Best Special Needs Schools in White Plains, New York (2026)

New York School for the Deaf, known as Fanwood, is a bilingual ASL and English school in White Plains. It has operated since 1817. Programs include SEEDS, preschool and elementary, and middle and high school, with a STEAM focus. The high school follows Common Core standards and builds each student's schedule around individual needs. Families are offered ASL classes, home visits for young learners, and access to assistive technology. School hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Athletics and student activities are part of campus life.

• Bilingual ASL/English school for the deaf
• Hearing Impairment
• Communication Disorder
• Early childhood / SEEDS

Founded in 1926, The Windward School is a renowned independent, co-educational day school dedicated to providing a proven, language-based instructional program for children in Grades 1 through 9 who have dyslexia or other language-based learning disabilities. The Westchester Lower School campus in White Plains provides an empowering, structured academic environment designed to help young learners develop essential literacy, writing, and executive functioning skills. Windward's research-validated curriculum utilizes a direct, explicit, multisensory approach to instruction across all academic subjects. Every teacher undergoes extensive training in the Windward Language Arts program (derived from Orton-Gillingham principles), ensuring consistent, high-impact reading and language remediation. In addition to rigorous academics, the school provides integrated speech-language support, executive function coaching, adaptive technology suites, and robust arts and athletics programs designed to build confidence, self-advocacy, and academic independence.

• Elementary school
• Dyslexia
• Learning differences
• Reading & Decoding Impairments