Start with the child you know
You may be looking for help with reading or math, a way to build on progress your child has already made, or support that makes schoolwork easier to approach. We begin by listening to what you see: what your child enjoys, what they can do on their own and where they need help.
A diagnosis alone doesn’t tell us which skill to teach first or how to introduce it. Your child might understand a topic but find the directions hard, or read words accurately while needing support with meaning. Those are different starting points, and the plan should reflect the one that fits your child.
What academic tutoring can help with
- Reading: from sounding out words to understanding a passage, including directions or questions whose meaning is implied rather than stated. See reading tutoring.
- Writing: breaking a writing task into clear, repeatable steps so it is less overwhelming.
- Math: making abstract ideas concrete and keeping track of the steps in a problem. See math tutoring.
- Taking part in learning tasks: starting a task, following directions and showing what they know, including the prompts that help today. See executive function tutoring.
How our teachers approach autism tutoring
All of our tutors are certified in special education. The teacher uses the first sessions to get to know your child: how they communicate, what they enjoy, how they respond to a challenge and which skills are secure. That work shapes a written starting plan that we review with you. Depending on the plan, the teacher may:
- build on interests: using a topic your child loves as the way into reading, writing or math;
- make the abstract concrete: using visual supports and turning a vague instruction into clear, ordered steps;
- break tasks into small, sequential steps: working through a skill one part at a time;
- keep a predictable rhythm: so your child knows what is coming in each session;
- leave room to self-regulate: standing, fidgeting, looking away or taking a short break is treated as a need, not something to correct;
- work with how your child communicates: spoken answers, pointing, writing, visual supports or an AAC device (a communication device or app).
Example (for illustration): a child who loves trains might practice fractions with a train timetable or write a short piece about a favorite route. The interest is the doorway; the academic skill is the goal.
While every plan is individual, a session often has a familiar shape: a predictable start with a quick preview of what is coming, a warm-up on something your child enjoys, focused work on the target skill in short, clear steps, breaks as needed, and a close that recaps what your child accomplished.
Make the online-fit conversation specific
Sessions are live, one-to-one and online, so your child works from a familiar place at home. Online tutoring doesn’t suit every child, and we won’t assume it suits yours. In the consultation, tell us about your child’s experience with screens and conversation, how they show they need a pause, and anything that makes moving between tasks hard. We’ll also talk about the setup and any adult help your child may need to get started.
Using your child’s IEP or 504 goals
If your child has an IEP (individualized education program) or a 504 plan, now or from a previous school, its academic goals and the supports that helped, such as visual schedules or extra processing time, are useful to share. Describe them in your own words; you don’t need to send records to book a consultation. The teacher uses that information, along with your observations and the first sessions, to shape academic goals for tutoring. A tutoring plan is not an IEP, and it doesn’t replace school services.
If you are considering Utah Fits All, read how the law describes the effect on special education services. Utah Code 53F-6-402(4)(b) requires the application to include the acknowledgment that “A qualifying provider may not provide the same level of disability services that are provided in a public school” and that agreeing to establish the account “has the same effect as a parental refusal to consent to services as described in 34 C.F.R. Sec. 300.300.” Our guide to Utah Fits All and your child’s IEP explains more, and your school district or the Utah Parent Center can answer questions about your child.
Tutoring is not ABA, speech or occupational therapy
Our service is academic tutoring. We don’t provide ABA (applied behavior analysis), speech-language therapy, occupational therapy or other therapies, and we don’t diagnose or evaluate children. Those are clinical services from licensed or certified providers. Tutoring and therapy serve different purposes, and some families use both.
Utah Fits All draws the same line. Utah law lists “tutoring services” separately from “educational services for students with disabilities from a licensed or accredited practitioner or provider, including occupational, behavioral, physical, audiology, or speech-language therapies,” and Odyssey’s Eligible Expense Guide lists “Educational Therapies” separately from “Tutoring Services.” Our service is tutoring.
Paying with Utah Fits All
Special Education Resource LLC is an approved provider in the Utah Fits All Odyssey Marketplace. We are not Odyssey, the Utah State Board of Education or the State of Utah. In the Marketplace, Odyssey says it “pays vendors directly—you don’t have to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement.” Utah Fits All covers K-12 students. Our guide to paying for tutoring with Utah Fits All compares the Marketplace with reimbursement, and our tutoring overview covers the other subjects we teach.
Program status: In April 2025, Utah’s Third District Court ruled Utah Fits All unconstitutional, and the State appealed to the Utah Supreme Court. As of October 1, 2026, the Utah Supreme Court has not ruled, and the program is operating for the 2026-27 school year. Read about the court case.