The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best place for family community service in St. Louis,
Catch a Falling Star is billed as an inclusive recreational and educational facility. It helps strengthen the physical and social skills of disabled children, including those on the autistic spectrum, through special programs, classes, and events.

CAFS staff provides critical support for parents with programs like Parents Night Out, afterschool care, teaching them about early childhood development, or offering speech and occupational therapies.

The Churchill Center & School for Learning Disabilities focuses on children with a wide range of learning disabilities and uses a remedial program structured to help kids return to traditional classrooms as soon as possible. Children typically attend Churchill for about three years. The US Department of Education has twice recognized Churchill a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

Churchill extends its service to the public, non-students, and those without a learning-disability diagnosis by offering comprehensive tutoring and consultation services. The type of tutoring provided varies with the needs of each student; an hourly tutoring rate is charged.

The school's Terri's Tutors program offers free tutoring to children whose learning has been compromised because cancer treatment.

Leftovers, Etc. acquires surplus and recycled resources - things like fabric, buttons, wood scraps, canisters, school supplies, and more - from businesses, industry, and the local community and uses the materials to foster creativity and to advance education in the arts. The center offers a wide range of artsy classes (even for adults!), as well as a popular summer camp program.

The center is open to the public, and folks can receive a discount on the items they purchase by bringing in some of their own donated household items. Leftovers also sells used books, has a gift shop and gallery, and rents out environmental, behavioral, and other videos.

The organization can arrange custom-designed, in-house field trips for every age of school groups, early childhood centers, Scouts, home-school programs, and church groups. Kids with special education needs are welcome here, too. It also hosts birthday parties, "trash-to-art" shows, and special events throughout the year.

Mid-America Therapy offers a wide range of therapy for children who need extra help because of, for example, delays in motor, social, and visual motor skills development or problems with sensory integration.

Staff members are trained to assist with many kinds of issues using several therapy techniques, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and therapeutic listening therapy.

The venue offers many classes like sensory motor fun, handwriting skills, and yoga for kids.

The St. Louis Learning Disabilities Association (LDL) works with thousands of local atypical learners each year to help them learn and grow to become independent, self-assured, and self-reliant adults in the community. LDL can work with any child from infancy birth through college, regardless of ability or disability.

LDL offers tutoring, educational consultations, study skills classes, early childhood outreach programs, and speech and language therapy, among other services.

The organization also works with families of atypical learners, as well as their teachers, offering support and methods to work with children in their homes and classrooms. Services include a wide range of seminars and workshops designed for parents, classroom teachers, education administrators, and other professionals.