The Shreveport-Bossier City metro — Caddo and Bossier parishes, plus the Ark-La-Tex region reaching toward Barksdale Air Force Base — has real, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by LSU Health Shreveport's Children's Center and Louisiana Key Academy's Caddo campus. Your local districts — Caddo Parish Public Schools and Bossier Parish Schools — each run special education. This is the Shreveport-Bossier 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, CALT, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. In Louisiana your free front door is EarlySteps (birth to age 3) and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+. Military families at Barksdale: ask about EFMP and the TRICARE Autism Care Demonstration. 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 →
Non-residential day academy for children ages 2-21 with developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, or learning disabilities, part of one of the nation's premier licensed disability-services organizations. Each student receives instruction plus on-site occupational, speech, and ABA therapy adapted to individual goals.
Louisiana Key Academy's Caddo campus in Shreveport is a tuition-free public charter school built specifically for children with dyslexia, using daily structured-literacy intervention. Open at no cost to families across Caddo, Bossier, Webster, and DeSoto parishes — a rare, credible specialized placement in the metro.
Caddo Parish Public Schools and Bossier Parish Schools each run specialized special-education programs — autism support, behavior, and life-skills — within an inclusion model, for students ages 3 to 21. In Shreveport-Bossier the strongest specialized placements are often within the public districts; insist on the right program through the IEP process.
Families Helping Families Region 7, staffed by parents of children with disabilities, offers free help weighing options and pushing for the right program through the IEP/504 process across the nine-parish Northwest Louisiana region. Invaluable before you assume a placement is your only choice.
Tuition-free public charter school dedicated solely to students with dyslexia, serving grades 1–6 (expanding to 8th). Students receive daily 90-minute structured-literacy reading instruction in small groups of six or fewer, taught by teachers trained through the IMSLEC-accredited Dyslexia Resource Center. Evidence-based, Shaywitz-endorsed model. Opened 2023 in Shreveport's Broadmoor neighborhood.
Part of Holy Angels Residential Facility, one of the nation's premier licensed facilities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Community School/Academy serves children ages 2–21 with developmental delays and learning disabilities, delivering individualized instruction plus Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), speech, occupational and sensory therapies. Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) member with a 60-year track record.
Inclusive early-childhood program operated by The Arc Caddo-Bossier, serving children from 8 weeks through age 5 with and without disabilities. Very low staff ratios (1:3 infants, 1:5 toddlers, 1:7 preschool), teachers hold or pursue CDA/AA/BA credentials, and direct-care staff bring 200+ years of combined special-needs experience. Strong fit for early intervention; note it is early-childhood only (not K–12).
The public special-education system serving Shreveport. The Department of Exceptional Children provides a full continuum of services for students PreK–12 across mild/moderate to significant support needs, including dyslexia and 504 services, home-instruction services, and placement in the least restrictive environment under FAPE/IDEA. The default no-cost route for families seeking an IEP and in-district specialized supports.
The public special-education system for Bossier City, directly adjacent to Shreveport. Provides a continuum of direct, related and support services for students with exceptionalities ages 3–21, including autism services, speech, adapted PE, occupational and physical therapy, and inclusive placements determined by the IEP team. Operates a dedicated Special Education Evaluation Center.
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.
Provides a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities ages 3-21 across the district, with a continuum of direct and related services including speech, OT, PT, counseling, and health care. Programs change year to year; verify current placements with the district.
Provides initial autism diagnostic examinations and re-evaluations, with Board Certified Behavior Analysts developing treatment-intervention plans for children entering ABA programs.
The LSU Health Shreveport Children's Center provides interdisciplinary developmental evaluations for children ages 2–12 across Region 7 — psychology, occupational therapy, speech-language, and education — using the gold-standard ADOS-2 and ADI-R for autism diagnosis. It also evaluates ADHD, specific learning disorders, and developmental delay. The academic referral for complex cases; a pediatrician's prescription is required.
