suggested IEP goals

[Trishasmom]

Below is the goals suggested by Trisha's teacher and to say I am not happy is a huge understatement!  I do not like any of these goals and feel like we just went back in time.  My quick reply to the team follows these suggested goals.  Sometimes I get the feeling goals are written to be easy for school not for the person's best interest.  Robin you remember the issues we had at the other school with manding and tacting.   I wonder if they people really know Trisha or what she can do now and capable of with the right support?

 Suggested IEP goals for Trisha-2011-12

 

Mands  

 

1. Trisha will mand for (request) 20 different missing items (e.g., mand for a pencil when given a paper, or a fork when given food,) without prompts (except for, e.g., What do you need?)  Trisha will demonstrate mastery using her communication device and signing

 

2.  Trisha will spontaneously emit 15 different mands using her communication device and signing.

 

Tacts -

 

1. Trisha will tact 20 actions when asked, e.g., what am I doing? What is she doing?   Actions will be identified in the natural environment, pictures and books. Trisha will demonstrate mastery using her communication device and signing. 

 

2. Trisha will tact 50 two-component verb-noun, noun-verb or noun-attribute combinations from readily available core vocabulary.  Trisha will demonstrate mastery using her communication device and signing. 

 

Social Behavior- totally remove

 

1. Trisha will engage in cooperative, constructive or physical interaction with peers lasting at least 10 minutes. 

 

2. Trisha will take turns and share reinforcers with peers without prompts at least once a day. 

 

3.  Trisha will engage in 4 exchanges with a peer or adult in an activity based project, i.e., polishing nails, using the communication device at least two days a week. 

 

4.  Trisha will communicate with novel communication partners (novel in this context means an adult or peer other than her 1:1 assistant and sign language instructor) for at least three exchanges using her communication device.

 

Listener Responding by Function, Feature and Class NO

 

1. Trisha will respond to 40 fill-ins regarding function, feature and class, e.g., you ride in a _______ (car), the one that is brown is a _______ (dog), when you are sick you go to the ________ (doctor.) Trisha will demonstrate mastery using her communication device and signing. 

 

 

2.  Trisha will answer 40 Wh questions regarding previously mastered fill-ins, e.g., what do you ride in?   What is brown? Who do you go see when you are sick? Trisha will demonstrate mastery using her communication device and signing. 

 

Functional Math NO she can’t even count to 10 yet

 

 

1.  Trisha will tell time to the half hour both expressively and demonstratively using digital and analog clocks with 80% accuracy on 4 out of 5 opportunities. 

 

2. Trisha will identify the cost of a variety of good and services up to 10 dollars and will demonstrate dollar up strategy for paying for items in training and community setting with 80% accuracy on 4 out of 5 opportunities. 

 

Functional Reading NO more sight words

 

1. Trisha will expressively (verbally or by sign) or receptively identify 30 new sight words from baseline in a variety of contexts with 80% accuracy.

 

2. Trisha will read short books of 5-6 words per page with 80% accuracy.

 

Spelling

 

Trisha will spell, using the most effective modality (e.g., finger spelling, writing, arranging presented letters) 20 words corresponding to the words she is learning to read.

 

Reading Comprehension

 

Trisha will expressively (verbally or by sign) or receptively answer five comprehension questions about a story she reads including questions about characters, sequence or actions with 80% accuracy.

 

Transition

 

1. Trisha will demonstrate mastery of four daily living skills necessary for maintenance of her living space in the least restrictive living setting appropriate for Trisha. (We will have kitchen, laundry facilities, bed, dressers with clothe s to fold, etc. at the new site.  Please let me know what you think are priorities.)  

 

2. Trisha will use public bus, with decreasing prompts, to get to and from two preferred settings.

 

3.  Trisha will engage in a vocational activity, on or off campus for at least one hour per week. 

 

4.  Given a five step visual task analyses, Trisha will follow the sequences to complete tasks. 

 

5. Trisha will accept directions and new tasks from a variety of instructors while controlling her emotions on 90% of opportunities presented.   

