Autism and dyslexia each have their own page. Here’s every tool and technique for the rest — ADHD & focus, anxiety & big feelings, speech & language, sensory needs, and more — in plain words, with exactly how to do it at home. All free.
Special education is buried under jargon and fear — and it can quietly bankrupt a good family, one therapist at a time. It doesn't have to. So much of what your child's therapists do, you can learn to do at home — for free, in your living room, at the park. You have the ability. We'll show you how.
✅ New here? Don't try everything — pick one idea this week and start there. Want it on the fridge? 🖨️ Print the one-page home cheat-sheet →
A speech-language pathologist helps your child communicate — sounds, words, sentences, understanding, or using a "talking" device (AAC). Good speech therapy often looks like play, because that's how kids learn language.
A great SLP follows your child's lead, models language constantly instead of drilling, builds a few powerful "core words" (more, go, stop, help), and coaches you so it keeps happening at home.
Worth a pro for: an evaluation, setting up an AAC device, apraxia, feeding, or when you feel stuck.
OT looks like a child just playing — a ninja course, a Lycra swing, climbing, crashing into pillows. It feels like you're paying for a gym. But it's purposeful: the OT is feeding your child's nervous system the input it craves so they can be calm, focused, and organized.
The two big ones: Heavy work (proprioception) — pushing, pulling, carrying, climbing — is deeply calming. Vestibular input — swinging, spinning, hanging — wakes up balance and attention. A great OT explains the "why" and sends you home with a simple "sensory diet."
Worth a pro for: an evaluation and a tailored sensory plan, handwriting/fine-motor, feeding, or significant sensory distress.
For anxiety, OCD, or big emotions, look for evidence-based therapy — CBT, and ERP specifically for OCD — not open-ended talk alone. A great therapist involves you and gives you scripts to use at home.
PT works on gross-motor skills — core strength, balance, coordination — the big-body stuff that helps a child sit, run, and keep up.
The right simple tool can turn the daily homework or transition meltdown into something manageable.
Almost magical, and free: paste an overwhelming task into "Magic ToDo" and it breaks it into tiny steps; another tool estimates how long things take. Built with neurodivergent users in mind — wonderful for teens and for you.
goblin.tools →Time Timer shows time as a shrinking colored wedge, so a kid who can't feel time can see it — ending the "five more minutes" war. Choiceworks and Tiimo make picture-based daily schedules so kids know what's coming, which prevents so many meltdowns.
timetimer.com →Give your child — and you — a shared language and a way back to calm.
The simple color system used in schools everywhere — kids learn which "zone" they're in (blue/green/yellow/red) and what helps them get back to green. There's an app, plus free intro materials online.
A quiet corner with a pillow, a fidget, headphones, and a feelings chart costs almost nothing and prevents and shortens meltdowns. Pair it with deep-breathing visuals (smell the flower, blow out the candle).
If your child is nonverbal or has very few words, AAC ("a way to communicate without speech") can give them a voice — sometimes for the first time. Using a device never stops speech; research shows it often helps it. Ask your SLP which fits; schools and insurance can sometimes pay.
One of the most widely used communication systems — your child taps symbols/words and the device speaks. It has professionally built page sets (Core First, Motor Plan, Text) and supports touch, eye-gaze, and switch access, so it grows with almost any child.
The classic, beautifully designed symbol-based talking app — a gold standard in homes and schools. Natural-sounding kid voices and a vocabulary that scales from first words to full sentences.
Two more excellent, school-recognized systems. LAMP Words for Life is built around consistent motor patterns and is especially used with autistic children; TouchChat is flexible and widely supported. Your SLP often chooses among these and Proloquo2Go/TD Snap.
aacapps.com →A flexible, affordable communication app that works across iPad, Android, Chromebook, and web — a great way to try AAC before investing in a premium app, or when budget is tight.
coughdrop.com →Before any app, simple picture-exchange (PECS) cards can start communication for free — your child hands you a picture to make a request. And your school's SLP must help if your child qualifies. Always run the free school route in parallel.
How to request a school evaluation →For kids with a few words who are ready for more, these build vocabulary, clearer speech, and sentences — through play and imitation.
Kids watch other children model first sounds and words, then copy them with fun face filters that motivate imitation. Built with autism and speech delays in mind.
The app many SLPs use to practice specific tricky sounds (R, S, L…) with words, sentences, and stories. One sound is free, so you can target exactly what your child is working on.
littlebeespeech.com →Avaz is an award-winning AAC + language app with a big picture vocabulary; Otsimo offers hundreds of speech and learning games designed for autism and language delays.
This is the one parents pay the most for and can do the most of themselves. The activities below are the same kinds of "heavy work" and movement an OT uses — free, at home or the park.
Pushing, pulling, carrying, and climbing send "organizing" signals to the brain that calm and focus a child. It's the single most useful thing to know.
Swinging, spinning, sliding, hanging, and climbing give the exact vestibular input OTs work on — that's why the clinic looks like a playground. Your local park does it for free.
These are the same pieces of equipment you'll see in an OT clinic, picked for home use. You don't need all of them — even one or two changes a lot. We earn nothing from these links — they're just where to find each thing.
