IEP Goal Writing for Speech-Language Pathologists: Utilizing State Standards

IEP Goal Writing for Speech-Language Pathologists: Utilizing State Standards familiarizes the speech-language pathologist (SLP) with specific Early Learning Standards (ELS) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as well as the speech-language skills necessary for students to be successful with the school curriculum. It also describes how to write defensible Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals that are related to the ELS and CCSS.

SLPs work through a set of steps to determine a student's speech-language needs. First, an SLP needs to determine what speech-language skills are necessary for mastery of specific standards. Then, the SLP determines what prerequisite skills are involved for each targeted speech-language skill. Finally, there is a determination of which steps to mastery need to be followed. It is through this process that an SLP and team of professionals can appropriately develop interventions and an effective IEP.

The text takes an in-depth look at the following speech-language areas: vocabulary, questions, summarize, compare and contrast, main idea and details, critical thinking, pragmatics, syntax and morphology, and articulation and phonological processes. These areas were selected because they are the most commonly addressed skills of intervention for students aged three to twenty-one with all levels of functioning. For each listed area, the text analyzes the prerequisite skills and the corresponding steps to mastery. It provides a unique, step-by-step process for transforming the steps to mastery into defensible IEP goals.

The key is to remember that the goal must be understandable, doable, measurable, and achievable. This text provides clear guidelines of quantifiable building blocks to achieve specific goals defined by the student's IEP. School-based SLPs are instrumental in helping students develop speech and language skills essential for mastery of the curriculum and standards. All SLPs working with school-aged children in public schools, private practice, or outpatient clinics will benefit from the information in this text.