RESOURCES FOR WRITING AND ASSESSING IEP OBJECTIVES

Some frequently occurring problems with IEP objectives:

Objectives reflect team goals rather than student’s individual objectives

The student will use her Personal Dictionary Example

vs People in the student’s environment will know her Personal Dictionary, and will interpret and respond to her communication behaviours as indicated

Objectives that are actually strategies

Example The student will learn some geography from around the world as taught by various people who share their worldly travel experiences

vs The student will answer T/F questions about South America by looking to the left for True and to the right for False, with 80% accuracy

Objectives are vague and not easily measurable

Example The student will use the Dynavox daily Vs The student will use the Dynavox daily to indicate how he would like to spend his break time

Keep in mind that all domains of a student’s development (communication, fine motor, gross motor, cognition) are inter-related and inter-dependent. IEP goals need to reflect these relationships.

For Example Communication objective may be around Choice Making, but need to take into account: Vision - how does the student see? Motor - how can the student physically make a choice Cognition - does the student understand the concept of making a choice?

What Skills Is the Student Learning?

Need input from Physiotherapist - gross motor skills Occupational Therapist - fine motor, mealtime, vision skills Speech-Language Pathologist - communication, social, mealtime skills Vision Teacher Teach of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Psychologist - cognitive, behavioural skills

The IEP objective should: 1. Reflect the student’s active participation

Example The student will walk in a walker to pick up mail from the office

2. States How the Student Actively Participates

Example The student will respond to a greeting by looking at the greeter and smiling

3. Have a functional basis What difference will learning this skill make in the child’s life? Skills should be learned in situations where the student is going to use them

The student will use a jelly bean switch with her left hand to shred confidential documents in the school office for 10 minutes, once a week

vs The Student will use a switch to practice shredding paper in the resource room

4. Have built in motivation What satisfaction does the student get out of learning the skill?

The student will use a switch to activate a toy in the resource room, vs

The student will use a switch to sharpen pencils when asked by class-mates (This student is motivated by looking at people, and helping others)

5. Include a way to measure the objective

Example The student will independently grasp and release 10 beverage containers into the recycle bin once a week

Ask your team members to: 1. Be Specific (e.g., The student will independently wipe the table with her left hand after eating at recess and at lunch) 2. Include Measurement (e.g., for 4 out of 5 snacks and 4 out of 5 lunches every week)

Measurement Accuracy Frequency Duration Amount of Active Participation Appropriateness Generalization

3. Include Motivators Peers Movement Music Food Tactile Visual

What is the IEP objective?