Top 10 Best Special Needs Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana (2026)

Our Early Learning Center sits on the campus of Amy Beverland Elementary and is one of four NAEYC-accredited early learning centers run by the MSD of Lawrence Township in Indianapolis. We hold Level 4, the top rating in Indiana's Paths to Quality, and we serve preschoolers ages 3 to 5 along with full-day kindergarten. Our preschool program, Preschool of the Arts, lets children explore art, music, movement and literacy through project work, using the HighScope curriculum and ideas drawn from the Reggio Emilia schools. Kindergarten is full day and tuition-free for children who turn 5 before October 1, with daily Readers' and Writers' Workshop, small-group reading and IEPs when appropriate. Each building has a full resource staff for students with special needs, and on-site speech, occupational and physical therapy are available to students who qualify. Kindergartners are screened for dyslexia risk, and intervention can include Orton-Gillingham lessons. Preschool is billed weekly, from $190 for the school day, with before care from 6:30 a.m. and after care until 6 p.m. Preschool is for district residents, while kindergarten also accepts students from outside the district.

• Public early learning center (preschool and kindergarten)
• Arts-based preschool
• HighScope curriculum
• Reggio Emilia-inspired

Damar Academy began in 1993 as a single on-campus classroom for Damar students whose needs the public schools could not meet. In 2005 we hired our own licensed teachers and teaching assistants and became an independent, Freeway-accredited private school on Damar's 83-acre campus on the southwest side of Indianapolis. We provide special education for students ages 6 to 21 with developmental, intellectual and behavioral disabilities. Our teachers hold Indiana licenses with special education endorsements, and they blend education and therapy through instruction in communication, behavior, academics, motor and adaptive skills, and social and emotional development. Students practice independent living skills in the classroom and out in the community, and older students build vocational skills for life after school. We can contract with local school corporations to serve qualifying children. Most of our students come from Indiana, but we also accept students from other states.

• Private special education school (ages 6 to 21)
• Developmental disabilities
• Intellectual disability
• Emotional/behavioral support

Damar Charter Academy is Indiana's first public charter school created specifically for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It opened in 2011 as a collaboration between Damar Services and the City of Indianapolis Office of Education Innovation, and serves up to 195 students in kindergarten through grade 12 on the southwest side of Indianapolis. Enrollment is open to any Indiana resident and there is no tuition. Students follow one of three tracks: an academic track toward a diploma, a life skills track focused on independent living and community integration, and a vocational track for students 13 and older. Classes are small, staff ratios are high, and instruction uses a total communication approach including PECS. Speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, behavior intervention, and counseling are provided on site. Through the Dragon Works program, students build job skills by running a coffee shop and a wood shop.

• Charter school
• Autism
• Developmental disabilities
• Intellectual disability

Dynamic Minds Academy is an Indianapolis school at 8350 Craig Street for students with autism spectrum disorder. It pairs academics with ABA therapy through The Hope Source in one building. The school serves kindergarten through 12th grade, with center-based clients ages 5 to 22 and a vocational lab available through age 22. The blended model uses low student-teacher ratios and low-stimulation classrooms. Speech therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health supports run during the school day rather than as a separate placement. The year-round calendar covers about 240 school days. The Hope Source began autism therapy in 2009. After earlier education partnerships, Dynamic Minds Academy opened in 2019 to keep treatment and school in one place. Students may present with mild, moderate, or severe autism, with or without language impairment, and some have additional neurodevelopmental or mental health diagnoses. Tours and enrollment are currently on a waitlist.

• Public educational institution
• Autism
• Therapeutic program
• Low-stimulation classrooms

The Dyslexia Institute of Indiana has served children, adolescents, and adults with specific learning disabilities since 1989, working from the belief that all people are entitled to fulfill their potential. It is not a school. Families come here for Orton-Gillingham instruction, evaluation, and advocacy alongside a child's regular schooling. Instruction follows the Orton-Gillingham approach: multi-sensory, diagnostic, direct teaching of phonics for reading and spelling, extending into written expression, math, and reading comprehension. One-to-one tutoring runs online or in person for readers of any age, 30 sessions a semester during the school year and 12 over the summer. ReadySetREAD brings the same approach into schools during the school day, with one tutor working with four students twice a week. Camp Delafield is the summer day camp for ages 7 to 12, accredited by the American Camp Association. Mornings run four academic rotations including one-to-one tutoring, and afternoons cover swimming, nature walks, STEM, fishing, and art. Dii also administers comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations through a certified school psychologist and trains teachers and parents in the Orton-Gillingham approach.

