If your child has a developmental disability and you live in California, you may have heard about the Self-Determination Program from your regional center. Maybe you’ve looked into it, maybe you haven’t. The short version: SDP can pay for private language lessons, music instruction, and enrichment for your child. And it’s not as complicated to set up as you might think.
What is the Self-Determination Program?
SDP is a California program that gives people with developmental disabilities more say in the services they get and how their budget is spent.
Usually, families go through their regional center. The regional center assigns providers and manages service delivery. SDP works differently. Participants get an individual budget and choose their own providers — tutors, therapists, enrichment instructors, whoever fits their goals.
The program launched as a pilot in 2018. It’s now permanent, open statewide, and there’s no enrollment cap. Any regional center client in California can apply.
Who qualifies?
If your child (or an adult family member) receives services through any of California’s 21 regional centers, they can enroll in SDP. That includes people with autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other developmental disabilities diagnosed before age 18.
No age restriction. Children, teens, and adults all qualify.
What can SDP funds cover?
This is the part most families don’t realize at first.
SDP budgets can pay for any service that supports goals in your person-centered plan. That includes:
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Private language tutoring — Spanish, ASL, Japanese, Korean, French, Mandarin, and dozens more
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Music lessons — piano, trumpet, other instruments
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Communication and social skills work through structured language learning
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Academic tutoring — writing, reading comprehension, test prep
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Cultural enrichment — connecting with a heritage language and traditions
The catch is that the service has to tie to a documented goal: communication, socialization, cognitive development, community integration, independent living skills. Your Independent Facilitator can help you get the right language into your plan.
How the money works: FMS providers
You don’t pay vendors directly. Every SDP participant works with a Financial Management Service (FMS), which handles payroll, invoicing, and compliance.
When you pick a vendor like Strommen Inc., we register with your FMS and billing goes straight from your SDP budget. No out of pocket cost for approved services.
The main FMS providers in California are:
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ACE FMS (Autonomous Community Enterprises)
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PPL (Public Partnerships LLC)
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GT Independence
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Acumen Fiscal Agent
You pick your FMS when you enroll in SDP. Your vendor registers with whichever one you chose.
Why language lessons make sense for SDP
Think about what language lessons actually involve. For a lot of SDP participants, regular sessions with a language instructor aren’t just about picking up vocabulary.
Communication, for starters — that’s usually the most fundamental goal on anyone’s plan. But there’s also the social piece: sitting down with the same instructor every week, having real conversations, getting more comfortable talking. Learning a second language has cognitive benefits too (executive function, memory, problem solving). And for kids whose families speak another language at home, it’s a way to stay connected to their culture. All of that falls under the kinds of goals SDP is designed to support.
None of that is abstract. It’s the kind of thing that belongs in a person-centered plan, and it’s exactly what SDP budgets can cover.
How Strommen Inc. works with SDP families
We’ve been teaching languages in Los Angeles since 2006. We have over 250 instructors, we cover 50+ languages, and we’ve taught students of all ages and abilities, including autistic learners and students with developmental disabilities. We’ve been doing this work for a long time.
Here’s how it works:
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Ask about a free trial. Many of our tutors offer a free 30-minute lesson so you can see if we’re the right fit before you commit anything.
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Tell your Independent Facilitator. Let them know you want to add Strommen Inc. as a vendor for language or enrichment.
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We register with your FMS. We’re registered with ACE FMS and can enroll with PPL, GT Independence, Acumen, or others.
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We build a curriculum around your child’s plan. The person-centered plan tells us what to teach and how. Every student’s lessons look different.
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Lessons happen on your schedule. In person in LA, or online anywhere in California.
What makes us different
We’re not a tutoring app or a marketplace. We’re a company that’s spent close to 20 years building a team of instructors who actually know their students.
Our instructors already work with autistic students, students with learning differences, and adults with developmental disabilities. They know how to adapt lessons to different needs. That’s not a marketing line — it’s what we do every day.
On the credentials side: our team has coached actors on productions for Netflix, Disney, and Marvel. The same level of preparation goes into private lessons.
Every lesson is 1-on-1. No group classes unless your family wants them. No rigid curriculum that doesn’t serve your child’s goals. And we’ve been rated the #1 language school in Los Angeles for over 10 years running.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Self-Determination Program? SDP is a California program that gives people with developmental disabilities (and their families) direct control over their service budget. Instead of your regional center assigning providers, you choose your own and decide how the money is spent.
Who qualifies? Anyone who receives services through one of California’s 21 regional centers. No age restriction. Children and adults both qualify.
Can SDP funds pay for language lessons? Yes. Language tutoring, enrichment, and music lessons can all be covered as long as they’re tied to goals in your person-centered plan: communication, socialization, cognitive skills, community integration, etc.
What FMS providers do you work with? We’re registered with ACE FMS and can enroll with PPL, GT Independence, and Acumen Fiscal Agent.
Do I need a referral from my regional center? No. With SDP you can choose any qualified vendor. You’re not limited to your regional center’s existing provider list.
Interested in using SDP for language lessons or enrichment?
Strommen connects you with experienced, neurodivergent-friendly tutors who teach real skills your child can use every day. Get in touch here and we’ll walk you through how it works.
