Services Inc. serving students ages 3-21 with autism, emotional/behavioral needs, and learning disabilities through individualized IEP-driven instruction with BCBA, counseling, and speech-language support.
A 501(c)(3) founded in 2006 providing intensive Applied Behavior Analysis and full-day autism programming for children with autism and developmental disabilities, with a long regional track record and certified behavior-analysis staff.
A CARF-accredited autism service organization (formerly The Homestead) running Balanced Beginnings, a specialized autism preschool focused on inclusion and kindergarten readiness, plus clinic and community ABA services in the Quad Cities.
A full-day, center-based Applied Behavior Analysis program for children roughly ages 2-6 with autism, accredited by the Autism Commission on Quality, with two Davenport locations serving the Quad Cities region.
A multi-district public special-education joint agreement (Henry, Mercer, Rock Island counties) operating specialized programs including the Black Hawk Area Education Center and the Phoenix Program for students with significant behavioral, hearing, speech, and developmental needs.
The state Area Education Agency providing special-education evaluation, services, and supports (birth-21) for every public and accredited nonpublic school on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities, including autism, dyslexia, hearing, and assistive-technology specialists.
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.
Well-regarded Iowa district offering IEP-driven special-education and related services with AEA support. Free to residents; program offerings vary by building and year.
Illinois Quad Cities district providing the full continuum of special-education services and supports under IDEA, coordinated with regional services. Free to residents; placements determined by IEP and change year to year.
Autism Commission on Quality (ACQ)-accredited center providing evidence-based, BCBA-supervised early intensive intervention and supporting diagnostic pathways for young children in the Davenport area.
A multidisciplinary group practice in Davenport serving the greater Quad Cities since 1985, Genesis Psychology Associates provides neuropsychological and psychoeducational evaluations — the kind of rigorous, school-ready testing that anchors a strong IEP. Ask whether your evaluator holds ABPP board certification in clinical neuropsychology.
For complex cases, the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital in Iowa City — about an hour from the Quad Cities — is the region's academic referral for autism diagnostic evaluation, developmental assessment, and multidisciplinary workups. The academic anchor when a local evaluation isn't enough.
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 the Quad Cities, on either side of the river, instead of trusting star ratings.
Both Iowa and Illinois require districts to screen early readers for dyslexia indicators and provide evidence-based, structured-literacy intervention. Davenport, Pleasant Valley, Bettendorf, Moline-Coal Valley, and Rock Island-Milan must offer this free — request dyslexia screening and services in writing, and know your rights before paying for private tutoring.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators lists accredited O-G practitioners — searchable near Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, and Rock Island. Orton-Gillingham (and Wilson) is the gold-standard, evidence-based credential for a private dyslexia tutor; verify it instead of trusting ads.
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.
Long-established (since 1949) nonprofit outpatient pediatric rehab center providing occupational, physical, speech, and feeding therapy by licensed/certified clinicians (OTR/L, CCC-SLP) for children, with a focus on birth-to-five.
Hospital-affiliated pediatric therapy program delivering individualized occupational, physical, and speech-language therapy (including a CCC-SLP) to improve communication, coordination, and daily-living skills.
Quad Cities provider delivering structured, multisensory reading and spelling intervention built on the Orton-Gillingham approach for students with dyslexia, with in-person and remote options.
The Quad Cities Autism Center is a local nonprofit (501c3, founded 2006) providing BCBA-led applied behavior analysis on the Illinois side, with Board-Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians building language, social, and self-help skills. A credentialed, community-rooted ABA option. Ask about BHCOE accreditation.
Caravel Autism Health's Davenport center offers autism evaluation, diagnosis, and BCBA-led ABA therapy, serving families across Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, Rock Island, and surrounding towns on both sides of the river. A credentialed regional provider — ask about BHCOE accreditation and which insurers and Medicaid plans they accept.
Sweet Pea's Therapy provides pediatric speech-language, occupational, and physical therapy for Quad Cities families — credentialed CCC-SLP and OTR/L clinicians serving children with autism, sensory processing differences, ADHD, and learning disabilities. A warm, child-centered local clinic.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across the Quad Cities, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Davenport, Bettendorf, Moline, or Rock Island find the nearest credentialed clinician on either side of the river.
Genesis Health (MercyOne Genesis) and UnityPoint Health both run pediatric clinics across the Quad Cities — a strong local medical starting point for developmental concerns and referrals. Your pediatrician's referral is often the first step toward a formal autism or ADHD diagnosis; University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital is the academic referral for complex cases.
About an hour west in Iowa City, the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital is home to board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians and neurodevelopmental specialists who diagnose autism, ADHD, and developmental differences — the medical anchor many strong IEPs are built on.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the Quad Cities and eastern Iowa — 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 Iowa and Illinois — the field's real professional standard, and the place to look first for paid help in a two-state metro.
ASK Resource Center is Iowa's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process for Davenport, Bettendorf, and Pleasant Valley families. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Family Matters is Illinois' federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, serving the entire state — free help with rights, evaluations, and the IEP process for Moline and Rock Island families. The Illinois-side counterpart to ASK; call whichever matches your child's school.
For children birth to 3, both states provide free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies — Early ACCESS through Mississippi Bend AEA on the Iowa side, and Child & Family Connections (CFC) on the Illinois side. The earliest, no-barrier, no-cost place to start in the Quad Cities.
As a community nonprofit, the Quad Cities Autism Center is a more accessible BCBA-led ABA option for many families — ask about Medicaid and insurance coverage and any reduced-fee or scholarship support. A mission-driven choice for the Illinois side.
Each state's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency offers free legal-rights information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are denied — Disability Rights Iowa on the Iowa side, Equip for Equality on the Illinois side. A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
ASK Resource Center offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights — a no-cost first call for any Iowa-side Quad Cities family navigating special education (Family Matters does the same for Illinois-side families).
If you live in Davenport, Bettendorf, or anywhere in Scott County, Iowa, Early ACCESS — delivered free through Mississippi Bend AEA — is your birth-to-3 front door. They provide free developmental evaluation and early-intervention services (speech, OT, PT, early childhood special education) at no cost, coaching parents in everyday routines. The earliest, no-barrier place to start on the Iowa side.
If you live in Moline, Rock Island, or anywhere on the Illinois side, your birth-to-3 front door is your regional Child & Family Connections (CFC) office, the intake agency for Illinois Early Intervention. A free evaluation and Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) are provided within 45 days of referral, with services starting within 30 days of agreeing to the plan. Call CFC for the Rock Island County region.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Davenport, Pleasant Valley, or Bettendorf in Iowa; Moline-Coal Valley or Rock Island-Milan in Illinois. The district (with AEA support in Iowa, or the Black Hawk Area Special Education District in Illinois) must evaluate and, if eligible, write an IEP. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA — put the request in writing and date it.
Federally funded and free — they help Iowa families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Iowa'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 Quad Cities?
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 Quad Cities?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Iowa — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.