Berks County — Reading, Wyomissing, Exeter, Muhlenberg, Sinking Spring, and the surrounding towns — has solid, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by Tower Health's Reading Hospital and Penn State Health St. Joseph. The city of Reading has a large Hispanic community, so we flag bilingual and Spanish-speaking providers wherever we can confirm them, and you have the right to special-education information in the language your family understands. Your local districts — Reading School District, Wilson, Exeter Township, Muhlenberg, and Governor Mifflin — each run a special-education department. This is Berks County'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. In Pennsylvania your free front door is Early Intervention (birth–3) through Berks County/CONNECT, preschool Early Intervention (ages 3–5) through the Berks County Intermediate Unit, and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 5+. 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 →
Licensed private academic schools serving K-12 students with autism and emotional support needs, providing educational, behavioral and therapeutic services. Multiple campuses in the Reading area.
Licensed private academic school for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, emotional disturbance and other exceptionalities, operated by the long-established nonprofit Merakey. Provides individualized special education with integrated clinical services.
Independent K-12+ school in nearby Mount Joy for students with language- or math-based learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, ASD and executive-function difficulties, using research-based multisensory instruction. Long-standing reputation serving south-central PA including Berks County families.
PA Department of Education Approved Private School serving students ages 5-21 with autism, learning differences and emotional/behavioral needs through integrated special education and clinical services. Decades-long history serving the greater Philadelphia/Berks region.
The Berks County Intermediate Unit runs specialized public classrooms and autism/emotional-support programs for districts across the county — the placement many districts use for a more specialized public setting, and a place to ask what specialized options exist near you.
Pennsylvania approves private schools (APS) for students whose needs can't be met in the district; the PDE directory helps you find approved specialized placements serving the Reading area — a placement your IEP team can fund when appropriate.
A searchable directory for comparing Reading-area private and special-education school options by location, grades, and program — useful if you're seeking a specialized placement.
Day school in Reading providing autistic support for students in grades K–8. Integrates ABA, speech and occupational therapy, MTSS, and social-emotional learning. Operated by New Story, a 75-school PA-licensed network of special-education day schools; districts place students here via IEP. One of three New Story sites in the immediate Reading area.
Reading day school providing emotional support for students K–12 with anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, and behavioral challenges. Trauma-informed, counseling-rich model with ABA and SEL; staffed by certified special-ed teachers and clinicians. Districts place students via IEP. Part of the PA-licensed New Story network.
Just outside Reading in Wyomissing, this New Story day school serves students in grades 6–12 on the autism spectrum. On-site transition programming, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and gymnasium. Certified staff, ABA-based, accepts district IEP placements. Part of the PA-licensed New Story network.
The county's public special-education backbone since 1971, running ~200 programs across Berks: autistic support, emotional support, life-skills, multiple-disabilities, deaf/hard-of-hearing and vision services, early intervention, plus the PAL vocational/transition program. Operates classrooms and provides certified specialists in partnership with all 18 Berks districts. The default publicly funded route for placement and services.
Independent K–8 day school dedicated to students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and other language-based learning disabilities. Multisensory, structured-literacy curriculum with class sizes of 6–10 and embedded speech-language and assistive-tech supports. About 35–40 minutes from Reading in the Lehigh Valley. In the league of Siena/Katherine Thomas for LBLD.
PA Approved Private School (APS) specializing exclusively in autism spectrum disorder, ages preschool–21. ABA-grounded, data-driven program with BCBA oversight, speech/OT, and intensive transition services; state- and district-funded placements via IEP. About 50–60 minutes west of Reading near Hershey — included as a top-tier autism-specialist option given how sparse in-county autism APS seats are.
PA Approved Private School operated by Lehigh University since 1965, serving children/youth classified with emotional disturbance and autism using schoolwide positive behavior supports; doubles as a teacher-training laboratory school. Accepts district IEP placements from ~40 districts. About 45–55 minutes from Reading in Bethlehem — a high-credential therapeutic option for ED/autism.
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.
Berks County public district with an established special-education department offering a continuum of supports and services for students with disabilities. Programs and offerings change year to year.
