AI Spectrum Academy
We're changing the narrative on how children learn.
Live, one-to-one online tutoring for K-12 homeschool families. Academics, life skills, social-emotional learning and de-escalation, customized to your child. Built by a crisis-intervention educator and autism mom, and open to every learner, with or without a diagnosis.
- Live, not recorded
- One teacher, one child
- 30-minute sessions
- K-12
- Works with your curriculum
- Online, anywhere
What does your child love? Tap one to see a lesson.
The 4:15 Is Late!
- What?
- Transition skills: what to do when plans change.
- Do this
- Read the board: the 4:15 Express is 20 minutes late.
- Notice: where do I feel it in my body?
- Pick a Plan B: wait and count trains, ask for help, or choose a new route.
- Show it
- Draw your Plan B route, or act as the conductor making the announcement.
- I did, I got
- I made a Plan B for a late train. Next: make a Plan B for a change at home.
Same four-part learner sheet every lesson, so your child always knows what comes next.
How Big Is My Dino Feeling?
- What?
- Social-emotional learning: naming feelings and their size.
- Do this
- Match four dinosaurs to four feelings: calm, worried, frustrated, angry.
- Size each feeling from 1 to 5.
- Pick a calm-down tool for a 4 or a 5.
- Show it
- Draw your dino feelings scale, or give a museum tour of it on camera.
- I did, I got
- I named 4 feelings and sized them. Next: use my dino scale in a hard moment.
Same four-part learner sheet every lesson, so your child always knows what comes next.
Mission Control Calm-Down
- What?
- De-escalation: a countdown back to calm.
- Do this
- Count down from 10 with slow rocket breaths.
- Check your engines: heart, hands, face. What changed?
- Launch back into your task.
- Show it
- Make a mission checklist card for your desk, or record your countdown.
- I did, I got
- I used a 10-breath countdown. Next: use it before a hard task.
Same four-part learner sheet every lesson, so your child always knows what comes next.
What Is the Dog Telling Me?
- What?
- ABC: All Behavior is Communication.
- Do this
- Look at four dog photos: tail, ears and body.
- Say what each dog needs.
- Now me: what does my body do when I need a break?
- Show it
- Make a 'How I tell you' card with words, signs or pictures.
- I did, I got
- I read 4 dog signals and made my own card. Next: share my card with my family.
Same four-part learner sheet every lesson, so your child always knows what comes next.
My Morning Build Order
- What?
- Life skills: building a routine step by step.
- Do this
- List what a builder does first, next and last.
- Now list your morning: wake, wash, dress, eat, pack.
- Put a picture beside each step.
- Show it
- Make a picture checklist, or record a how-to video of your routine.
- I did, I got
- I built a 5-step morning routine. Next: try it for 3 mornings and check off each step.
Same four-part learner sheet every lesson, so your child always knows what comes next.
My Mood Weather Report
- What?
- Knowing myself: naming my mood.
- Do this
- Pick today's weather: sunny, cloudy or stormy.
- Say what made it that way.
- Choose one tool that helps on a stormy day.
- Show it
- Give the weather report on camera, draw it, or point to it.
- I did, I got
- I named my mood and a tool. Next: check my weather before and after a hard moment.
Same four-part learner sheet every lesson, so your child always knows what comes next.
All behavior is communication. Most lessons aren't listening.
When a lesson doesn't fit, a child tells you. They shut down, melt down or walk away. That isn't defiance. It's a message.
Homework ends in tears. Sometimes theirs, sometimes yours.
One change of plan, and the whole day falls apart.
The curriculum moves on. Your child isn't ready to.
You chose homeschooling for a reason. Now you're the only teacher.
Your child isn't the problem. The fit is. We change the lesson, not the child.
What makes AI Spectrum Academy different
Other programs give you a curriculum or a class. We give your child a live teacher who also knows what to do when learning gets hard.
Built around your child
Every plan starts with an intake: your child's goals, strengths, interests and how they learn best. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan and you choose to share it, we build it in.
A live teacher for the curriculum you already use
Keep Time4Learning, Miacademy, MiaPrep or your own homeschool plan. We add the live, one-to-one teacher who helps your child through the hard parts.
Calm is a skill. We teach it.
Our tutoring comes from 20+ years of crisis intervention and de-escalation training, through a behavioral and mental health lens. Your child learns tools for big feelings, and so do you.
We look before we react
When behavior shows up, we use our HELP lens (Health, Environment, Lived experiences, Psychiatric considerations) and our CARES approach to tell a mistaken mannerism from a real problem, and respond with care.
