Greater Richmond covers the city plus Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover counties — Glen Allen, Midlothian, Mechanicsville, Short Pump, and south to Petersburg. This directory is built so a family ANYWHERE in central Virginia can find genuinely excellent help nearby, not just options clustered downtown. It's ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, Orton-Gillingham/Wilson accreditation, COPAA, board-certification) — never by reviews or who pays. Start with the free Virginia options (Early Intervention is run by your local Infant & Toddler Connection), then the best evaluators, schools, therapists, doctors, and advocates near you.
✓ Every provider here is vetted by credentials, never pay-to-play. How we choose →
Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and licensed by the Virginia Department of Education, using the Orton-Gillingham approach across all subjects. Serves students with specific learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, and high-functioning ASD.
Private nonprofit serving students with a wide range of disabilities including autism, Down syndrome, developmental delays, and sensory impairments. Long-standing Richmond special-needs school covering 12 of the 13 IDEA disability categories.
Private day school licensed by the Virginia Department of Education and accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Special Education Facilities for students ages 5-22 with behavioral and learning needs.
Specialized private day school in Richmond and member of the Virginia Association of Independent Specialized Education Facilities, serving students with significant emotional and behavioral disabilities.
A fully accredited private day school (K–12) serving students with autism, developmental, emotional, intellectual, multiple, and learning disabilities; placements are made by public schools at no cost to families.
A specialized private day school run by UMFS for students with varied IEP classifications — autism spectrum, emotional and intellectual disabilities, and specific learning disabilities — serving the greater Richmond area.
A private autism and special-education day school for Pre-K through grade 8, combining evidence-based academics with ABA-informed behavioral support and integrated speech, OT, and PT therapies.
A therapeutic day school operating since 1992 for students with emotional, learning, intellectual, and autism-related challenges, with a behavioral-intervention team and on-site therapists; licensed by the Virginia Department of Education.
Riverside School (Richmond) is the only school in Virginia accredited by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators — one of about 18 nationwide — serving K–8 students with dyslexia and language-based differences since 1974. The gold standard for structured literacy in central Virginia.
The New Community School is a co-educational college-prep day school (grades 5–12) for students with dyslexia and language-based learning differences — many arrive from Riverside's elementary program, continuing structured language instruction through high school.
The Faison Center serves students with autism at its Richmond and Peninsula campuses — highly individualized, evidence-based programs with staffing ratios up to 1-to-1 for students who need intensive support.
The Sarah Dooley Center for Autism at St. Joseph's Villa (Richmond) is a day school dedicated to students with autism spectrum disorder — communication, academic, and behavioral support in a specialized environment.
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.
Henrico's Exceptional Education department runs a well-developed continuum of autism and special-education services with a dedicated Autism Services Improvement Team. Programs change year to year; confirm current placements with the division.
One of Virginia's largest divisions, offering a full continuum of special-education and autism supports including specialized self-contained programs. Programs change year to year; verify current offerings with the division.
RPS Exceptional Education operates the Intensive Supports Program for students significantly impacted by autism and those needing intensive supports to access instruction. Programs change year to year; confirm with the division.
Hanover's special-education office provides IEP services and a continuum of placements across the county with a solid track record. Programs change year to year; verify current options with the division.
VCU center supporting accurate, timely autism identification and assessment, training physicians, psychologists, and neurologists and connecting families with screening and diagnosis resources.
Pediatric neuropsychologist Dr. Sarah Jarvandi provides comprehensive autism (ADOS-2), ADHD, learning-disorder, and gifted evaluations for children and adolescents — testing done in person, intakes and feedback virtual.
A long-standing Richmond practice whose testing center provides ADOS autism evaluations, ADHD and learning-disability assessments, and full psychoeducational testing for children and adolescents.
A specialized team providing multidisciplinary, comprehensive diagnostic evaluations for children and adolescents suspected of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders, including insurance-covered appointments via affiliated Virginia Child Neurology.
Dr. Sean Flannery offers comprehensive psychological and psychoeducational evaluations — autism, ADHD, and learning disorders — with in-person assessment available in Richmond plus telehealth across Virginia.
The Child Neurology division at Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU includes board-certified neuropsychologists who evaluate a child's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning — learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism — at central Virginia's leading academic children's hospital (Children's Pavilion).
The disAbility Law Center of Virginia and the Brain Injury Association of Virginia maintain referral lists of qualified neuropsychologists and evaluators in the Richmond area — a credible way to find a private evaluator beyond the hospital system.
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 (in Midlothian, Glen Allen, or Mechanicsville), instead of trusting star ratings.
