Special Needs Tutor Paula, Behavior Analyst

I have a 1hr FREE conversation with parent to find out what the needs and concerns are, and what the interests of the child are, and to find out if we are a good match.  Sometimes I end up helping the parent just during that 1hr phone call--they just needed advice on what to do next in their special needs child's journey!  Other times, we then decide I'm the right special needs tutor, and set up time for first session.  First session consists of me assessing the child.  Sometimes, the parent thinks the child is further behind than the child is--other times, we discover other deficits or needs we didn't talk about.  Once we've had that first session, then we are able to determine how many sessions a week a child would need in order to move forward.  It is not suggested that sessions be less than 2x a week, because then progress usually cannot be made.  

I have a BA in English/Writing/Editing, a Masters in Elementary Education, and was formerly certified by the state (CA) to teach English through 9th grade.  I also have a continuing ed degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and a recent certification as a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) which means I can work behaviorally with special needs individuals (1:1 ethical ABA, parent training, social skills, group residential homes with adults with special needs).  I'm also recently certified as a UCLA PEERS Young Adult, Teen, and Telehealth provider.  I am also trained for the Barton method of Orton Gillingham dyslexia intervention (plus the pre-program Foundation in Sounds) and would be able to do it if a child needed it.

For tutoring special needs individuals, which entails preparation of about an hour before each lesson, my price is $60/hr, $75/hr for dyslexic teaching (Orton-Gillingham Barton program or the pre-program Foundation in Sounds). If you are interested in behavioral support, I am under 4 insurances and private pay service is available also. I'm mostly online tutoring but will travel nearby for in-home, although I've found that teaching reading is more successful online (and faster results) due to how I can underline words, block off parts of words for helping sounding out, enlarge the words on the page, and the child can even underline as he/she is reading, so I suggest online for READING tutoring. 

I always wanted to be a teacher from the time I could tell someone what I wanted to be when I grew up!  I even taught my younger brother Spanish when I was learning Spanish in middle school, because I love to teach!  Even my behavioral certification as a BCBA I consider to just be supplemental to my teaching abilities--now I can teach parents how to interact with their children better, and I can teach children who are behind (in talking, interacting, conserving, etc) using behavioral ways.

I have worked with all ages of special needs individuals, from 2yrs old to 72!  I taught preK, but I have mostly been a tutor for the past 25yrs and I find I like that the best--because the special needs individuals need individualized help, which most of them cannot find in a classroom--they need a one-on-one tutor.  I've tutored special needs individuals from 3yrs old up to 38yrs old, and I've worked behaviorally helping special needs individuals from 2yrs old up to 72yrs old (I worked a year in residential group homes, with 26 special needs individuals of varying disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, Schizophrenia, mood disorders, mute, deaf, ADD/ADHD).  I also worked with my own son with special needs, as we did not have insurance paying for behavioral services back then, so our regional center sent me parent trainers who taught me how to help my son grow and become the person he is today!  Plus I homeschooled him for 5th grade when he crashed out (behaviorally) of his typical school setting.

My most recent event I'm happy about, was watching my special needs son graduate from a typical HS, from an Engineering Academy!!!   Then, he went to pilot school and recently got his pilot’s license—he is aiming for commercial pilot’s license! He started out not walking, not talking, not looking at us, not interacting, had to be taught to call for mommy, and then when he got language at about 4 he just repeated everything we said to him (echolalia).  People who knew him back then are amazed that he was able to become the young man who just graduated, and no one can even tell he has Autism (but they can tell he has ODD LOL because he always wants to argue and have his own way!).  My son is my greatest success story, both for my tutoring ability and my behavioral teaching ability and his graduation from high school was the greatest day of my life!

Make sure the tutor is going to individualize the lessons to your special needs student.  Most tutors are not going to take the extra outside of session time to prepare as I do--they will grab the same worksheets they used with the last student on the way out the door to come to your house and this is why they are a bit cheaper than someone who has 25yrs experience working with and helping special needs individuals move forward--and move forward quickly.  You might waste your time and money and then find out oh, he/she "didn't catch on"--nope, that tutor just didn't have th experience needed to know how to reach your child!