Rochester and Olmsted County — home to the Mayo Clinic and its Children's Center, the academic anchor for all of southeastern Minnesota — has unusually deep, credentialed help for kids with special needs. Your local districts run special education: Rochester Public Schools (ISD 535) is by far the largest, with Byron, Stewartville, Kasson-Mantorville, Pine Island, and Dover-Eyota serving the surrounding towns. This is southeastern Minnesota'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 Minnesota your free front door is Help Me Grow (birth–3 early intervention through your district / the Minnesota Department of Education) and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+. 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 →
Family-owned center founded in 2004 and operated by its therapists, providing center-based ABA for children with autism plus pediatric occupational therapy and psychotherapy. Programming includes classroom time, social-skills groups, and in-home services.
Center-based applied behavior analysis program delivering one-on-one therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, paired with a strong home component. Listed in the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) provider directory.
Rochester Public Schools serves more than 17,800 students across 24 facilities and runs the area's full continuum of special-education programs — autism, behavior, developmental, and life-skills supports — within an inclusion model. The surrounding districts (Byron, Stewartville, Kasson-Mantorville, Pine Island, Dover-Eyota) run their own. In Olmsted County the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public districts; insist on the right program through the IEP process.
The Reading Center — a nationally recognized Rochester nonprofit founded in 1951, one of only two centers west of the Mississippi accredited by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham to both tutor and train — partners with local schools (The Journey School, Franklin Elementary, the Rochester ALC) and offers diagnostic assessment plus structured-literacy instruction. The region's gold-standard for a child whose primary need is reading.
PACER Center, Minnesota's Parent Training and Information Center, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the IEP process — workshops, one-on-one assistance, and advocates who can help you prepare for an IEP or 504 meeting. Invaluable before you commit to any placement.
A nonprofit dyslexia institute (founded 1951) offering diagnostic testing and one-on-one Orton-Gillingham structured-literacy instruction, accredited by both the Academy of Orton-Gillingham and the International Dyslexia Association.
A long-running Minnesota autism organization providing center-based ABA therapy and related services for children and young adults (18 months–21) with autism spectrum disorder at its Rochester location.
A referral-based public Federal Setting IV special-education school within Rochester Public Schools serving K-12 students with significant mental-health and behavioral needs.
A Federal Setting IV special-education program run by a six-district SE Minnesota cooperative, providing intensive services for students whose needs exceed what their home districts can offer (~20 mi from Rochester).
A family-owned, established Rochester provider delivering one-on-one ABA therapy, OT, and mental-health services for children with autism spectrum disorder and related conditions; clinic/day-program model rather than an accredited academic school.
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.
Regional special-education cooperative serving Byron, Kasson-Mantorville, Stewartville, Triton, Hayfield, and Blooming Prairie. Operates the Futures/SUN Federal Setting IV program for high-needs students plus early-childhood special education, speech, OT/PT, and assistive technology. Programs change year to year.
Special-education cooperative serving member districts including Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Dover-Eyota, St. Charles, and Chatfield under a Total Special Education System plan (MN Rule 3525.1100). Provides specialized programs and related services across the southeast metro. Programs change year to year.
Provides comprehensive pediatric neuropsychological evaluations from infancy to young adulthood, commonly assessing autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, and ADHD, plus executive-functioning coaching. Led by licensed psychologist Dr. Quimby Tremain.
Mayo Clinic Children's Center, right in Rochester, runs a Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics with a multispecialty team — developmental-behavioral pediatrics, neuropsychology, child psychiatry, audiology, speech-language pathology, nursing, and social work — that evaluates, diagnoses, and treats children with complex developmental and behavioral disorders, including autism. The world-class academic referral for diagnostic clarity, in your own backyard.
Caravel Autism Health's Rochester center provides comprehensive autism diagnostic evaluations for children as young as 12 months, followed by ABA therapy if appropriate — a credentialed, autism-specific local option when you want a focused diagnostic workup outside 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 across the Rochester area, instead of trusting star ratings.
