Smith County — Tyler, Whitehouse, Lindale, Bullard, and the rest of East Texas — has real, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by UT Health East Texas and CHRISTUS pediatrics, with a growing set of board-certified ABA, speech, and reading providers in town. Your local districts — Tyler ISD, Whitehouse ISD, Lindale ISD, and Chapel Hill ISD — each run special education. This is East Texas'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, CALT/Orton-Gillingham, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification), never by reviews or who pays. In Texas your free front door is ECI (Early Childhood Intervention, birth–3) — in Smith County the contractor is Community HealthCORE — and your school district's evaluation and IEP for ages 3+. Texas law also requires districts to screen for dyslexia. 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 →
Full-day private school for grades 1-12 with learning differences (dyslexia, dysgraphia, auditory processing, ADHD). Fully accredited by Cognia, modeled on the Shelton School, and a member of the International Dyslexia Association and Texas Private Schools Association.
Tuition-free charter school (PK-12) in Tyler with a dedicated special-education department serving students with disabilities through formal ARD (Admission, Review & Dismissal) committees and individualized programs.
Tyler ISD serves students ages birth to 21 with specialized programs — autism support, behavior, and life-skills — within an inclusion model. Whitehouse, Lindale, and Chapel Hill ISDs run their own as well. In East Texas the strongest specialized placements are most often within the public districts; insist on the right program and services through the ARD/IEP process.
All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler runs a dedicated dyslexia therapy program in its lower school, delivering multisensory, structured-literacy instruction by trained academic-language therapists — a credentialed private option for a child who needs intensive reading remediation inside a full school day. Ask whether the therapist holds CALT/LDT certification.
The Brook Hill School in Bullard (just south of Tyler) runs LEAP — Learning Enhancement and Academic Progress — a program for students with dyslexia and other learning differences, staffed by teachers trained in multisensory structured-language methods. A private option for families wanting reading support embedded in a college-prep school.
Long-established K-8 day school serving bright students with learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD) at a 5:1 ratio, recognized among Texas's top special-education private schools.
K-12 public charter operated by The University of Texas at Tyler with an established special-education program and East Texas campuses in Tyler, Longview, and Palestine.
Established nonprofit-affiliated center providing comprehensive and focused ABA therapy plus parent training for children with autism, staffed by Board Certified Behavior Analysts.
BHCOE-accredited, autism-focused center delivering evidence-based ABA therapy supervised by BCBAs with RBT implementation for early learners.
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.
Bullard ISD, just south of Tyler, runs free IDEA special-education services and was awarded a 2026 Texas state grant to expand supports for students with autism. Offerings change year to year.
Whitehouse ISD, in the southeast Tyler metro, provides free special-education and related services to eligible students through the IEP/ARD process. Programs vary by campus and year.
Tyler-based assessment practice led by Dr. Kyle Kennedy providing evidence-based diagnostic evaluations for autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, with a focused testing day and results typically within a week.
Long-standing nonprofit behavioral-health and IDD authority for Smith and surrounding counties, offering psychological assessment for children plus the region's full-time, center-based autism program.
UT Health East Texas — the region's academic health system, affiliated with the UT Tyler School of Medicine — provides pediatric and child/adolescent behavioral health care in Tyler, a strong local medical starting point for developmental concerns, autism and ADHD workups, and referrals. The academic-anchored option for complex cases in East Texas.
Autism Response Team's Tyler center offers autism diagnostic evaluation alongside its BCBA-led ABA program, with coordinated input from speech, occupational, and physical therapists — a local option for families seeking diagnosis and treatment under one roof. Always confirm the diagnosing clinician's license and credentials.
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 Tyler and East Texas, instead of trusting star ratings. Many East Texas families also travel to Dallas (about 1.5 hours) for a pediatric neuropsychologist when local availability is tight.
Texas law requires districts to screen students in kindergarten and first grade for dyslexia and to provide evidence-based, multisensory, structured-literacy intervention following the state Dyslexia Handbook. Tyler ISD and every East Texas district must offer this free — request dyslexia screening and services in writing, and know your rights before paying for private tutoring.
