1. VB-MAPP to Selecting Goals and Objectives
Amy Cohen, Ph.D, BCBA
Maigret Fay, M.Ed, BCBA
Julie Smith, MA, BCBA

2. Elements of Appropriate Goals
Individualized
Functional
Observable
Measurable
Reasonable/Acheivable
Do-able

3. IEP Priorities Communication Social and Play Skills
All verbal operants should be well developed
Social and Play Skills
Behavioral Functioning/Self-regulation/Independence in group settings
Learning Readiness: imitation, listener responding, visual perceptual/matching skills, early academics

4. Using the VB-MAPP to set goals
Identify general level of the student- level 1,2, or 3
Use the milestones and barriers assessment to identify areas of strength and challenge
Determine if there are special strengths in one area that can be a benefit to other areas, or a particular weakness that can be addressed
e.g., strong motor imitation but weak echoic skills=> sign language?
e.g., strong echoic skills but no manding

5. Using the VB-MAPP to set goals
Look for balance across all of the skill areas for each level
If out of balance what skills need to be addressed to better balance the profile?

6. Focus areas for level 1 students
Establishing 6 basic language and related skills:
Mands
Echoics
Motor imitation
Listener discriminations
Tacts
Visual perceptual/matching skills

7. Other focus areas for level 1 students
Play and socialization
Spontaneous vocalizations
Fine/gross motor skills and self help skills, as appropriate
** level 1 learners may benefit from more intensive teaching opportunities

8. Focus areas for level 2 students
Systematically expanding language and learning skills
Expanding size and scope of mand, tact, and listener repetoires
Developing multi-component verbal and nonverbal responses
Beginning responding by feature, function and class
Beginning interverbal skills
Developing social and verbal interactions with peers
Group and classroom skills
Learning in less restrictive settings

9. Other focus areas for level 2 students
Fine/gross motor
Independence
Self-care/toileting
** level 2 learners may benefit gradually increased exposure to less structured teaching
** beware of the danger of moving on too quickly for level 2 students, rather than strengthening/ expanding their skill repetoire

10. Focus areas for level 3 students
Expanding context of what student talks about
Expanding sentence size (introducing adjectives, prepositions, pronouns, adverb)
More complex manding
Teaching intraverbal behavior
Socially appropriate behavior
Increasing the frequency and complexity of peer and social interactions
Learning in group teaching formats
Beginning academic skills

11. Other focus areas for level 3 students
Fine/gross motor
Self-help
Independence
Safety
Reduction of behavior problems
** full inclusion and socialization play are more important for level 3 students, as they are more likely to benefit from the preschool classroom environment

12. Goals: Number and timeframe
1 year time frame
Repeated administration of the VB-MAPP can help determine reasonable expected growth in that time frame

13. Making the goal specific
Use the VB-MAPP manual to aid in the goal writing process
Chapters 8,9,10 focus on sample goals for each level
Task analyses can help with breaking skills down into component parts for objective writing

14. Team Activity
Each team will receive 2 sample VB-MAPP milestone assessments
For each student:
Describe profile in terms of strengths, weaknesses, general level and overall balance
Prioritize goal areas
Write at least 3 goals for each student