There is actually quite a market for special needs services.
We have a private speech therapist. We’ve seen a private occupational therapist. We have a private school with a learning specialist that works with reading/writing.
There are other private schools that help kids with more severe disabilities.
The only thing is that it is expensive, and you don’t get tax breaks!!!!!
It may depend on where you are. In semi-rural Pennsylvania, all the therapists specializing in children with special needs work through the government or through private schools. My brother is fortunate to be able to attend a private school for kids with disabilities and his tuition is paid by the school district as it is cheaper for them than mainstreaming him.
When my mother wanted different approachs for speech therapy than the therapist was willing to try, when my brother was a toddler, the only help she could find was a group of mothers studying some techniques on their own and getting private consultations from a doctor who donated his time to help them out. It worked out ok but the lack of private-market services was amazing.
Assuming your child was placed in a special needs class on an Individual Education Plan (IEP), the services you noted were all available to be provided under that plan that you had to sign. If you disagreed with the placement or level of services provided, you had a legal option to request a due process hearing where you could present a case for different services. I am aware of school districts having to pay for placing students in more intense service settings as a result of a due process hearing.
I am not saying it is easy or inexpensive to go this route but it is the method by which elevated services are found to be necessary for the student and the school required to either pay to place the child appropriately or provide the services themselves.
Were you aware of this or did you choose not to pursue this due to the expense and time?