Start from present levels, not from a wish list

A useful goal grows out of the PLAAFP (Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance): what the student can do now, with what support, in what settings, and what gets in the way.

If the present level says only “has autism” or “struggles socially,” the goals will be vague. Ask for:

• Concrete skills observed this year
• Where the skill works and where it falls apart
• What support already helps
• Parent and student input in writing
• Data or clear examples, not only adjectives

For how IEPs and 504s differ and how to request evaluation, see IEP or 504?.

Weak vs stronger present-level language

Weak: “Student has autism and difficulty with peers.”

Stronger: “In unstructured recess, student plays alone about 80% of observed intervals. With an adult-facilitated structured game twice weekly, student takes turns with one peer in 3 of 5 opportunities. Parent reports after-school meltdowns on high-social days.”

Weak: “Student is non-compliant with transitions.”

Stronger: “When the schedule changes without preview, student refuses to leave the classroom in 4 of 5 observed unplanned transitions. With a two-minute visual countdown and first-then card, student transitions with one prompt in 4 of 5 trials.”

Send a half-page parent input statement before the meeting so it can be pasted into the draft.

Goals vs accommodations vs services

Many teams bury sensory tools only inside goals (“will tolerate cafeteria noise”). That often fails. Put environment and tools in accommodations, and write goals for requesting or using tools independently over time.

What a strong goal looks like

A stranger should be able to answer:

1. What skill will change?
2. In what context (class, hallway, lunch, with peers, with adult support)?
3. How will we measure it (frequency, accuracy, level of prompt, duration)?
4. By when (annual goal with interim checkpoints)?
5. Why it matters for learning, safety, communication, or independence?
6. What supports are allowed during measurement (visuals, AAC, prompts)?

Worked rewrites

Weak: “Student will improve social skills.”
Stronger: “During structured lunch club twice weekly, student will initiate or respond to a peer interaction using words, AAC, or gesture in 4 of 5 observed opportunities, with one verbal prompt or less.”

Weak: “Student will reduce problem behaviour.”
Stronger: “When overloaded, student will use a taught break request (card, phrase, or device) and move to the agreed quiet space in 4 of 5 observed overload episodes, with staff honouring the break within one minute.”

Weak: “Student will maintain eye contact during conversation.”
Stronger: “During a 5-minute preferred topic exchange, student will stay in the interaction (body oriented to partner or shared materials, using speech/AAC) for 4 minutes of 5, without requiring eye contact as success.”

Weak: “Student will complete homework independently.”
Stronger: “Given a written checklist and a 10-minute starter routine, student will begin the first homework item within 5 minutes in 4 of 5 school days, with no more than one adult prompt to start.”

Goal domains that usually help autistic students

Functional communication

• Requesting help, break, or clarification
• Using AAC across the day, not only in the speech room
• Repairing misunderstanding (“I meant…”)
• Following or giving multi-step instructions with supports
• Commenting to share interest, not only to request items

Ask: Is AAC listed in accommodations and taught in goals if the student needs a robust system?

Emotional self-regulation

• Recognising early signs of overload
• Using a regulation tool or break before crisis
• Returning to a task after a supported break
• Co-regulation with a trusted adult as a legitimate step

Not: zero frustration, zero meltdowns as the only target. Frequency of crisis may fall as a side effect of better supports; making “no meltdowns” the goal often hides unmet needs.

Social participation (without forced compliance)

• Joining a preferred group activity with a defined role
• Turn-taking in a game the student chooses
• Working with a peer on a shared academic task
• Repairing a social misunderstanding with a script or visual

Not: mandatory eye contact, “quiet hands,” friendship quotas, or punishing solitude at recess. See friendships and bullying.

Adaptive behaviour and transitions

• Moving between classes with a visual schedule or timer
• Managing materials with a checklist
• Following a changed plan when previewed
• Using visual supports with fading adult prompts over time

Executive function and learning access

• Starting work within a defined time with a starter prompt
• Breaking long assignments into listed steps
• Using a planner or digital checklist with fading support
• Asking for clarification when instructions are multi-step

See executive function.

Sensory access (accommodations + goals)

Many sensory needs belong in accommodations (headphones, seating, quiet space, clothing exceptions, movement breaks). Goals can teach the student to request or use those tools independently. Environment change still comes first — see sensory.

