Tampa Bay — Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Wesley Chapel — is home to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, the University of South Florida, and Family Network on Disabilities, one of the country's longest-running parent centers. The hard part is knowing which help is genuinely excellent and how to reach the free options first. This is Tampa Bay's own directory, ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, Orton-Gillingham accreditation, COPAA, board-certification) — never by reviews or who pays. Start with the free Florida options, 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 →
Comprehensive K-postsecondary educational environment for students with autism and other neurodiverse profiles, emphasizing academic growth, social development and self-advocacy in Tampa.
Tampa Bay's first school-within-a-school for students with dyslexia and language-based learning differences in grades 2-7; all program teachers are trained through the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.
K-8 school dedicated to students with dyslexia and built on the Orton-Gillingham approach; the only dyslexia-focused school in the area accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools, founded in 1983.
Private school specializing in educating students with motor and sensory differences such as autism and apraxia, with individualized supports.
Education-based nonprofit serving students with autism in grades K-12 through individualized learning, supportive routines and real-world skill building.
A full-time ESE center charter school serving grades 3–12 for students with learning and learning-related disabilities, offering a standard-diploma path plus on-site speech, OT, PT, and counseling at no cost to qualifying students.
An independent school for students of average-to-above-average ability with dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety, using intensive phonological/structured-literacy instruction in small classes.
A fully accredited (Cognia, NIPSA, Middle States) family-operated college-prep school operating since 1968, serving grades 4–12 students with learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, and autism, with Tampa-area campuses in Lutz and Riverview.
Educating children who learn differently since 1958, Morning Star School (Tampa) serves K–8 students with specific learning disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, processing disorders, ADHD, and autism — with on-site speech and occupational therapy. Twice named a NASET School of Excellence.
F.A.C.E. (Tampa) offers educational programs for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorders, in collaboration with the public school district — a recognized autism-focused school option for Tampa Bay families.
FND's parent specialists can help you compare additional Tampa Bay school options for dyslexia, autism, and learning differences — and explain Florida scholarship programs (like the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities) at no cost.
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.
Tampa's public district ESE department supports students with disabilities ages birth-21 across 250+ schools, offering a continuum from general-education inclusion to specialized day schools. Programs and placements change year to year – confirm current offerings with the district.
Public ESE program serving the northern Tampa metro (Wesley Chapel, Land O'Lakes, New Port Richey) with IEP-driven services and specialized programs. Offerings change year to year – confirm with the district.
Public ESE program serving the Clearwater/St. Petersburg side of the Tampa Bay metro with a continuum of placements and related services. Programs change year to year – verify current options with the district.
University of South Florida clinic providing comprehensive autism and developmental diagnostic evaluations – parent/child interviews and standardized autism and IQ assessments – conducted on the USF Tampa campus.
USF community-based center providing no-cost consultation, training and resource navigation for individuals with autism and related disabilities across a 14-county region. By statute CARD does not perform diagnoses, but its resource team connects families to appropriate evaluators.
Practice in Tampa and Riverview providing neuropsychological testing on learning, behavior and social-emotional development, with autism as a specialty area.
Center focused on early clinical identification and comprehensive autism diagnostic evaluations centered on each child's strengths and developmental needs.
Multi-location pediatric practice with developmental pediatricians providing medical and psychological evaluation and support for behavioral concerns including autism spectrum disorder.
A neuropsychology practice where Drs. Shivani Saible and Scott Porter are board-certified by the ABPP/AACN, providing neuropsychological, psychoeducational, ASD, and ADHD evaluations for children and adolescents in Tampa Bay.
A Tampa neuropsychology practice with ABPP board-certified clinical neuropsychologists (Drs. Lamar Ingulli and Alison Donnell) offering evaluations of learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, and other neurodevelopmental conditions in children.
A South Tampa pediatric psychology practice led by Dr. Kristin Edwards offering psychoeducational, neuropsychological, autism, ADHD, and gifted evaluations for children and teens.
A psychology group practice providing psychoeducational and psychological evaluations to identify learning disabilities, intellectual disability, gifted qualification, ADHD, and autism for children in the Tampa Bay / Brandon area.
The Neuropsychology Program at Johns Hopkins All Children's — where Jennifer Katzenstein, PhD, ABPP-CN co-directs the Center for Behavioral Health — provides comprehensive evaluations of learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism for the greater Tampa Bay area within a top children's hospital.
