No two people are alike in development. For this guide, the term “special needs” encompasses developmental delays, disabilities, or neurodivergent identities in children who may attend therapies and services that support their growth and development.
Thanks to East Bay Child Development Center in San Leandro for sponsoring this guide to resources for families with special needs. East Bay CDC offers comprehensive services, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, early intervention, ABA therapy, and feeding therapy.
East Bay Resources for Children with Special Needs
Early intervention for babies and toddlers who have a cognitive, communication, or physical delay in development can be supported by these resources:
Care Parent Network (Concord): support to families of children ages 0-22+ in Contra Costa County. Get to know them.
The Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area is for families with a loved one who happens to have Down syndrome or has received a prenatal diagnosis. Suzanne tells us, “We’ve enjoyed play groups, music class, dance class, annual picnics/walks, and invaluable support and friendship for self-advocates, siblings, parents, and grandparents.” Visit website >
The Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Program at Children’s Hospital Oakland provides specialized mental health services for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and families. Pro tip: You must navigate the bureaucracy and advocate for yourself. Visit website >
Family Resource Navigators (San Leandro) helps parents with children 0-5 identify and connect with medical, developmental, or social-emotional resources. Free of charge in Alameda County. Visit website >
Regional Center of the East Bay (San Leandro) assesses and recommends services for children or adults with developmental disabilities. Visit website >
Special Visual Assessment Clinic at UC Berkeley Optometry (Berkeley) SVAC offers the best eye exams for kids of all ages and needs, starting with infants. Visit website >
Support for Families of Children with Disabilities (San Francisco) offers information, education, and parent-to-parent support free of charge to families of children with any kind of disability or special healthcare need. Visit Website >
We GET It Foundation! (multiple locations) is a growing community of parents of children on the Autism Spectrum that connects families through play and support. Visit website >
Ala Costa runs after-school care and summer camp programs for children with developmental disabilities. Sites are in Alameda, Berkeley, and Oakland. Visit website >
Brett Allen, a Special Education lawyer recommended by a local mom advocating for her children, “He handles all my school district issues and has won three times for us.” Visit website >
Big Minds Unschool is a day school in Pleasanton and Pinole for kids in K-8th grade. An attachment-based, community school specifically designed for twice-exceptional (2e) learners. Visit website >
Clarity Pediatrics offers diagnosis and care for children ages 5-17 with ADHD for live, online ADHD care. No waitlists, and they accept insurance. Visit website >
DREDF (Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund) (Berkeley) Education advocates can review laws that protect students with disabilities and walk through the special education process. They present regular free training sessions. They serve all of Alameda County. View website >
Every Child Bay Preschool is an inclusive preschool for ages 18 months to 5 years, leveraging the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), behavioral therapy for children with Autism. Visit website >
👉 East Bay Child Development Center (San Leandro) offers play-based therapies for preschoolers, an early intervention program, speech therapy, occupational therapy, Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, and feeding therapy. They even have a Birthday Party Venue! View website >
2020 Behavior: Early intervention strategies, assent-based ABA practices, whole-person care in collaboration with any other therapeutic services, social skills training, and daily living skills teaching. Visit website >Â
Alle Cauterucci LLC: Classroom and family consultations, neuroaffirming child advocacy, IEP training, behavioral regulation support, parent coaching, daily living skills, and generalized therapy. View website >
All Brains Speech Therapy (Oakland or remotely), ND-affirming, mobile, strengths-based, Gestalt language processing, play-based, parent coaching, advocating. View website >
Attunement Holistic Speech Therapy & Parent Coaching Holistic & spiritual family support, supporting families in being authentic communicators & regulating nervous systems. View website >
Building Connections Behavioral (Walnut Creek) provides ABA therapy services throughout the Bay Area. Located in the Psychiatry department of Walnut Creek Kaiser. Visit website >
Child’s Play Therapy Services (Pleasanton and Lafayette) is a pediatric practice specializing in occupational and speech therapy for children using a play-based, child-led approach. Visit website >
EFToolkit (Remote) Interest-led / holistic executive function views and support, neurotype exploration, lived experience with AuDHD and PDA (self + family). View website >
Embracing Autism Collaborative (Oakland) is an Oakland-based nonprofit providing social groups, affirming care, speech services, and mental health services using DIR/Floortime, for all ages. Visit website >
Joyscape Therapy (multiple locations & telehealth) offers behavioral therapy to children and adolescents, including ASD and ADHD. Visit website >