The Academic Language Therapy Association lists Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALT) — in Texas the same training also earns the state Licensed Dyslexia Therapist (LDT) credential, regulated by TDLR. This is the gold-standard credential for a private dyslexia therapist in Tyler, instead of trusting ads; confirm CALT or LDT before you pay.
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.
Autism treatment center providing evidence-based ABA therapy through a team of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs).
Pediatric clinic offering occupational, speech, and physical therapy for autism, sensory processing, and developmental delays, with board-certified speech-language pathologists and licensed therapists.
Speech-therapy practice serving Tyler and Lindale with state-licensed speech-language pathologists working on communication, listening, reading, and comprehension for children.
Action Behavior Centers' Tyler clinic provides Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)-led applied behavior analysis for children with autism roughly ages 18 months to 13 years — a center-based, credentialed option in town (BlueSprig Autism also operates a Tyler center). Ask about BHCOE accreditation and which insurance and Texas Medicaid plans they take.
East Texas Children's Therapy Services is a pediatric outpatient rehab clinic in Tyler offering speech-language therapy (CCC-SLP), occupational therapy (OTR/L), physical therapy, and social work for children across East Texas — a multidisciplinary, credentialed local clinic (Busy Bodies Pediatric Therapy is another Tyler option).
UT Health East Texas's Speech, Language & Hearing Clinic provides CCC-SLP speech-language therapy for articulation, language impairment, fluency/stuttering, social-communication support for autism, and feeding/swallowing for infants and older children — the academic health system's credentialed speech option in Tyler.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across East Texas, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Tyler, Whitehouse, Lindale, or Bullard find the nearest credentialed clinician.
UT Health East Texas, affiliated with the UT Tyler School of Medicine, provides pediatric care and a child & adolescent behavioral health clinic in Tyler — a strong local medical starting point for developmental concerns, autism and ADHD evaluation, and referrals across East Texas.
CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System provides pediatric care in Tyler — another local medical home for developmental concerns and referrals. For a formal developmental-behavioral pediatrician, families often pair a local pediatrician with a Dallas DBP when subspecialty availability is limited in East Texas.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians serving East Texas — 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 East Texas — the field's real professional standard.
The PACT Project, part of Partners Resource Network, is the federally funded Parent Training and Information Center serving ESC Region 7 (Tyler/Smith County and East Texas) — free help understanding your rights, evaluations, and the ARD/IEP process in English and Spanish. A respected free resource before hiring a private advocate.
Texas'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, Community HealthCORE provides developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies on a sliding scale, with no family turned away for inability to pay — the earliest, lowest-barrier place to start in Smith County and East Texas.
Texas Medicaid (including STAR Kids for children with disabilities) and CHIP cover speech, occupational, and physical therapy, and ABA for eligible children with autism — a major low- or no-cost path to services. Apply through Your Texas Benefits; ask providers which plans they accept.
The University of Texas at Tyler's communication-disorders program operates a teaching speech & hearing clinic where graduate clinicians, supervised by CCC-SLP faculty, provide low-cost speech-language evaluation and therapy to the community — an affordable, credentialed-supervised option for families. Call to confirm current pediatric availability.
The PACT Project (Partners Resource Network) offers free help understanding evaluations, IEPs, and your rights in English and Spanish — a no-cost first call for any East Texas family navigating special education.
For children birth to 3 with a developmental delay, disability, or qualifying medical diagnosis, Community HealthCORE — the state ECI contractor serving Smith County and East Texas — provides free evaluation and early-intervention services: speech, occupational, and physical therapy, special instruction, and family coaching, delivered in your home or community. Texas ECI is the earliest, no-barrier place to start; fees are on a sliding scale and no family is turned away for inability to pay.
Request a special-education evaluation in writing from your district — Tyler ISD, Whitehouse ISD, Lindale ISD, or Chapel Hill ISD. In Texas the district must complete the full individual evaluation within 45 school days of your signed consent, then hold an ARD (Admission, Review & Dismissal) committee meeting to decide eligibility and write the IEP. This is the free legal route to an IEP under IDEA.
Texas'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 Texas families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Texas's protection & advocacy agency — free legal-rights information and help if your child's rights are being denied.
When you’re ready, an expert can review your child’s IEP and build your plan. See how it works →
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How do I start the special-education process in Tyler?
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 Tyler?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Texas — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.