Behavioral Specialists of Louisiana, a Shreveport-Bossier group led by a licensed clinical psychologist (with BCBAs on staff), provides psychological evaluation and autism diagnosis alongside its ABA services — a credentialed local option for testing. Verify the evaluating clinician's licensure and, for neuropsych questions, ask about board certification.
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 Shreveport-Bossier, instead of trusting star ratings.
Louisiana law requires districts to screen for dyslexia indicators and provide evidence-based, multisensory, structured-literacy intervention. Caddo and Bossier districts must offer this free — request dyslexia screening and 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 near Shreveport-Bossier. For a state credential, look for a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) or Licensed Dyslexia Therapist (LDT). The gold-standard credentials for a private dyslexia tutor, instead of trusting ads.
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.
Outpatient pediatric clinic providing occupational, speech-language, and feeding therapy from birth and up, staffed by nationally certified speech-language pathologists and master's-level occupational therapists. Locations in Shreveport and Bossier City.
CHRISTUS Health pediatric rehabilitation clinic providing physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy to children, backed by a major regional health system.
Provides intensive, evidence-based behavioral (ABA) treatment for children with autism spectrum and related disorders, serving the North Louisiana region.
The PAC Center (Pediatrics & Autism Center) in Shreveport offers a multidisciplinary team — Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists — delivering ABA, speech, OT, and psychological services together. A credentialed, coordinated local option; ask about BHCOE accreditation.
Pelican Pediatric Therapy serves Shreveport-Bossier with ABA, CCC-SLP speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling, and the CHRISTUS Kids Clinic in Shreveport provides hospital-based pediatric physical, occupational, and speech-language therapy — credentialed local clinics for therapy after a diagnosis.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across Shreveport-Bossier, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Shreveport, Bossier City, or Caddo and Bossier parishes find the nearest credentialed clinician.
LSU Health Shreveport's Department of Pediatrics, the region's academic medical home (with the Children's Center for evaluation), is the local starting point for developmental concerns and the referral for complex autism, ADHD, and developmental diagnoses across Northwest Louisiana.
Air Force families at Barksdale AFB should enroll in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) and ask about the TRICARE Autism Care Demonstration, which covers ABA for eligible dependents. EFMP coordinates assignments and services around your child's needs — a key, no-cost military benefit.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving the Shreveport-Bossier region — 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 Shreveport-Bossier region — the field's real professional standard.
Families Helping Families Region 7 is the Northwest Louisiana affiliate of the state's parent-center network (the Louisiana Parent Training & Information Center, LaPTIC) — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the IEP/504 process, staffed by parents of children with disabilities. A respected free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Louisiana'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, EarlySteps provides free developmental evaluation and multidisciplinary early-intervention therapies through the Region 7 entry point in Shreveport — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in Caddo and Bossier parishes.
Louisiana Key Academy's Caddo campus is a tuition-free public charter school for children with dyslexia, delivering daily structured-literacy instruction at no cost to families across Northwest Louisiana — a remarkable free specialized option.
The Autism Society of North Louisiana offers free family support, navigation, and resources for the Shreveport-Bossier community — connecting families to medical evaluation, services, and programs at no cost. A grassroots no-cost first call.
Families Helping Families Region 7 offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights across the nine-parish Northwest Louisiana region — a no-cost first call for any Shreveport-Bossier family navigating special education.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay or a medical condition likely to cause one, EarlySteps — Louisiana's IDEA Part C early-intervention system — provides free evaluation and services: speech, occupational, and physical therapy, developmental intervention, and family support coordination. The Region 7 System Point of Entry (SPOE) in Shreveport serves Caddo, Bossier, and the surrounding parishes. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Caddo Parish Public Schools or Bossier Parish Schools. In Louisiana the district must complete the evaluation within 60 days of your written, signed consent, then hold an eligibility meeting and build the IEP. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA.
Louisiana'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 Louisiana families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Louisiana'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 Shreveport?
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 Shreveport?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Louisiana — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.