Nonverbal voices matter
Speaking or not, every child has something to say. Your child can answer and show learning in the way that works for them.
Open to every learner
Autism and IDD expertise, for every family: with or without a diagnosis, IEP or 504 plan. Brothers and sisters are welcome, each with their own plan.
HELP is adapted from Dr. Elspeth Bradley's work in the Curriculum of Caring (McMaster University). Time4Learning, Miacademy and MiaPrep are trademarks of their owners. AI Spectrum Academy is not affiliated with them.
Three ways to learn, one teacher
Choose one, or mix them. We plan it with you at intake.
Academic tutoring
Core subjects, K-12, taught in short steps and connected to what your child loves.
- Math
- Language arts & reading
- Science
- Social studies
Academics through social-emotional learning
The lesson and the feelings, together. We use social-emotional learning to guide the academics, so frustration becomes a skill to practice, not a reason to stop.
Life skills & social-emotional learning
Knowing yourself, managing moods, calm-down tools, de-escalation, getting along with others, everyday routines and transitions. Autism-specific lessons when your child needs them.
Already using Time4Learning, Miacademy or MiaPrep? Keep it. We follow the same subjects and add what self-paced lessons can't: a live teacher who knows your child.
Parents are first responders too
You may not think of yourself as a first responder. But if you're the first person there when your child is in crisis, you are. Our de-escalation training was built for first responders, schools and families. Now it comes home.
The key superpower is how we choose to respond.
Every family can ask about caregiver de-escalation coaching on the free call.
This is for your family if...
- You homeschool, in North Carolina or anywhere else, and want a live teacher in your corner.
- Your child needs help in a subject like math or reading, taught in a way that fits how they learn.
- Your child is autistic, has an intellectual or developmental disability, learns differently, or simply learns best one-to-one.
- Big feelings show up when plans change, and you want your child to have words, tools and a plan for them.
- You have more than one child, and each one needs something different.
- You want a short, live session your child can handle, not a two-hour class or a video to watch alone.
No diagnosis, IEP or 504 plan needed. Younger learners (under 10) have an adult nearby during sessions. AI Spectrum Academy provides supplemental tutoring. Your home school stays yours.
How we support every learner
We start with what gets in the way, then change the lesson, not the child.
| What gets in the way | How we support | What we work toward |
|---|---|---|
| Falling behind in a subject | Short steps, connected to your child's interests and to the curriculum you already use. | Real understanding, not just getting through the lesson. |
| "I don't want to" | Every lesson starts with something your child already cares about. | Learning without the fight. |
| Big feelings and meltdowns | ABC: All Behavior is Communication. We learn what the behavior is saying, then teach body signals, words like trigger and fight-or-flight, and calm-down tools. | Words for feelings, and a plan for hard moments. |
| Surprises and transitions | The same four-part learner sheet every lesson, a visual schedule, and practice for when plans change. | Your child knows what comes next, and has a Plan B when it doesn't. |
| IEP or 504 goals | If you choose to share the plan, we build its goals into the sessions. | Every session works toward your child's own goals. |
| Words don't always come | Your child shows the learning in the way that works for them. | Every voice is heard. |
How to get started
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Free HIP Start Call
A free 15-minute call. Tell us your child's grade and what they love. HIP means Highly Intelligent Person: how we see every child.
-
Intake
You share your child's goals, subjects, curriculum and how they learn best, plus the IEP or 504 plan if you choose. We sign a simple tutoring agreement.
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First live session
One-to-one by video, 30 minutes, built on your child's goals and interests from day one. Each session ends with a short check-in with you.
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See the progress
After every 8 sessions you get a summary: what your child did, learned and will do next.
Your family's first M.O.V.E.: Mindset Overcomes Virtually Everything.
Your child's teacher
- Doctoral-level educator (Ph.D.), with an MBA and a computer science degree
- Classroom teaching from high school through college
- More than 20 years in crisis intervention, de-escalation and curriculum design, including work with people with cognitive disabilities
- Trained in autism-focused evidence-based practices (AFIRM modules)
- Published author of an autism crisis-prevention children's book
- Experience with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, human service organizations and NC Medicaid direct services
Training, certifications and experience behind every lesson
What families say
"The service provided is tailored to me as the client and feels personal... You will always feel like you are the only client."
"Very detailed in the process of assessing student/client before beginning personal one-on-one sessions."
"Used AlSmith Education Advocates for tutoring services for my son. Very professional and my son's math grade went up a whole letter grade."
"Tutoring session went extremely well, will definitely use this company again in the future."
Reviews of AlSmith Education Advocates, the company behind AI Spectrum Academy.