READ (Reading Education Associates), led by educator Anna Hatfield on Monument Avenue in Richmond, is a tutoring center specializing in reading, dyslexia, and early literacy using Orton-Gillingham approaches — individualized, multisensory instruction for struggling readers across the Richmond area.
The Academy's directory lists accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioners across greater Richmond — searchable by area so you can find one near Midlothian, Glen Allen, or Mechanicsville. The gold-standard credential 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.
Team-based early-intervention clinic pairing each child with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, speech-language pathologist, and occupational therapist for children 18 months to 6 years on the autism spectrum.
Multidisciplinary network staffed by Board Certified Behavior Analysts, RBTs, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists, each licensed or certified in their field.
Pediatric speech-language practice led by an ASHA-certified, Virginia-licensed CCC-SLP with 12+ years' experience and advanced training in DTTC, TEACCH, Beckman oral-motor, apraxia, and Social Thinking.
Chesterfield-based, woman-owned therapy company providing OT, PT, and speech for over twenty years, with clinicians certified in SIPT, Therapeutic Listening, Alert Program, and Handwriting Without Tears.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider offering center-based, home-based, and school-based applied behavior analysis for autistic children — accredited for clinical quality rather than ad spend.
A BHCOE-accredited Richmond ABA provider delivering individualized applied behavior analysis for children on the autism spectrum, verified for clinical quality.
A family-centered pediatric clinic offering occupational therapy (sensory integration, feeding, fine/gross motor), speech-language therapy, and physical therapy with licensed OTR/L and CCC-SLP clinicians.
A speech-language practice led by a CCC-SLP with over 30 years' experience serving toddlers, children, and teens — articulation, language, and developmental speech support across the Richmond area.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider serving Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Prince George counties — research-based applied behavior analysis for autistic children across the metro, accredited for clinical quality rather than ad spend.
A BHCOE-accredited Richmond ABA provider (accredited through 2027) — individualized applied behavior analysis for children on the autism spectrum, verified for clinical quality.
The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence directory lists accredited ABA providers across greater Richmond (including Proud Moments and Compass in Glen Allen) — searchable by zip so a family in Midlothian, Hanover, or Petersburg finds the nearest accredited center.
Treehouse Pediatric Therapy in Richmond, led by occupational therapists Marti Flanagan and Laurie Lanning, provides occupational, speech, physical, and feeding therapy for children from birth through 21 — in clinic, in schools and preschools, at home, and online across the Richmond area.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's directory lists speech-language pathologists who hold the CCC-SLP — the national mark of a fully qualified clinician, searchable anywhere in greater Richmond.
A Bon Secours developmental assessment clinic where a pediatric physician and therapists evaluate and monitor infants and toddlers at high risk for developmental delays.
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU's developmental-behavioral pediatrics team provides expert diagnosis and management of autism, ADHD, and developmental concerns by board-certified specialists — central Virginia's leading academic children's hospital.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians across greater Richmond — the credential to verify for a formal autism or ADHD diagnosis.
A Richmond-based private advocacy firm that helps families understand special-education law and secure the services their children are entitled to, with consultations and hourly advocacy support.
A Richmond law firm (Todd and Sarah Ratner, parents of an autistic child) handling IEP/504 advocacy, manifestation determinations, mediation, and due-process hearings and litigation under IDEA, ADA, and Section 504.
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates' directory lists active, vetted special-education advocates and attorneys serving greater Richmond — the field's real professional standard.
Beyond information, PEATC's trained staff help you prepare for and understand IEP meetings at no cost — a respected free alternative to hiring a private advocate first, available statewide.
The Legal Aid Justice Center provides free legal help to low-income Virginia families on special-education, school-discipline, and related matters — a no-cost route to real legal representation across the Richmond region.
University speech-language clinics offer low-cost evaluation and therapy delivered by supervised graduate clinicians. ASHA's directory helps you locate the nearest accredited program serving the Richmond region.
The Autism Society of Central Virginia provides free information, referrals, and family support across greater Richmond — connecting families to vetted local autism services alongside clinical care.
For children birth to 3, the Infant & Toddler Connection provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies through your local system — the earliest, no-barrier place to start.
For children birth to 3, Virginia's Infant & Toddler Connection (the Greater Richmond local system serves the city, Henrico, and beyond) provides free developmental evaluation and early-intervention services — speech, OT, PT, developmental. The earliest, no-barrier place to start, wherever you live in central Virginia.
Virginia's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency — free legal information, advocacy, and a special-education attorney referral list when a child's special-education rights are denied. A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
Virginia's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings, with services and support statewide. A great first call.
Federally funded and free — they help Virginia families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Virginia'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 Richmond?
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 Richmond?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Virginia — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.