The single best reading resource in southeastern Minnesota: The Reading Center, founded in Rochester in 1951, provides dyslexia diagnostic assessment and 1:1 Orton-Gillingham tutoring (in person and online), and trains the region's O-G teachers. As a nonprofit it offers financial assistance — ask about sliding-scale and scholarship support. The Academy-accredited credential to look for.
Minnesota law requires districts to screen students for dyslexia characteristics and provide evidence-based, structured-literacy intervention. Rochester and every Olmsted County district must offer this free — request dyslexia screening and services in writing, and know your rights before paying for private tutoring.
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-standing community provider offering speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and audiology, individually or in small groups, privately and through insurance. Speech services delivered by ASHA CCC-SLP clinicians.
Client-centered, neurodiversity-affirming clinic offering occupational and speech therapy for children and adults plus school support. Staffed by licensed occupational therapists (OTR/L) and ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists (CCC-SLP).
In-home pediatric speech-language and occupational therapy specializing in autistic and neurodivergent children with ADHD, sensory-processing, and motor-coordination needs. Clinicians hold ASHA CCC-SLP certification and OTR/L licensure (incl. an OT with 10+ years' experience).
Caravel Autism Health's Rochester center provides BCBA-led applied behavior analysis for children with autism, with one-to-one therapy and structured peer interaction in a child-friendly clinic. A credentialed, autism-specific local provider — ask about BHCOE accreditation when you compare ABA agencies.
Minnesota Autism Center provides ABA therapy supplemented by speech and occupational therapy for children ages 18 months to 21, and the Rochester Center for Children offers ABA, pediatric occupational therapy, and psychotherapy locally — coordinated, multi-discipline options. Verify the supervising BCBA and (for SLP/OT) CCC-SLP and OTR/L credentials.
Mayo Clinic provides pediatric speech-language pathology and occupational therapy as part of its Children's Center — academic-grade, credentialed CCC-SLP and OTR/L therapy integrated with diagnosis and medical care, a strong option for complex or medically involved children.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families across Rochester and Olmsted County find the nearest credentialed clinician.
Mayo Clinic's Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, based in Rochester, brings board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians together with child psychiatry, neuropsychology, and audiology for formal autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses — among the strongest places in the country for a complex diagnostic question.
Olmsted Medical Center provides community pediatric care across Rochester and southeastern Minnesota — a local medical starting point for developmental concerns and referrals, with Mayo Clinic as the academic referral for complex autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the Rochester 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 the Rochester area — the field's real professional standard.
PACER Center is Minnesota's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process for children with any disability from birth to age 26, including advocates who can help you prepare for an IEP or 504 meeting. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
The Minnesota Disability Law Center (Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid) offers free legal information and advocacy for special-education rights — a no-cost first stop before hiring a private advocate or attorney.
As a Rochester nonprofit, The Reading Center offers financial assistance so cost is not a barrier to Academy-accredited Orton-Gillingham dyslexia tutoring — ask about sliding-scale fees and scholarships. A remarkable lower-cost path to gold-standard reading help.
For children birth to 3, Help Me Grow provides free developmental evaluation and early-intervention services through your local district — no diagnosis or income limit required. The earliest, no-barrier place to start in Olmsted County.
PACER Center offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights, plus workshops and one-on-one assistance — a no-cost first call for any Rochester-area family navigating special education.
The Minnesota Disability Law Center (Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid) provides free legal information and advocacy when a child's special-education rights are denied — a no-cost resource for families who cannot afford a private attorney.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay or disability, Help Me Grow — Minnesota's early-intervention system, led by the Minnesota Department of Education — provides free evaluation and services: speech, occupational, and physical therapy, special instruction, and family support, delivered through your local school district. One referral opens the door; no diagnosis or income limit is required. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Rochester Public Schools (ISD 535), Byron, Stewartville, Kasson-Mantorville, Pine Island, or Dover-Eyota. In Minnesota the district must complete the evaluation within 30 school days of your written consent, then hold an evaluation/IEP meeting. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA.
The Minnesota Disability Law Center, a program of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, is Minnesota'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 Minnesota families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Minnesota'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 Rochester, MN?
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 Rochester, MN?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Minnesota — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.