Special Needs Resources in Lakeland + Polk County
If you are raising a child with unique needs or have a special needs adult in your family, we can help you find local resources including special needs parent groups, special needs schools, and more.
Be sure to check out our Guide to Sensory Friendly & Special Needs Activities for a list of organizations in our community providing activities in a sensory-friendly and/or special needs friendly environment.
If you have a child with autism or sensory processing disorder, learn more about how Lakeland Regional Health is making the hospital less stressful for families with an autistic child through the BRAVE program.
Looking for other special needs articles? Visit our Special Needs category.
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Illuminations Center for Dyslexia is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works to change the lives of children through Structured Literacy instruction. In addition to our primary mission to teach children to read, write, and spell, we also offer a variety of virtual tutoring services. All therapists at Illuminations have received training in structured literacy methods. We use individualized Orton-Gillingham materials from various programs including Neuhaus Education, Wilson Reading, Alphabetic Phonics, and Kendore Learning. Each lesson is individually planned and based on the student’s unique needs within the structured scope and sequence recommended by the International Dyslexia Association.
Growing up is tough. Growing up a step behind everyone else your age is tougher. Achievement Academy is a non-profit United Way agency and charter school. We serve children birth through age six that have developmental delays or disabilities. The Achievement Academy has 3 locations in Polk County-Lakeland, Bartow and Winter Haven.
695 East Summerlin Street, Bartow, Florida 33830
2211 28th Street Northwest, Winter Haven, Florida 33881
Offering farm visits and equine therapy by appointment during evenings and weekends. Please visit our website for more information and to see our beautiful animals!
The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art (The AGB) at Florida Southern College (formerly the Polk Museum of Art) is the largest and the only nationally accredited visual arts organization in Polk County and has been a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum since 2010. The museum offers workshops and classes for teens and adults, after school art for children, weekend workshops, spring break camp, summer camp, and the annual Mayfaire by the Lake.
Behavioral Progression’s mission is to provide quality and effective Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to individuals and families who are experiencing challenging behaviors or need to increase functional and communication skills. Our aim is to provide individualized functional assessments and treatment programs to the client and caregivers that will equip everyone with the tools for socially significant and meaningful behavior change.
Buddy Break provides a safe place for VIP Kids and their siblings to have fun and establish meaningful friendships with other kids and adults while their caregivers get a much-needed FREE break from their overwhelming caregiving responsibilities. VIP Kids include kids with any physical, cognitive, medical or hidden disability, chronic or life-threatening illness, or those who are medically fragile. Visit the website or contact the coordinators for more details on how to get involved with Buddy Break. Learn more about Buddy Break at First Presbyterian Church Lakeland.
Central Florida Dreamplex offers Adaptive Sports designed for those with physical disabilities and are often played with the similar rules to typical sports. Participants often have a permanent lower extremity disability including, but not limited to: CWB Foot, Spinal Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Hip Dysplasia, Leg length Discrepancies, Spinal Cord Injury, Amputee. Adaptive sports include sled hockey, sitting volleyball, power soccer, track and field, adaptive water skiing & wakeboarding, wheelchair football, wheelchair basketball, and more.
We provide vital guidance and assistance to parents of a child with cerebral palsy. Visit our website to learn more about cerebral palsy, sources for financial assistance, and many resources.
Crossroads Christian School is a K-12 private school in Lakeland that provides a personalized education focus for each of its students. With low student-teacher ratios and an encouraging, nurturing environment, Lakeland area kids with special education needs are finding success at Crossroads Christian School, and your child can too!
Early Steps is Florida’s early intervention system that offers services to eligible infants and toddlers (birth to thirty-six months) with significant delays or a condition likely to result in a developmental delay. Early Intervention is provided to support families and caregivers in developing the competence and confidence to help their child learn and develop.
Early Steps services are based on Early Steps evaluations and your family’s concerns, priorities, and goals. Early Steps uses a Team Based Primary Service Provider approach which aims to empower each eligible family by providing a comprehensive team of professionals from the beginning of services until the age of three. The goal is for the family to receive strong support from one person, provide a comprehensive team of professionals from beginning to end, and for the family to have fewer appointments and more time to be a family. Services are provided to the family and child where they live, learn and play, to enable the family to implement developmentally appropriate learning opportunities during everyday activities and routines.