Kyo Care Behavior Therapists (Hayward and Concord) for kids with ASD, ADHD & ODD with many programs including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and back-to-school learning support. Visit website >
Leopold Chiropractic (Oakland): Primitive reflex integration, functional neurology, developmental neurology, functional medicine, myofascial release. View website >
More than Milestones OT (Lafayette) Sensory approach to feeding & eating, neuroaffirming care, child-centered, family-centered, in-home sessions, social-emotional learning, summer camps. View website >
Pediatric Motor Playground (Lafayette and Danville) provides occupational therapy classes for ages 2.5 to 12, to improve fine motor, gross motor, handwriting, sensory processing, and strength. Visit website >
Playspace Therapy (Walnut Creek) is a pediatric occupational therapy clinic serving families and children with special needs, ages newborn through adolescence. Visit website >
Sound Advice Speech Therapy (Oakland): Apraxia, gestalt language learners, expressive language delays, ASD, preschool pragmatic language support, holistic coaching for parents, and Talk Yoga. View website >
Speech Pathology Group (Walnut Creek) operates five Bay Area clinics that offer assessment, consultation, and individual and group speech therapy. Get started with a video conference. Visit website >
Seven Bridges Therapy in Oakland, Hayward, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek offers speech, language, and social learning therapy for all ages, beginning with toddlers. Visit website >
Center for Early Intervention on Deafness (Berkeley) CEID’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) programs combine specialized early childhood education with extensive therapies. Visit website >
California School for the Deaf (Fremont) serves deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals ages three to 22. It also hosts parent/child playgroups, preschool, family programming, and family camp. View website >
Deaf Counseling Advocacy & Referral Agency (San Leandro): offers family playgroups and programming, Deaf mentors for children and families, ASL classes for families, family camp, storytime, and more. Website >
ACEing Autism provides affordable tennis classes for children with autism, with programs in Berkeley, Moraga, and other Bay Area locations. Visit website >
Be Exceptional Programs (Antioch, Brentwood) offers recreational classes for all ages and abilities: in acting, cheerleading, dance, fitness, gymnastics, and skateboarding. 1:1 buddies available. View website >
BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation (Berkeley) Not specifically for children, BORP advances the lives of people with physical disabilities through many adaptive sports and recreational activities. View website >
Camp Wamp (Tahoe area) is a sleepaway camp for ages 8 – 18 with physical disabilities. Their mission is to provide life-changing experiences to children with physical disabilities. Learn more >
Camp We-Go (Walnut Creek): Tied to WellSpring Educational Services, includes enriching activities like music, swimming, dancing, art, games, crafts, sensory play, and outdoor stations. Visit website >
Camp Winning Hands (Livermore) is a free overnight camp for children ages 7 – 17 with congenital hand and upper limb differences. Visit website >
East Bay Sea Serpents is a swim team providing fitness, social interaction, and swimming instruction to special needs athletes, with teams for ages 6 and up. Visit website >
Exceptional Sports: All around the Bay Area, athletic opportunities for kids with special needs to play alongside typically developing kids in dance, soccer, basketball, karate, and fitness on the website >
imeetswe (Oakland, Berkeley) provides session-based music classes for little ones and their adults, from babies through school age. Neurodiverse adults and children are both welcome. View website >
Little League Challenger Division: Kids of all abilities are included in this Little League program for adaptive baseball skills and the fun of team sports. Learn more >
Oakland Ice Center’s SkateAbility Program offers a learn to skate program for athletes with special physical and developmental challenges, emphasizing fun and safety. Visit website >
Patti’s Swim School (Castro Valley). This outdoor swim school offers lessons for people of all ages and abilities. Visit website >
Sienna Ranch offers a social class for 2nd–6th graders, providing nurturing and fun social experiences that promote growth, independence, and meaningful connection with nature and ranch animals. Visit website >
SonRise Equestrian Foundation (Pleasanton) provides horseback riding for kids with special needs up to 18 years old, offering four weekly programs. Note that the waitlist can be years long. Visit website >
SNAPkids, Together, We Swim! (Berkeley and Albany) matches youth, 1 to 18, with swim volunteers to support cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophies, spina bifida, autism, and developmental delays. View website >
Square Peg Foundation (Half Moon Bay) Horseback riding lessons at Square Peg are highly recommended by parents of a child with pathological demand avoidance, ADHD, and sensory processing. View website >
TOPSoccer (Walnut Creek) run by volunteers, where children ages 6-18 are paired with another player. Participants are grouped by ability, not age, and parent/guardian attendance is required. Visit website >
Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center (Orinda) provides therapeutic horseback riding and hippotherapy to children 5 and up and adults with disabilities. Visit website >
5 Excellent Inclusive Indoor Play Spaces
Spirited Play Labs (Berkeley and San Ramon): Membership-based indoor play space for children ages 0-8 curated by developmental specialists for your child’s growth and enjoyment. View website >
Swings and Wings (Alameda): Sensory-rich, inclusive play space for children, including developmentally enriching equipment. Visit website >
10 Favorite inclusive and all-abilities playgrounds near Oakland >>
We Rock the Spectrum Kids Gym (Antioch): An indoor play gym made specifically for kids on the spectrum, though open to all. Uniquely designed sensory equipment. Open gym, birthdays, classes, and more >
ZyLand Indoor Playground (Concord): offers monthly special needs playtime for children under 6 with natural lighting, soothing nature sounds, a low-stress environment, and socks optional. More info here >
Spotlight on East Bay Child Development Center
East Bay Child Development Center is a family-centered pediatric therapy practice in San Leandro with a neurodiversity-affirming approach. They offer comprehensive services in a warm, inclusive environment designed to help children thrive- no need to drive to multiple locations. Visit website >
What makes East Bay CDC special:
- Family-Centered Care: They partner with families and caregivers every step of the way, honoring each child’s unique strengths and challenges
- Comprehensive Services: Speech, OT, ABA, early intervention, and feeding therapy under one roof
- Inclusive Preschool: An onsite, recently expanded Play Pals Inclusive Preschool provides a nurturing educational environment for children 18 mos+
- Community Focus: They’ve built 21+ community partnerships and see themselves as a family resource center.
- Accepts most major insurance plans!
We appreciate our community of parents who help us learn about a host of organizations that provide services to families with children who are differently-abled in various ways. Our list continues to grow thanks to word-of-mouth from parents and helpful organizations that help us expand it. If you have a tip to share, please comment below.
Big thanks again to the East Bay Child Development Center for sponsoring this guide to local resources for kids with special needs. The term “special needs” encompasses children with developmental delays, disabilities, or neurodivergent identities.
8 thoughts on “The Ultimate Guide to Special Needs Resources in The East Bay”
Thank you so much for putting this together!
A few more resources for families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children:
Deaf Counseling, Advocacy & Referral Agency (DCARA) supports Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, and DeafDisabled children and their families through family mentoring, youth mentoring, ASL classes, advocacy in IFSP/IEP/ITP processes, and programs like Club Saturday, fostering communication access, language development, and social engagement. Website: https://dcara.org
California Hands & Voices is a parent-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families with children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in a respectful and non-judgmental manner. Through advocacy, education, and community-building, the organization provides families with local family events and family camps, resources, networks, and information to improve communication access and educational outcomes, ensuring that every child reaches their highest potential. website: https://cahandsandvoices.org
Hello,
I own a youth basketball league and will be providing an all year round league for kids with special needs. Can I share our flyer with your team to share with your clients?
Do you have a website you can share? That’s easier for us than a flyer. Thanks!
I just want to share an All Abilities Martial Arts classes in Dublin, CA. The dojo is Pallen’s Martial Arts Tri-Valley in Dublin, CA. Classes are three days a week. Classes are taught by Master Bobby Pallen and Sifu Cedric Novenario. Sifu Cedric has an 18 year old daughter on the Autism Spectrum and started teaching her modified martial arts at home when she was younger, then in 2021 in collaboration with Master Bobby Pallen, started an adaptive martial arts program, now called Limitless Abilities Martial Arts. Pallen’s Martial Arts Tri-Valley is an approved vendor of the Regional Center of the East Bay. https://pallens.com/
Hi! I’m Laura. I’m a mom of three originally from Canada, but I’ve lived in the East Bay for the past 10yrs. I’ve been a behavior analyst (BCBA) for over 15 years, and started my own practice because I saw a real need for autism care that prioritizes children and families over profit.
As a nonprofit, we do things differently. We focus on play-based, child-centered therapy that honors a child’s unique strengths and intrinsic motivation. My goal is to help parents reclaim their roles and build deep, connected relationships with their children in a way that feels natural and supportive.
We recently opened our new therapy center on Solano Ave in Albany and are currently accepting new clients. We’d love to support your family. Feel free to contact us at https://yoli.care
Hello, I recently started a special education advocacy practice in the East Bay after my own experience in dealing with IEPs, NPS placements and such as a parent. I have local, East Bay references and offer free intake calls. http://www.advopal.co
Zyland in Concord offers special needs play sessions every month. https://playzyland.com/special-needs-play/