Red flags in proposed goals

Question or rewrite goals that mainly:

• Force eye contact as success
• Eliminate all stimming without a safety reason
• Prioritise looking “ready to learn” over having a way to communicate
• Use only compliance language with no skill the student gains
• Are not measurable (“will improve,” “will be appropriate”)
• Exist only in one room with one adult and never generalise
• Ignore AAC, sensory tools, or preview of change the student already needs
• Conflict with medical or mental health recovery (e.g. full-day demand during burnout)

Safer frame when a stim causes injury: teach a safer form of the same sensory input, measure use of the safer form, and fix environmental triggers.

How to rewrite a goal in the meeting

1. Read the present level out loud. If it is empty, fix that first.
2. Ask: “What will my child do that they cannot do now?”
3. Add setting + measure + supports allowed.
4. Confirm who collects data and how often you see it.
5. Check that instructional time exists to teach the skill — a goal without minutes is a wish.
6. If you disagree, say so and ask for the disagreement and alternatives in the notes or Prior Written Notice.

Parent script

“I want this goal to name a skill we can see in more than one setting. Can we rewrite it so success is [specific behaviour], measured by [method], with [supports] allowed? I don’t accept eye contact / zero stims as the measure of success.”

Bring two preferred goal directions written at home. You do not have to accept the first draft.

Progress monitoring

IDEA requires that the IEP include how progress toward annual goals will be measured and when periodic progress reports will be provided.

Ask for:

• The data collection method (trial counts, rubrics, work samples, interval observation)
• How often staff record data (daily, weekly?)
• When you receive progress reports
• What happens if progress is flat after a reasonable period (instruction change, not only “try harder”)
• Whether data include generalisation (other classes, cafeteria, home carryover notes)

If every meeting is anecdotes with no data, put a written request for the measurement plan in the IEP.

Mid-year check (use this checklist)

• Each goal still matches a real priority
• Present levels were updated with current data
• Accommodations are actually delivered (ask your child and teachers)
• Related service minutes are occurring
• Flat goals have a documented instructional change
• New issues (bullying, anxiety, AAC breakdown) are on the agenda

Teens and transition goals

By the mid-teens, goals should connect to transition planning: self-advocacy in meetings, workplace or community experiences, daily living skills the student needs, and communication in real settings. Invite your teenager to name what matters.

Examples of transition-aligned directions:

• Prepare and deliver a three-sentence self-advocacy statement in the IEP meeting with visual support
• Complete a travel-training sequence with fading adult proximity
• Use a checklist to manage morning routine with X% independence

If mental health is the barrier, pair goals with load reduction accommodations — see teen mental health.

Annual meeting prep packet (print this)

1. Parent present-level input (half page)
2. Two wins and two priorities
3. Draft goals you want rewritten (before/after)
4. List of accommodations that work at home
5. Questions about data and service minutes
6. Second person to take notes
7. Request for draft IEP before the meeting when possible

Bring-to-meeting sticky note

Write three lines only:

1. Goal I want rewritten: …
2. Why (home/school example): …
3. How we’ll know it worked: …

Hand it to the note-taker. Meetings move fast; paper keeps your priority alive.

Parent trap to avoid

Accepting ten vague goals so the meeting ends. Fewer clear goals beat a bloated list.

Questions parents ask after reading this

Use these with your co-parent, teacher, or clinician so the next conversation is concrete.

1. What is the single highest-yield change we can make in the next seven days based on this page?
2. What should we stop doing that is adding load without helping?
3. Who else needs a one-page summary of this plan (school, caregiver, relative)?
4. What would “a little better” look like in two weeks so we know the plan is working?

Write the answers down. Plans that live only in your head disappear on hard days.

If you only do three things

1. Pick one action from this article and schedule it on the calendar (call, email, or routine change).
2. Tell one other adult the plan in one sentence so you are not carrying it alone.
3. Revisit this page after two weeks and note what changed — keep, adjust, or drop.

Small completed steps beat perfect unread plans. You are allowed to go slowly and still be a good parent.

Related school pages

• IEP or 504? — which plan, evaluation, IEE, disputes
• Executive function
• Visual supports
• AAC