How we're different
Most options make your child fit the program. We make the program fit your child.
| Feature | Typical tutoring center | Online group class | Homeschooling on your own | AI Spectrum Academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One teacher, one child, every session | Sometimes | No | Yes, and it's you | Yes |
| Lessons built on your child's interest | Rarely | Rarely | If you plan it | Every lesson |
| Same structure every time, with visual steps | Varies | Varies | If you plan it | Built in |
| Works with the curriculum you already use | Rarely | No | Yes, and it's you | Yes |
| De-escalation and calm-down skills taught | Rarely | Rarely | If you plan it | Every unit |
| IEP or 504 goals built in (if you share them) | Rarely | No | If you plan it | Yes |
| Academics plus life skills and transitions | Rarely | Rarely | If you plan it | Every lesson |
| Session length | Often 60 minutes | Often 45 to 60 minutes | All day | 30 minutes |
| You plan the lessons | No | No | Yes | No, we do |
Simple pricing
No sign-up fee. No contract. Start with one session or choose the monthly plan.
Try one session
$50 per session
- One 30-minute live session
- Built on your child's interest
- See if it's the right fit
Monthly plan
$400 per month
- 8 live sessions, about twice a week
- Same teacher every session
- Progress summary after every 8 sessions
- Billed by calendar month
Using NC ESA+ funds?
AlSmith Education Advocates is completing its service provider enrollment with NCSEAA. We are confirming with NCSEAA which of our services can be paid with ESA+ funds through ClassWallet.
- Book your free HIP Start Call now so you're ready
- Please don't pay out of pocket for sessions you plan to cover with ESA+
Every family pays the same price.
More ways to learn
Ask about these on your HIP Start Call.
Small-group classes
Live social-emotional and social skills practice with a few peers.
Self-paced courses
Short online lessons your child can do any time.
Caregiver training
De-escalation coaching for parents and caregivers: ABC tools for calmer moments at home.
Concierge
A fully customized plan for one learner, from curriculum to transitions.
Questions families ask
Is this a school?
No. AI Spectrum Academy is an online micro school program that provides supplemental lessons. Your child stays in your home school. We don't enroll students, issue grades or transcripts, or act as a private school.
Is this therapy?
No. Sessions are educational tutoring: core academic subjects, life skills, social-emotional skills and calm-down tools. They are not therapy or counseling, and they work alongside the support your child already has.
Which subjects do you tutor?
Math, language arts and reading, science and social studies, K-12, plus life skills, social-emotional learning and de-escalation. You choose academics, life skills, or both.
What happens at intake?
Before the first session, you share the subjects and goals you want help with, the curriculum you use, how your child learns best and what they love, plus the IEP or 504 plan if you choose. With your permission, we can also talk with your child's teacher. Everything you share is kept private and confidential.
What if my child doesn't speak?
Nonverbal voices matter. Your child can answer and show learning in the way that works for them.
Are sessions recorded?
No. Sessions are live and are not recorded unless a parent gives written permission.
Does my child need a diagnosis, IEP or 504 plan?
No. Every learner is welcome. Our lessons are built with autism and IDD expertise, and that structure helps any child who learns best one-to-one. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan and you choose to share it, we build its goals in.
Can brothers and sisters join?
Yes. Each child gets their own plan and their own sessions.
Do you work with Time4Learning, Miacademy or MiaPrep?
Yes. Keep the curriculum your family already uses. We follow the same subjects and add a live teacher who helps your child through the hard parts.
What is the HELP lens?
HELP stands for Health, Environment, Lived experiences and Psychiatric considerations. When behavior shows up, it reminds us to look at the whole picture before we react. It is adapted from Dr. Elspeth Bradley's work in the Curriculum of Caring (McMaster University).
Do you use AI with my child?
The teacher may use AI tools to prepare lesson materials and reviews everything before use. No child's personal information goes into AI tools, and children don't use AI accounts without written parent permission.
What does my child need?
A computer or tablet with a camera, a reliable internet connection and a quiet space. Comfort items and movement breaks are welcome.
How do I know it's working?
After every 8 sessions you get a progress summary showing what your child did, what they learned and the next step.
Do we need to live in North Carolina?
No. Sessions are online, so any family can join. ESA+ funding applies only to North Carolina families.
Can we use ESA+?
We are completing our provider enrollment and confirming with NCSEAA which services qualify for ESA+ funds, including core academic tutoring. Join the ESA+ list and we'll email you as soon as it's confirmed.
Let's change the narrative together
Tell us your child's grade, what they love and what they need. We reply within two business days.