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Best Special Needs Schools in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (2026)

Compare 3 special needs schools in Myrtle Beach. Explore the ranked list and find a program that feels right for your child.

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School listings in Myrtle Beach

2

Coastal Autism Academy

Listed
Myrtle Beach, SC

At Coastal Autism Academy, we care for children and adolescents with autism or significant developmental delays who need more support than a traditional school setting can provide. Families may be considering a private school placement or residential living, and we know that choice takes careful discussion. Our person-centered work includes communication and the daily activities that make home, school, and community life safer and more manageable: eating, toileting, grooming, transitions, and responding to sensory demands. We plan care around each child’s abilities and needs, including behavior that may put the child or others at risk. Contact our team to discuss the placement options now available and the information needed to decide whether CAA is a fit.

  • Autism residential and private school program
  • Autism
  • Private school
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3

Discovery Academy - Myrtle Beach

Listed
Myrtle Beach, SCGrades PreK-5Pre-K $150/week; K-5 $6,000 to $6,500/year plus $200 supply fee

The Curious Academy is a secular private microschool on Forestbrook Road in Myrtle Beach, started by a classroom teacher. We operated as Discovery Academy before taking our current name. Children learn in small mixed-age pods, with no homework and mastery valued over timelines. Our Curious Kids Pre-K is a part-time, play-based program that meets Monday to Thursday from 8:00 to 11:30 for $150 a week. The K-2 pod meets full days, Monday to Friday, for $6,500 a year, with mastery checklists built from South Carolina standards, hands-on lessons, nature time and student-directed themes. In the 3rd to 5th grade pod, students work through individualized online coursework, on a secular or Christian-based platform the family chooses, plus inquiry units and project work, for $6,000 a year. Each K-5 program adds a $200 supply fee. Scheduling and pacing adjust for neurodivergent learners, excused absences for appointments are unlimited, and outside speech and occupational therapists can work with students on campus. We are not equipped for students who need intensive services or a one-to-one aide. K-5 families can use South Carolina ESTF scholarship funds, and we do not offer after-care at this time.

  • Private microschool (Pre-K to 5)
  • Neurodivergent learners
  • Microschool
  • Mixed-age learning
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Nearby school options

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Special-needs schools in Florence Compare 4 programs about 53 miles away.
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Planning guides

Plan your next school conversation in Myrtle Beach

Use these guides before you contact programs, schedule tours, or ask your IEP team how a proposed setting will support your child's goals.

How to choose a special needs school

Prepare school-tour questions, compare supports and family communication, and record what each program can show you.

IEP process guide

Bring your IEP, progress evidence, and focused questions to conversations about evaluations, services, or placement.

Comparing school options in Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach parents asking what makes a good school for special needs, especially for autism, compare Horry County Schools, charter schools and private schools along the Grand Strand. The right choice depends on where your child's services would come from: district therapists under an IEP, or a private school's own staff and outside providers.

The Horry County Schools Department of Special Education provides a full continuum of programs, related services and placement options for eligible students ages 3 to 21. Related services include speech, occupational and physical therapy and assistive technology for students who qualify. The district's Child Development program serves 4-year-olds who are four by September 1 and live in Horry County. For private school costs, South Carolina families can use Exceptional SC or the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, but not both.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Special Needs Schools in Myrtle Beach

What is a good school for a child with special needs in Myrtle Beach?
The one whose daily schedule matches your child's evaluation. Ask each school to show where every IEP service would happen and who would deliver it. Horry County Schools can choose from a full continuum of settings, while a private school offers only its own model. Watch a class before you decide, and ask how staff adjust when a plan stops working.
Are there autism schools in Myrtle Beach?
Horry County Schools serves autistic students through an IEP, with speech and occupational therapy for students who qualify. Private schools in the listings set their own admissions. For a private autism program, check whether the school takes Exceptional SC, which requires a specially designed program or resource center for students with disabilities, and ask how many autistic students it serves today.
How do private special needs schools in Myrtle Beach work?
They set their own tuition, staffing and admissions, and Exceptional SC can help with costs at eligible schools. Horry County Schools still runs Child Find for private school students located in the district, but a child a parent places privately gets equitable services under a services plan rather than the full IEP. Ask whether therapies come from school staff or outside providers.
How do Myrtle Beach schools handle dyslexia and ADHD?
Exceptional SC recognizes a recent diagnosis of ADHD or another condition that significantly impedes learning, so a private option may be open even without an IEP. In Horry County Schools, ask for an evaluation to learn whether your child needs specially designed instruction. Then compare reading programs by method and weekly minutes, and ask how teachers manage attention through seating, breaks and workload.
Which South Carolina programs help with private tuition in 2026-27?
Two, and a student picks one. Exceptional SC: scholarships and a refundable parental tax credit for students with exceptional needs, documented by an IEP, evaluation or medical form from the past three years. Education Scholarship Trust Fund: household income limited to 500 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for 2026-27, and that year's application closed after reaching 15,000 students.
What should I ask on a Myrtle Beach school visit?
Ask who delivers therapy. Horry County Schools provides speech, occupational and physical therapy and assistive technology through its related services staff, while a private school may rely on outside providers who visit, or none. Then ask about teacher certification, class size, adults in the room, the behavior approach including any restraint, and how progress on each goal is reported.
How do I request an evaluation from Horry County Schools?
Contact Horry County Schools Child Find, which identifies, locates and evaluates children with disabilities, or give a written request to your child's principal. District special education serves eligible students from age 3 to 21. For a child under 3, contact BabyNet, South Carolina's free early intervention program run by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Does Horry County have a preschool program for 4-year-olds?
Yes. The Child Development program serves children who are four by September 1 and live in Horry County. It is separate from special education, so a 4-year-old with delays should also go through Child Find, where the district decides whether preschool special education services are needed.

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