Free, multi-year one-on-one Orton-Gillingham dyslexia tutoring for children, staffed by tutors trained in an IMSLEC-accredited multisensory structured language program. No cost to families.
Penn State Health's multidisciplinary team performs neurological, language and cognitive assessments to evaluate children for autism spectrum disorder, with services available in the Berks region. University-affiliated.
Specialty practice providing comprehensive autism and neurodevelopmental evaluations, neuropsychological testing and medical diagnostics by licensed clinicians, alongside therapy services.
Reading Pediatrics' Behavioral Health program provides autism evaluations for young children (18 months–3 years) and connects families to outpatient and intensive behavioral-health services (IBHS) — a local, early diagnostic pathway in Berks County.
Tower Health's Reading Hospital provides pediatric care and is the local medical home for developmental concerns, autism/ADHD evaluation referrals, and follow-up — with CHOP (Philadelphia, ~1 hour) and Penn State Hershey as academic referrals for the most 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 Berks County, instead of trusting star ratings.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham and the Academic Language Therapy Association list accredited O-G practitioners and CALTs across Berks County — searchable near Reading, Wyomissing, or Exeter. The gold-standard credentials for a private dyslexia tutor.
The International Dyslexia Association's Pennsylvania branches list structured-literacy providers and resources — a reliable way to find evidence-based (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Barton) dyslexia help near Reading, and to avoid unproven methods.
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.
In-clinic and in-home ABA therapy for children with autism, delivered by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Registered Behavior Technicians. Established multi-site provider.
Center-based ABA therapy for children with autism, overseen by Board Certified Behavior Analysts and accepting most major insurance. Part of an accredited multi-state ABA organization.
Pediatric outpatient clinic offering speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and social-skills training by licensed/certified therapists (CCC-SLP, OTR/L).
WeeTalk (since 2006) provides speech, occupational, physical, and feeding therapy plus special instruction and behavior supports across Berks and surrounding counties, with specialty areas in autism and sensory processing — a deep, established local therapy provider, with bilingual capacity.
Tower Health's pediatric outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy provides hospital-based care with licensed and nationally certified (CCC-SLP, OTR/L) clinicians in the Reading area — coordinated care within the region's health system.
Step By Step Pediatric Therapy has provided Berks and surrounding counties with early-intervention speech, occupational, and physical therapy (plus special instruction, feeding, and behavior supports) since 2000 — an established local option.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across Berks County, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Wyomissing, Exeter, Muhlenberg, or Sinking Spring find the nearest.
Tower Health's Reading Hospital and Penn State Health St. Joseph provide pediatric and developmental-behavioral care in Berks County — the local medical home for autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnosis and management, with CHOP and Penn State Hershey as academic referrals.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving Berks County — 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 Berks County — the field's real professional standard.
The PEAL Center is Pennsylvania's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process, with trained parent specialists and Spanish-language support. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Pennsylvania'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.
Kutztown University's Speech & Hearing Clinic (about 20 minutes from Reading) provides low-cost speech-language evaluation and therapy by supervised graduate clinicians — a strong-value option for ongoing speech-language services in Berks County.
MidPenn Legal Services' Reading office provides free, bilingual civil legal help to income-eligible families across Berks County — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
Centro Hispano Daniel Torres is Reading's leading Latino community organization, offering bilingual family support, education advocacy, and navigation — a trusted, Spanish-first first point of connection for families seeking services.
For children birth to 3, Berks County Early Intervention provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies — call the CONNECT Helpline (800-692-7288), the earliest no-barrier place to start.
For children birth to 3 with a delay or disability, Pennsylvania's Early Intervention — run through Berks County's Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Early Intervention Services — provides free evaluation and services (speech, OT, PT, developmental, behavior). The CONNECT Helpline (800-692-7288) is the no-barrier place to start.
Ages 3–5 are served by Preschool Early Intervention through the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU); at school age, request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Reading, Wilson, Exeter Township, Muhlenberg, or Governor Mifflin. You have the right to the process and documents in Spanish. This is the free legal route to an IEP.
Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Pennsylvania'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 Reading?
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 Reading?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Pennsylvania — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.