Redding and Shasta County — including Anderson, Shasta Lake, Cottonwood, and the surrounding far-northern communities — have real, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by Far Northern Regional Center, Rowell Family Empowerment, and Mercy Medical Center, with the UC Davis MIND Institute a drive south for complex diagnosis. Your local districts — Redding Elementary, Enterprise Elementary, Gateway Unified, and Shasta Union High — each run special education, coordinated through the Shasta County SELPA. This is the North State'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 California your free front door is Early Start (birth–3) through Far Northern Regional Center, and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+ (California law: 60 calendar days from signed consent). 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 WASC-affiliated personalized-learning public charter in Redding offering flexible, independent-study programs that families of students with learning differences and ADHD use for a smaller, individualized setting. Free, with credentialed teachers and an IEP-supported model.
A small Socratic-learning micro-school that has worked successfully with students who have ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, and milder forms of autism in a low-ratio, self-paced environment. Note: not WASC-accredited; high schoolers graduate with a college-ready transcript.
The Shasta County SELPA, coordinated through the Shasta County Office of Education, oversees specialized special-education programs across Redding Elementary, Enterprise Elementary, Gateway Unified, and Shasta Union High — autism support, behavior, and life-skills classes within an inclusion model. In Shasta County the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public districts; insist on the right program through the IEP process.
As your child nears age 3, Far Northern Regional Center helps families transition from Early Start into district preschool special education and community programs — a knowledgeable local partner in finding the right next placement.
Rowell Family Empowerment, the North State's parent training center, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the IEP process — including its SLATE social-behavioral skills program for children with autism in Shasta County. Invaluable when you're unsure what placement to ask for.
The county's Special Education Local Plan Area runs state-mandated specialized public programs (including deaf/hard-of-hearing, visually impaired/orientation-and-mobility, and other low-incidence services) on behalf of local Redding-area districts, with placement set by the student's IEP team.
Redding's local elementary district provides a full continuum of special-education program options and intervention services, aiming to serve identified students in the least restrictive environment with credentialed special-ed staff.
A 90-plus-year established disability-services organization whose autism, ABA, early-intervention and behavioral-health programs hold CARF International accreditation (the top tier CARF awards), serving children and youth ages 0-22 across Northern California including the Redding 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.
The regional body coordinating special education across 25+ Shasta-area districts, the County Office of Education, and charter LEAs. Runs specialized programs (vision impairment, deaf/hard-of-hearing, WorkAbility transition, alternative dispute resolution) and guarantees free appropriate public education. Programs change year to year.
One of Redding's larger elementary districts, with a long-established special education department providing IEP services, resource specialists, and speech/OT support across its schools. Free to resident families. Programs change year to year.
Serving north Redding and Shasta Lake, Gateway USD provides a full continuum of special education services from preschool through transition, including specialized day classes and related services. Free to resident families. Programs change year to year.
Provides high-school special education and transition services (including WorkAbility employment prep) across Enterprise, Shasta, and Foothill High Schools. Credentialed staff; free to resident families. Programs change year to year.
Clinical psychologist with certified specialty concentrations in neuropsychology and forensic psychology, fellowship-trained in neuropsychology at UC Davis Medical Center. Provides diagnostic testing for autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and learning challenges in children and adults.
Dr. Tammy Grabreck is a Redding clinical neuropsychologist with fellowship training in neuropsychology at UC Davis Medical Center, providing pediatric and adult neuropsychological evaluation including autism testing — a local, credentialed option for the comprehensive testing that drives an IEP. Confirm current availability and credentials directly.
The UC Davis MIND Institute in Sacramento — a drive south from Redding — is Northern California's nationally regarded academic home for autism and neurodevelopmental diagnostic evaluation. The academic referral for complex or uncertain cases when local testing 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 Shasta County, instead of trusting star ratings.
California's dyslexia guidelines direct districts to identify students with dyslexia and provide evidence-based, multisensory, structured-literacy intervention. Redding Elementary, Enterprise, Gateway, and Shasta Union must offer this free — request dyslexia screening and structured-literacy 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 Redding and the North State — and the Northern California branch of the International Dyslexia Association runs O-G tutor training in Redding, so trained practitioners exist locally. The gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia tutor, instead of trusting ads.