• Education center
• Dyslexia
• Dysgraphia
• Dyscalculia

Fortune Academy is an independent day school at historic Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis for students in grades 1 through 12 with language-based learning differences, including dyslexia and ADHD. It is designed for students with average to above-average potential who have not made progress in a conventional classroom. The curriculum is built on the Orton-Gillingham Approach. Lower School classes typically have 3 to 6 students, middle school classes 6 to 8, and high school classes average 8 students per teacher and do not exceed 10 to 1. High school students can work toward an Honors, Core 40, or General diploma, with dual credit available through Ivy Tech. A child and family therapist works with students on self-advocacy and coping skills. Fortune is accredited by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, the International Dyslexia Association, and ISACS. For 2026-27, tuition is $23,800 for grades 1-8 and $26,565 for grades 9-12, plus a $1,000 matriculation fee for new and transfer students.

• School
• Dyslexia
• Learning differences
• ADHD

The Independence Academy is a state-accredited private school in Indianapolis for diploma-track autistic students in grades 3 through 12. Parents of children on the autism spectrum founded the school. Students work toward a General, Core 40, or Core 40 Honors diploma that meets Indiana graduation requirements. Classrooms are sensory-friendly, with a 5:1 student-teacher ratio, daily exercise, structured sensory breaks, and an Independence sensory lab. Faculty training includes PEERS, HANDS in Autism, TEACCH, and Visualizing and Verbalizing. Daily core classes cover history, language arts, mathematics, and science. Enrichment includes art, music, computer technology, physical education, transition planning, and Spanish. The school is accredited by the Indiana State Board of Education and is an ISACS member. It participates in Indiana's Choice Scholarship Program. Parentally placed students may receive an Individual Service Plan rather than a public-school IEP.

• Special education school
• Autism
• Diploma-track academics
• Sensory support

Indiana Connections Academy is a statewide online public school for grades K to 12, with its office on Intech Boulevard in Indianapolis and 16 years of teaching Indiana students. Students learn at home through live LiveLesson sessions and self-guided lessons, with a parent or other adult serving as Learning Coach. That role shrinks as students grow: about five hours a day in elementary school, two to three in middle school and one to two in high school. Students with IEPs receive special education services that include consultation, curriculum accommodations and modifications, direct instruction, and collaboration between teachers and Learning Coaches, along with related services set by the IEP team. Gifted and talented courses, honors and NCAA-approved courses, and college and career readiness programs are offered, and our counseling program was the first in the country to earn the RAMP award. Students connect through online clubs, including eSports, in-person field trips around Indiana, travel abroad programs, prom and a winter formal. Each student receives a computer, and families cover school supplies, optional field trips and, in some cases, a reliable internet connection.

• Online public school (K-12)
• Online learning
• Flexible scheduling
• Gifted and talented

Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired has served Indiana students since 1847 and is one of the largest schools for the blind and visually impaired in the country. It educates children who, because of blindness or low vision, or blindness or low vision alongside additional disabilities, other schools cannot easily serve. Enrollment runs from preschool through grade 12 and is tuition-free to Indiana residents. Every student follows Indiana's core academic curriculum alongside the Expanded Core Curriculum, the vision-specific skills sighted students absorb by observation and blind students must be taught directly: braille literacy, assistive technology, orientation and mobility, self-advocacy, and independent living. All instruction comes from licensed Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments. Students can attend as day students or live on campus, and athletics and clubs run from goalball and wrestling to guitar and technology. During the 2026-2027 school year, classes are being held at a temporary building at 2701 N Devon Ave while the campus is redeveloped.

• Special education school
• Blindness
• Low vision
• Visual impairment

William Willard, a Deaf teacher, opened the school that became the Indiana School for the Deaf in 1843, and Indiana made it the first state school in the country to offer free education to Deaf students. Today about 350 Deaf and hard of hearing students attend our 80-acre campus on East 42nd Street in Indianapolis, from early childhood through high school, and roughly 60% live on campus during the week. Teaching is bilingual in American Sign Language and English. Placement is set through a case conference and each student's IEP or IFSP, and support services include audiology, speech-language services, occupational and physical therapy, counseling, psychology, behavior support, interpreting, and transition and career services. Older students also take career and technical education. Residential students stay Sunday through Thursday in Koob Hall, Fair Hall or the Dixon House independent living unit, and two cafeterias serve three meals a day. After classes, students choose from more than 15 competitive teams, youth sports, clubs, study hall and student center activities, and After School Care covers preschool through middle school. We are tuition-free and accredited by Cognia and CEASD.

• State residential and day school for the Deaf
• Deaf and hard of hearing
• DeafBlind
• Deaf with additional disabilities