Writing Goals and Objectives for Students with Severe Disabilities

Writing IEP goals and/or objectives can be difficult for students with severe disabilities as progress is typically very slow. In this sitation, it is important for the team to consider goals with the purpose of improving a child's functional skills and to help the student learn to become as independent as possible. Task analysis and considering what the student is able to do is essential. However, it may also be appropropriate for some students with significant cognitive impairments to have academic goals. If a teacher writes an academic goal it should be for the purpose of improving academic functioning. For example, a student may have a goal to identify numbers 1-5 with the purpose of knowing what "2" means when asked to give you two of something. The IEP should clarify what the student should be able to do with the skill. Parents and other members of the IEP team also need to work together to set realistic goals. It may be helpful to look at skills that are measured in South Carolina's Alternate Assessments. These are aligned to our state standards and may be a good reference for developing goals for students with significant cognitive impairments. The IEP should reflect how the team has developed goals that allow for steady (although likely slow) progress over time.