Deep-pressure "hug" + gentle movement — the calming clinic swing, for a doorway or ceiling hook at home.
Find it →Swinging and spinning give the vestibular input OTs use for balance and focus — indoors, year-round.
Find it →A slackline-and-rings ninja course (backyard or doorway) for climbing, hanging, balance — heavy work kids love.
Find it →Jumping is calming, organizing proprioceptive input — a 5-minute reset before homework or after school.
Find it →Build core strength, coordination, and focus — kids hop stone to stone like a game.
Find it →A stretchy full-body "cocoon" — deep pressure and body awareness that many kids find instantly calming.
Find it →A big crash cushion turns "crashing into everything" into safe, regulating heavy work.
Find it →Hand-eye coordination, dexterity, aiming, and turn-taking — a whole-family game that's secretly therapy.
Find it →Bouncing and rolling for core, balance, and regulation — a clinic staple that's cheap at home.
Find it →Lying or sitting and pushing builds core strength and arms — pure heavy-work fun down a hallway.
Find it →Calming deep pressure for sleep, homework, or winding down. Use a kid-appropriate weight.
Find it →Safe oral input and busy hands — small, cheap, and a focus lifesaver for many kids.
Find it →Honest guardrails from people who've been there. There's a lot of expensive "help" out there that doesn't work — here's what to watch for.
Under federal law (IDEA), your school must provide — at no cost to you — the evaluation, the services written into the IEP (speech, OT, and more), and the assistive technology your child needs, including an AAC "talking" device, when the team agrees it's necessary. They can't make you use your private insurance, and they can't delay it while waiting on funding.
If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you have the right to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at the district's expense — a fresh evaluation from an outside expert that the school pays for. Most parents never learn this exists.
Private insurance and Medicaid often cover speech, OT, and ABA therapy, AAC devices, and evaluations when they're "medically necessary." Many states also have Medicaid waivers for children with disabilities that cover even more — sometimes regardless of family income. Ask your pediatrician for the referrals, and your state's Medicaid/waiver office about eligibility.
A fast-growing number of states give families of children with disabilities an Education Savings Account (ESA), scholarship, or voucher that can pay for private school, tutoring, therapy, and learning tech — sometimes $10,000–$30,000 a year (Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida and more). Amounts and rules vary by state and change often.
Used well, free AI tools (like ChatGPT) can be a beautiful, playful help — not to replace anyone, just to make hard things easier and joyful things possible. A few ideas to spark you:
Upload a photo of your child and ask AI to gently imagine them grown up as a pilot, a cowboy, an astronaut, a chef — then make a calendar of the images. Suddenly there are dreams to talk about, conversations to have, a future to picture together. (A real parent did exactly this — it was magic.)
Ask AI to write a short, simple, reassuring story about an upcoming event — "Sam goes to the dentist" — in your child's name, step by step. Reading it a few times beforehand takes the fear out of new situations.
Describe your morning routine and ask AI to turn it into a simple, kid-friendly checklist or schedule you can print. Picture-based schedules prevent a huge share of meltdowns.
Paste a confusing line of education or medical jargon and ask AI to explain it like you're a tired parent at 10pm. (Keep it general — don't paste your child's name or private records into public AI tools.)
Ask AI to write a counting story about trains, a joke about dinosaurs, or practice questions about your child's favorite thing. Meeting them in their world builds language, connection, and joy.
A gentle note: AI is a creativity helper, not a doctor, therapist, or diagnosis. Double-check anything important, and never share your child's name, photos, or private records with public AI tools.
Two more profiles with their own dedicated pages:
Keep going. Everything here is free and built for parents, not lawyers:
Everything above is for the daily work — and you can do so much of it. But the IEP itself is the legal document that decides what your child actually gets, and one expert read of it changes everything: what's missing, what to ask for, exactly what to say. That's our specialty. Anywhere in the country, we review your child's IEP and records, research the best local options, and build your plan with clear advice and direction — one flat $350. And here in the DMV (DC, Maryland & Virginia), we go all the way: hands-on, in-person advocacy from start to finish.
Pick up the tools and start today. And when you want an expert to read the IEP, tell you exactly what to ask for, and build your plan — that's what we're here for. The first reply is free.
Get expert IEP help →
🎬 Social skills & learning by watching (video modeling)
"Video modeling" — watching a short clip of someone doing a skill, then copying it — is one of the most evidence-backed ways to teach our kids, because so many learn beautifully by watching.
GemiiniVideo-modeling for speech, reading & life skills · home
What it is: a research-based program of short, focused videos that teach speech, language, reading, and everyday life skills (brushing teeth, taking turns). The videos zoom in on mouths for speech sounds and repeat in a way that "sticks" for kids who learn by watching.
How families use it: a few minutes a day at home — many parents report real, measurable speech and language gains, especially for autistic kids and late talkers. You can target exactly the words or skills your child is working on.
Everyday Speech, Model Me Kids & FloreoSocial lessons & practice
Everyday Speech — a big library of friendly videos on conversation, friendship, and self-control (the curriculum many schools use). Model Me Kids — real children modeling playgrounds, doctor visits, and routines. Floreo — gentle virtual-reality practice of real situations (crossing a street, ordering food).
everydayspeech.com →