Top 5 Best Special Needs Schools in Roanoke, Virginia (2026)

Every student at Minnick School in Roanoke has an IEP and comes to us through their home public school division as a private special education day placement. Students here range from 5 to 22 years old and have emotional and learning disabilities. The Roanoke site runs both a general program and an adapted program, including model classrooms designed around autism and multiple disabilities. Board Certified Behavior Analysts consult with students and staff every day. Our Student Support Professionals, who are master's level social workers or counselors, lead social skills groups and teach our social emotional learning curriculum in small groups. Career and technical education starts in elementary school, when each student begins an Academic and Career plan, and high school students work on practical life and independent living skills. With parent consent, we partner with the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services for pre-employment training. An Extended School Year program runs each summer for students whose IEP teams call for it. Children's Services Act dollars pay for each placement, so parents owe nothing for tuition, and the home district arranges transportation. Our license comes from the Virginia Department of Education, and VAISEF accredits our program.

• Private special education day school
• Emotional disabilities
• Learning differences
• Autism

Our Roanoke Southeast campus provides special education with a focus on autism. We offer pre-kindergarten programming and a classroom for ages 2 to 5, along with instruction through post-high-school education. At Rivermont School Roanoke Southeast, students can receive support from licensed BCBAs and BCaBAs. Our program uses adapted and general special education curricula and includes a sensory room, life skills apartment, gymnasium, transition program and vocational training. Enrollment begins with the student's home district and requires district authorization; parents are not directly charged tuition.

• High school
• Autism
• Developmental delays
• Emotional Disability

Our Rivermont School Roanoke Southwest program serves kindergarten through grade 12 students, with a focus on emotional disabilities. VDOE-licensed teachers and mental health associates provide instruction in smaller classes based on student IEPs. Licensed LCSW and LMFT clinicians provide individual and group counseling. Students can receive career readiness and transition services, social-emotional learning instruction, and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. Speech, occupational and physical therapy are provided by Cora Health according to the student's IEP. The home district coordinates placement, and parents are not directly charged tuition.

• Special education school
• Autism
• Developmental delays
• Emotional Disability

VIA Roanoke School is a private day school for children and adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities, run by the nonprofit VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment. Our organization began in 1996 as the Virginia Institute of Autism, started by families searching for effective education for their children, with four students. Today we run day schools in Charlottesville, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Lexington. The Roanoke school offers two programs. Our Comprehensive ABA Program serves students with high support needs through applied behavior analysis, where trained staff work with students one-on-one or in small groups. Our STARS Program uses a structured, multisensory approach, linking ongoing student assessment to research-supported curriculum in small classes, and serves students into high school. We work as an extension of the public school system, providing year-round education focused on communication, academics, social skills and independence, so each student is ready for adulthood or a more inclusive public school setting. The Virginia Department of Education licenses our day schools, and VIA is accredited by CARF International. In Roanoke we also offer Pediatric ABA early intervention and CAAAS Roanoke, our center for adolescent and adult autism services.

• Private special education day school
• Autism
• Developmental disabilities
• ABA support

Our Peters Creek Road campus in Roanoke houses two VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment programs for older students and adults with autism: the upper school of VIA Roanoke School and CAAAS Roanoke, our Center for Adolescent and Adult Autism Services. Families searching for effective education for their children with autism founded VIA in 1996 under its original name, Virginia Institute of Autism, and it merged with St. Vincent's Home in 2023 to serve more of the state. At the upper school, students follow our Comprehensive ABA Program in a year-round, state-licensed day school. Like all VIA schools, it functions as an extension of local public education. Classes are small, families and staff work closely together, and behavior analysts, educators and therapists build communication, academics, social skills and independence so each student is ready for adulthood or a more inclusive public school setting. For adults, CAAAS Roanoke offers day services through VIA Club and Hub, employment services through VIAble Ventures and Achieve Employment, and behavioral consultation. VIA is a nonprofit accredited by CARF International and by the Virginia Association of Independent Specialized Education Facilities (VAISEF).

• Private special education day school and adult autism services
• Autism
• Developmental disabilities
• ABA support