The Rothman Center for Neuropsychiatry at Johns Hopkins All Children's evaluates and treats children with neurodevelopmental and behavioral conditions — including autism, ADHD, OCD, and anxiety — alongside the hospital's neuropsychology team.
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, instead of trusting star ratings.
A Tampa-area reading center providing multisensory, structured-literacy intervention for students with dyslexia and reading difficulties.
The Academy's directory lists accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioners across Tampa Bay — the gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia tutor, verified by training rather than advertising.
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.
Multispecialty pediatric therapy provider with Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists building individualized treatment plans across North and South Tampa.
8,000-square-foot pediatric therapy center providing applied behavior analysis, speech therapy, feeding therapy and occupational therapy under licensed and certified clinicians.
ABA therapy provider delivering BCBA-supervised treatment for children with autism, collaborating with speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists.
ABA therapy organization with Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians focused on children with autism and developmental needs.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider with a Tampa clinic delivering individualized, data-driven applied behavior analysis for children on the autism spectrum.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider serving Tampa (Town N Country) with research-based applied behavior analysis for autistic children.
A long-established Tampa Bay ABA provider offering applied behavior analysis for children with autism, including feeding therapy, verbal behavior, and IEP support across multiple clinics.
A pediatric occupational and speech therapy practice founded by Nicole Bilodeau, MS, OTR/L, supporting children with autism, ADHD, sensory processing, and motor challenges through sensory integration and DIR/Floortime.
A Tampa pediatric therapy clinic offering occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, feeding/sensory therapy, and ABA under one roof for children with developmental needs.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider serving Tampa (Town N Country) — research-based applied behavior analysis for autistic children, accredited for clinical quality rather than chosen by ad spend.
A BHCOE-accredited ABA provider with a Tampa clinic — individualized, data-driven 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 Tampa Bay (including Behavioral Progression and others) — the real quality bar for autism therapy, instead of whoever advertises most.
Awesome Kids Therapy (Tampa) is led by Sarah Pendergast, M.S., CCC-SLP, a play-based pediatric speech-language pathologist providing in-person speech and language evaluation and therapy — a named Hillsborough-side standout for speech and language.
ASHA ProFind lists speech-language pathologists who hold the CCC-SLP and AOTA lists licensed occupational therapists (OTR/L) — national credentials to verify, searchable anywhere in the Tampa area. (Pinellas-side families: see our St. Petersburg/Clearwater page.)
A developmental-behavioral pediatrician (board-certified in DBP by the American Board of Pediatrics) at Pediatric Health Care Alliance whose primary focus is the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in children of all ages in Tampa.
Developmental-behavioral pediatricians at Johns Hopkins All Children's evaluate and treat autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and other learning disorders for families across Tampa Bay and Florida, including a dedicated Autism Program.
USF Health's developmental-behavioral pediatricians specialize in evaluating autism spectrum disorder, developmental delay, intellectual disability, speech/language disorders, and learning problems — academic, board-certified diagnostic care in Tampa.
A special-education attorney serving Hillsborough and the wider Tampa Bay region, representing families in IEP and 504 matters and holding school districts accountable under IDEA and Section 504.
A COPAA-trained advanced special-education advocate and certified dyslexia advocate serving Tampa and across Florida, representing families in IEP meetings for autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other needs.
The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates' directory lists active, vetted special-education advocates and attorneys serving Tampa Bay — the field's real professional standard.
A Tampa special-education law and advocacy practice that helps families initiate evaluations, work with school teams, monitor progress, and protect a child's rights under IDEA and Section 504.
Bay Area Legal Services provides free civil legal help to income-eligible families across the Tampa Bay region — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
USF's Speech-Language Clinic has served Tampa Bay since 1969, providing low-cost speech, language, and early-intervention therapy for infants through adolescents — delivered by graduate clinicians under ASHA-certified supervisors.
Beyond IEP guidance, FND offers free workshops and one-on-one parent support across Tampa Bay — a rich free resource for families learning their rights, alongside clinical services.
For children birth to 3, Early Steps provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies at no cost — the earliest, no-barrier place to start.
For infants and toddlers birth to 3, Florida's Early Steps provides free developmental evaluations and early-intervention services at no cost to families. In Tampa Bay it's run as West Central Early Steps at Johns Hopkins All Children's. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Florida'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.
The federally funded Parent Training and Information Center for west-coast Florida (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and surrounding counties), based in Clearwater for 35+ years — free help with your rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Federally funded and free — they help Florida families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Florida'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 Tampa?
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 Tampa?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Florida — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.