Wichita and south-central Kansas — Derby, Andover, Maize, Goddard, Newton — have real, credentialed help for kids with special needs, anchored by Heartspring and Rainbows United and a 60-year-old university clinic. This is Wichita's own yellow pages of the best, most relevant help — named experts and therapists where we can verify them, not just directories. It's ranked by real credentials (ABPP, BHCOE, CALT/Orton-Gillingham, COPAA, CCC-SLP, OTR-L, board-certification) — never by reviews or who pays. Kansas has no Regional Center system, so your free front door is tiny-k / Infant-Toddler Services for birth–3 (Rainbows United locally) and your school district's evaluation 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 →
Private full-day school for children roughly ages 5-11 with dyslexia and reading challenges, taught through the research-based Alphabetic Phonics (Orton-Gillingham) method with a 1:4 teacher-to-student ratio in language arts. Operated by the nonprofit Phillips Fundamental Learning Center.
Heartspring is a nationally known therapeutic school in Wichita for students ages 5–22 with autism, intellectual disabilities, and other neurodevelopmental conditions — using ABA and structured learning, with a residential program and a day-only option for local families.
A searchable directory for comparing additional Wichita-area private and special-education school options by location, grades, and program — useful alongside the named school above.
Nonprofit therapeutic school serving students ages 5–22 with autism, intellectual/developmental disabilities and severe behaviors, using ABA and structured-learning methods alongside on-site speech, OT and medical care.
Full-day private school for children ages 5–10/11 with dyslexia or significant reading difficulties, delivering multisensory, research-based literacy instruction in very small groups.
Wichita nonprofit specializing in dyslexia that offers diagnostic literacy assessments (ages 5–18), structured-literacy tutoring, and educator/parent training in Alphabetic Phonics (Cox) methods, and operates Rolph Literacy Academy.
District separate-setting school serving Wichita students ages 3–21 with significant or multiple disabilities, autism and health impairments, featuring a 3:1 ratio, hydrotherapy pool, adapted specials and vocational/community-based instruction.
Kansas's largest district provides the full IDEA continuum of special-education and related services—evaluations, IEPs, inclusion supports, early-childhood SPED and specialized centers—for eligible students ages 3–21.
District-run special-education cooperative serving Maize USD 266 and Renwick USD 267, providing evaluations, IEP services and related supports for eligible students across the northwest Wichita suburbs.
Cooperative that provides special-education evaluations, IEP services and related supports for students in the Goddard, Clearwater, Cheney and Conway Springs districts west/southwest of Wichita.
Diocesan foundation that funds special-education teachers, resource-room staff and paraprofessionals so children with disabilities can be included and supported within Wichita-area Catholic schools.
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.
Kansas's largest district provides a free continuum of special education and related services (speech, OT, PT, behavior support) across its schools under IDEA. Programs and placements change year to year.
A dedicated USD 259 special education center serving students with significant and multiple disabilities who need a more intensive, specialized public-school setting. Programs and eligibility change year to year.
A long-standing public interlocal that coordinates and delivers special education services across nine member districts in south-central Kansas just east of Wichita, including Andover and Augusta. Programs change year to year.
The University of Kansas medical campus in Wichita offers child neuropsychological and developmental testing through its psychiatry and behavioral sciences clinics, staffed by university faculty clinicians. Academic-medicine affiliation.
Heartspring's pediatric clinic in Wichita includes psychology alongside speech, occupational, and physical therapy and audiology for children birth to 21 — a multidisciplinary setting for developmental evaluation and follow-through care under one roof.
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 Wichita area, instead of trusting star ratings.
Brooke Winter, M.Ed., is a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT since 2017) and Qualified Instructor (CALT-QI, 2024) — the level that trains other therapists. Her West Wichita practice, Literacy Lane, provides Orton-Gillingham dyslexia therapy at the gold-standard credential level.
The Academy's directory lists accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioners across the Wichita area — searchable by location so you can find one near Derby, Andover, or Maize. The gold-standard credential 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.
Play-based ABA provider offering BCBA-supervised, in-home and center-based therapy for children ages 2-18 with autism across Sedgwick County. Accepts KanCare Medicaid, the Kansas Autism Waiver and private insurance.
Pediatric therapy clinic providing speech-language, occupational and physical therapy for children, staffed by licensed/certified pediatric therapists in Wichita.
Heartspring's pediatric outpatient clinic provides speech-language, occupational, and physical therapy plus audiology for children birth to 21 — and every Heartspring speech-language pathologist holds the ASHA CCC-SLP. A deep, credentialed local bench under one roof.
Caitlin Coe, MS, CCC-SLP, is a Wichita (ICT) speech-language pathologist — a named, nationally certified clinician for children's speech and language needs, an alternative to the large clinics for families who want a specific known provider.
The BHCOE directory lists accredited ABA providers across the Wichita area, ASHA ProFind lists CCC-SLP speech therapists, and AOTA lists OTR/L occupational therapists — searchable by zip so families in Derby, Andover, or Newton find the nearest.
Wichita's academic medical presence (KU School of Medicine–Wichita, with Wesley Children's Hospital) anchors pediatric developmental and behavioral care in south-central Kansas — ask your pediatrician for a referral to a developmental-behavioral evaluation, and verify board certification using the AAP directory below.
The American Academy of Pediatrics' directory helps you find board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatricians across the Wichita 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 Wichita area — the field's real professional standard.
Families Together's trained specialists help Kansas families prepare for and understand IEP meetings at no cost — a respected, statewide free alternative to hiring a private advocate first.
The DRC's attorneys and advocates provide free legal advocacy for special-education rights across Kansas — a no-cost first stop before hiring a private advocate or attorney.
The Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Wichita State has served the greater Wichita area for over 60 years, providing low-cost speech, language, literacy, and audiology services — including autism and literacy support — by supervised graduate clinicians. One of the metro's best-value options.
As the Wichita-area tiny-k provider, Rainbows United delivers free developmental evaluations and early-intervention therapies for children birth to 3 — the earliest, no-barrier place to start in south-central Kansas.
Kansas Legal Services provides free and low-cost civil legal help to income-eligible families across the Wichita area — a no-cost route to legal assistance, including some education and benefits matters.
Families Together offers free workshops and one-on-one parent support across Kansas — a rich free resource for families learning their rights and navigating the system.
Kansas's tiny-k / Infant-Toddler Services provides free developmental evaluation and no-cost, in-home early intervention for children birth to 3. In the Wichita area, Rainbows United is the local tiny-k provider for Sedgwick, Butler, and Sumner counties — call them to request an evaluation. The earliest, no-barrier place to start.
Families Together is Kansas's federally funded Parent Training and Information Center — free help understanding your rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings, for families of children birth to 26. A knowledgeable, statewide first call.
The Disability Rights Center of Kansas is the state's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency, with attorneys and advocates providing free legal advocacy when a child's special-education rights are denied. A powerful free resource before you pay anyone.
Federally funded and free — they help Kansas families understand their rights, the IEP/504 process, evaluations, and meetings. A great first call.
Kansas'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 Wichita?
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 Wichita?
A New Story lists credential-vetted schools, evaluators, therapists, advocates, and the free public programs and parent centers in Kansas — searchable by ZIP, and free forever.