The Academic Language Therapy Association lists Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALTs) — the therapist-level, Orton-Gillingham-based dyslexia credential. Use the directory to find or verify a CALT serving the Redding area; CALT is the gold standard for serious dyslexia intervention.
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.
Speech-language clinic (housed within the Center for Neuropsychology) led by Kari Ray, M.S., CCC-SLP and Hannah Gumm, M.S., CCC-SLP, offering evaluations and therapy for apraxia, autism, AAC, articulation, language delays, and fluency. Kari is ASHA-certified with 22+ years of clinical experience.
Pediatric clinic in east Redding providing speech-language pathology and occupational therapy in-clinic, in-home, and via telehealth. Licensed therapists serving children with autism, developmental delays, sensory and feeding needs.
Pediatric speech and language therapy practice in Redding offering evaluation and treatment for articulation, language delays, and communication disorders by an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist.
Provides Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)-designed and -supervised applied behavior analysis programs for children with autism, with one-on-one behavior technicians and individualized treatment plans. Serves the Redding area.
S P O T provides pediatric speech, occupational, and physical therapy for children ages 0–18 in Redding — a credentialed local clinic delivering CCC-SLP speech-language therapy and OTR/L sensory-integration occupational therapy for children with autism, SPD, ADHD, and learning disabilities. Confirm CCC-SLP / OTR-L credentials when you call.
Small Talk Pediatric Services is a Redding-area pediatric speech (and occupational) therapy provider serving children in-clinic, in-home, and virtually — a credentialed local option for speech-language and feeding needs. Ask about CCC-SLP certification and insurance.
For children with an eligible diagnosis, Far Northern Regional Center funds and coordinates ABA and autism services across Shasta County — your route to credentialed behavior intervention when private insurance or the school isn't enough. Ask for BHCOE-accredited, BCBA-supervised providers.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers serving Shasta County, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Redding, Anderson, or Shasta Lake find the nearest credentialed clinician.
Mercy Medical Center Redding (Dignity Health) provides pediatric care for Redding and the North State — a strong local medical starting point for developmental concerns and referrals, with the UC Davis MIND Institute as the academic referral for complex autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses.
Shasta Community Health Center is a federally qualified health center providing pediatric primary care on a sliding scale regardless of insurance — a local, affordable medical home that can flag developmental concerns and refer for evaluation. A key first stop for uninsured or Medi-Cal families.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the North State — 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 Shasta County — the field's real professional standard.
Rowell Family Empowerment is the North State's parent-run Family Empowerment Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process for Shasta and the surrounding counties. A respected local free resource before hiring a private advocate.
California'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.
For children birth to 3, Early Start (through Far Northern Regional Center) provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in Shasta County.
Shasta Community Health Center provides pediatric primary care and behavioral health on a sliding scale regardless of ability to pay — an affordable local medical home for Medi-Cal and uninsured families navigating developmental concerns.
Rowell Family Empowerment offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights, plus its SLATE social-skills program — a no-cost first call for any Shasta County family navigating special education.
California's protection & advocacy agency offers free legal information and advocacy for special-education rights — a no-cost resource for any family whose child's rights are being denied.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay or disability, California's Early Start program — coordinated locally by Far Northern Regional Center in Redding — provides free evaluation and early-intervention services: speech, occupational, and physical therapy, developmental services, and family support. The earliest, no-barrier place to start in Shasta County.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Redding Elementary, Enterprise Elementary, Gateway Unified, or Shasta Union High. In California the district must give you an assessment plan within 15 days and complete the evaluation and IEP meeting within 60 calendar days of your signed consent. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA.
Rowell Family Empowerment — the parent-run Family Empowerment Center serving Shasta, Tehama, Trinity, Siskiyou, Glenn, and Butte counties — offers free trainings and one-on-one help on IFSP-to-IEP transition, 504 plans, behavior, and the IEP process for families of children birth to 22. Your free, local first call before paying anyone.
California'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 California families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
California'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 Redding?
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 Redding?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in California — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.