Savannah and the Coastal Empire — Chatham, Effingham, and Bryan counties, including Pooler, Rincon, Richmond Hill, and Hinesville's edge — have solid, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by Memorial Health's Willett Children's Hospital and the Matthew Reardon Center for Autism. Your local districts — Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS), Effingham County, and Bryan County — each run a special-education department. This is the Coastal Empire'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 Georgia your free front door is Babies Can't Wait (early intervention, birth–3) and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+ — Georgia completes the evaluation within 60 days of 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 private school serving students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, dyslexia, ADD/ADHD and other specific learning disabilities through small-group instruction and a low student-teacher ratio. Accepts Georgia's SB-10 special-needs scholarship.
The Matthew Reardon Center for Autism is a Savannah organization serving children, teens, and adults with autism — its school provides specialized education with in-house speech, occupational, physical, and music therapies to support the whole child. A landmark Coastal Empire autism placement.
SCCPSS runs specialized classrooms, autism and behavior programs, and a continuum of placements across Chatham County — ask what specialized options (and which schools) can meet your child's needs.
A searchable directory for comparing Savannah-area private and special-education school options by location, grades, and program — useful if you're seeking a specialized placement.
The only accredited, year-round day school for students with autism in southeast Georgia. Its Advance Academy runs a low 3:1 student-to-staff ratio with classrooms led by certified special-education teachers supported by Registered Behavior Technicians, teaching core academics, communication, adaptive/life skills and self-advocacy through individualized, ABA-based instruction. Speech, occupational, physical and music therapies are provided in-house. Serves children, teens and young adults with autism and related developmental differences.
A Savannah-Chatham County Public School System special-education program and member of Georgia's GNETS (Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support). Founded 1971, it serves K-12 students from across Chatham County with significant autism or severe emotional/behavioral disabilities who are referred through the IEP process when their home school is not the right fit. Provides intensive academic plus therapeutic/behavioral support across district campuses (including The Learning Academy at Jenkins HS and at Isle of Hope K-8).
A long-established, SAIS- and NAIS-accredited independent day school (PreK-12) with a dedicated Learning Support Program for students assessed with specific learning needs. About two-thirds of its learning specialists are Orton-Gillingham trained; the program delivers individualized one-to-one literacy and math tutoring in the lower grades and content, executive-function and self-advocacy support in the upper school. Requires a current psychoeducational evaluation on file for services. Best fit for bright students with mild-to-moderate dyslexia/learning differences who can access a mainstream curriculum with support.
A Savannah-based clinical practice offering psychological and developmental evaluation plus therapy and family support, with published autism and special-needs resources for the Coastal Empire. Evaluations are conducted by licensed clinicians.
Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children's Hospital — the region's children's hospital since 1992 — provides pediatric specialty and rehabilitation care (speech, OT, PT, AAC) and is the local medical hub for developmental concerns and referrals across Southeast Georgia.
Savannah Behavioral Pediatrics provides behavioral-pediatric evaluation and management for autism, ADHD, and developmental and behavioral concerns — a dedicated local practice for the formal diagnosis that anchors a strong IEP.
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 Savannah area, instead of trusting star ratings.
Savannah Dyslexia is a local hub for dyslexia resources, testing, and Orton-Gillingham Academy-level training — and a way to connect with O-G-credentialed interventionists in Savannah. A trustworthy local starting point for evidence-based dyslexia help.
The Academy of Orton-Gillingham and the Academic Language Therapy Association list accredited O-G practitioners and CALTs across the Coastal Empire — searchable near Savannah, Pooler, or Richmond Hill. The gold-standard credentials 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.
A pediatric speech and occupational therapy practice whose therapists are nationally certified (CCC-SLP) and state-licensed, with three convenient locations across Midtown Savannah, Pooler and Wilmington Island.
A Behavioral Health Center of Excellence-accredited ABA practice staffed by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT), and an Authorized Continuing Education provider serving Savannah-area families.
Hopebridge's Savannah center provides ABA therapy with interdisciplinary feeding, occupational, and speech-language therapy for children with autism. Hopebridge carries BHCOE accreditation — the real quality marker for ABA.
Coastal Pediatric Therapies provides speech, feeding, occupational, and physical therapy for children of all ages in Savannah with licensed and nationally certified (CCC-SLP, OTR/L) clinicians — a coordinated, multidisciplinary local option.
Live Oak Children's Therapy offers pediatric physical, occupational, and speech therapy for children from birth through the teen years in Savannah — licensed, nationally certified clinicians in a child-friendly setting.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across the Savannah area (including Autism Behavioral Institute and Invo Behavior), ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Pooler, Rincon, or Richmond Hill find the nearest.
Savannah Behavioral Pediatrics diagnoses and helps manage autism, ADHD, and developmental and behavioral conditions — a dedicated local developmental/behavioral medicine option for Coastal Empire families.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians across the Savannah 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 Savannah area — the field's real professional standard.
Parent to Parent of Georgia is Georgia's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP process, with trained parent specialists. A respected statewide free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Georgia'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.
Georgia Southern University's RiteCare Center for Communication Disorders (Armstrong Campus, Savannah) provides low-cost speech-language evaluation and therapy by ASHA-certified faculty supervising graduate clinicians — a strong-value option for ongoing speech-language services.
The Savannah Speech & Hearing Center is a nonprofit providing pediatric speech-language and occupational therapy with sliding-scale options (CCC-SLP clinicians like Catherine Nelson, M.S.) — accessible care regardless of ability to pay.
The Georgia Legal Services Program provides free civil legal help to income-eligible families across the Savannah area — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
For children birth to 3, Babies Can't Wait provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies through the Coastal Health District — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in the Savannah area.
For children birth to 3 with a delay or disability, Babies Can't Wait — delivered locally by the Coastal Health District — provides free evaluation and early-intervention services (speech, OT, PT, special instruction, audiology, nutrition) across Chatham, Effingham, and Bryan counties. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
At age 3, request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS), Effingham County, or Bryan County. Georgia completes the evaluation within 60 days of consent. This is the free legal route to an IEP and services under IDEA.
The Georgia Advocacy Office is Georgia'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 Georgia families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Georgia'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 Savannah?
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 Savannah?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Georgia — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.