GenCare Kids is your trusted local Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC) facility. Specializing in medically-complex conditions from birth to age 20, our state-of-the-art P-PEC facility and compassionate medical professionals are dedicated to fostering your child’s growth and development in a nurturing and enjoyable environment. We offer skilled nursing care, speech, occupational, and physical therapies, free transportation, an after school program and so much more. Serving the communities of Haines City, Lakeland, and the surrounding areas. Call us today to find out more about qualification for your special needs child!
For 40 years, Huntington’s highly trained tutors have worked with students of all ages and abilities to improve their grades and build self-confidence, organizational skills, and good study habits. Whether your child is struggling academically or just wants to get ahead, we can tailor a tutoring program that will achieve results. We can help unlock your child’s potential and send struggles packing with individualized tutoring in a number of academic fundamentals or major subjects. We understand that no two students learn alike. With subjects ranging from reading and writing to math and science, our tutoring programs provide personalized instruction based on each student’s individual needs.
Regardless if they are struggling with poor homework habits or difficulties due to ADHD, at Huntington, we’ve helped thousands of students quickly improve their grades and build their confidence. We are dedicated to building academic success that will last a lifetime. Thousands of students have achieved success in our tutoring programs, improving both grades and confidence. In fact, after only about 3 months of tutoring, our students typically achieve 2+ grade levels of growth.
For more than 25 years, Swan City SC (formerly the Lakeland Tropics FC) has served the Lakeland community through the game of soccer. Swan City SC is a not-for-profit organization, committed to providing a superior soccer experience for all of the area’s youth by offering highly competitive recreational and travel team opportunities. This commitment is accomplished through an organization of volunteers and soccer professionals, who administer the training programs.
Swan City SC exemplifies Perseverance, Respect, and Integrity as we Develop Excellence in youth. We are the PRIDE of Lakeland.
Recreational league practices and games are held at Lake Parker Park and Loyce Harpe Park on Carter Road.
500 West Carter Road, Mulberry, Florida 33860
The hallmarks of LCS are strong academics, championship athletics, award-winning fine arts, and a close-knit school-family partnership. Classes are taught from a Biblical perspective, emphasizing God’s truth as it applies to every aspect of a student’s life. The Discovery Program is offered to students age 5-14 with a specific diagnosis of autism and/or related disabilities.
Recreational youth baseball organization for boys and girls from ages 4 -15 years old. Fall season includes 2 weeknight games, Spring Season includes one weeknight game and one Saturday game. Games are played at Peterson Park (age 4-10) and Lake Bonny/Fletcher Park (age 11-15). Buddy Ball League is for boys and girls with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, ages 5 and up.
Lakeland Community Theatre boasts a Main Stage season of five high quality productions; The Eunice Fuller Theatre for Youth three show season as well as classes, summer camps, workshops, Master Classes; The Out of the Box Troupe for special needs youth and adults, a Senior Troupe and many special productions and events each year.
The Lakeland Institute for Learning is a clinical school for ESE and ELL students whose purpose is to deliver services to students within the educational setting in order to facilitate their overall health and well being and maximize their academic growth. These students fall into two areas: special needs and those who are also English Language Learners (ESE) (as defined by law). The school is striving to deliver Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Speech Language, and tutoring services to students during their school day, within a rigorous educational environment to facilitate academic growth into postsecondary opportunities.
For the 2025-2026 school year, a local certified teacher is planning on opening a microschool in Lakeland for blind and visually impaired students in grades K-2. She has been involved in the blind community for many years as a certified Braille transcriber, and is currently gauging interest for enrollment. Please visit https://tinyurl.com/microbvi to complete an interest form and receive more information.
Mini Miracles is a Sunday School Class at First Presbyterian Church in Room 109 offered during the 10:30 worship hour developed for children ages 4-12 who struggle with developmental delays, Autism spectrum disorders, ADD/ADHD, or any other special need. This class allows children with exceptionalities to play freely and have safe social interactions in a secure environment with specially trained adults. Pagers are provided so parents can attend worship without worrying about emergencies. Sunday Mornings at 10:30am.
Nathaniel’s Hope is dedicated to celebrating kids with special needs (VIP kids), as well as educating and equipping the community to provide practical assistance to VIPs and their families. VIP kids include kids with any physical, cognitive, medical or hidden disability, chronic or life threatening illness, and those who are medically fragile. The four main programs include: the VIP Birthday Club, Buddy Break, Make ‘m Smile and Christmas with Nathaniel’s Hope. Nathaniel’s Hope also hosts special events throughout the year just for VIP kids and their families.