Teacher name removed,

Thanks for your fast reply and hard work you put into these goals and I'm so sorry but this is not exactly what I was visualizing for goals for Trisha, to me they are more generic and not as individualized for Trisha's needs.  

Transition goals such as riding a bus isn't very practical when we live no where near a bus line but learning to use a phone functionally would be better since then she could learn to call for a ride, call for help, call her mom or brother etc.  I'm not real thrilled with her folding clothes but would like to see her be able to make herself something to eat when she got hungry, changing a bed is good so that she could change it if needed.  

Manding and tacting has been done for years and years with little to no functional results. Spelling and Reading seem to be the same goals we already have.  

Math, well since she is still learning number concepts and has no concept of time it would seem more practical for her to learn to use an alarm or some kind of timer and to use a calendar.  I think being able to give you x amount of whatever is asked for would be a good goal for her.  If she is working on a recipe and it says add 5 eggs she needs to know how to many that really is.  

Reading need more than just sight words.  At home we are working on what letter does a word start with and we are working on definitions to words as well.  We are using the soup sorter right now and she is learning to turn the picture over to see the written word and look for the letter the word starts with. Next we will work on what letter the word ends with and move on from there.  

Under social behavior I'd like to see something more of her sitting down playing a board/card game with a peer where she may have to ask for a card or other questions pertaining to the game, or something else a young adult might do with their typical peers as much as possible such as asking a peer to go for a walk when possible, asking a peer to have lunch with her and then encouraged to hold a simple conversation etc.  Under social behavior I would much prefer she learn more appropriate ways of expressing her like or dislike of a situation instead of crying, pushing etc.  I'd also like to see her learn to be a little more modest in her behavior and not pull her shirt or skirt up or stick her hands down her skirt to adjust her underwear while around others.  

How will the communication device (ipod, computer etc.) be taught to be used throughout the day and/or as needed to clarify what she is saying.  To tell her to use her ipod if she has something to say is not helping.  I posted several good clips of appropriate ways to include and encourage the used of communication devices and accepting other modes of communication on the wikispace.  The other day when my older sister came to visit I asked Trisha to tell her aunt about her field trip using her ipod.  I didn't just tell  her use your ipod.  She knew where to go because I mentioned a topic (field trip) which helps with her processing disorder.  It would be good for her to be able to use communication to let us know if she is sick, hurting, where it hurts, ask for medicine if needed, tell the doctor what is bothering her and this is not limited to using the ipod but in all modes of communication.  She should be able to use all modes to communicate at all times but if she isn't making herself understood then she should be taught how to use  her ipod to fix communication breakdowns.

I hope this all makes sense and I will write out some ideas of what I'm looking for in regards to Trisha not just for now but that will carry over into life once she leaves IDEA.  

Trishasmom

I advocate, not for the sake of advocating, but for the sake of MY CHILD.

[Mcda...@aol.com]

        Carol..........I am so sorry to hear of this.  I truly thought they were getting their act together for Trisha.  What does Trisha PLOP say about what she can do.  I always try to have that connect to goals.  Does she know money.....ie what a penny is a dime etc?  Maybe that could be a math goal.  Does she know how to dail 911 on the phone?  It does seem to me that they are generic.  I don't know Trisha that well and even I know you don't live near a bus stop.  What transitions have they in place for her?  I think she is almost 19 right in Feb? 

 

M-C 

[Trishasmom]

Yes you are correct, she will be 19 in Feb.  And yes you are again correct, we live way out in the country and there are no bus lines.  They haven't sent me a PLOP yet.  I did not like any of the goals, to me they all looked like last minute throw togethers.   Of course I didn't say that.  Heck they didn't even get all her goals from this past year done and the manding and tacting oh you know I saw red with that.  The teacher responded that with Trisha's age in general, the reading skill building at Trisha's age tends to be more sight word based, rather than phonics based. Well if that's the case why on earth is that all they've done period.  No one has ever really worked on reading with her and I even had to prove to them years ago she could even sight read.  What is with all of this?  We seem to go backwards more than forward. And of course each teacher thinks what they do is so different than all the others but in reality it's the same old stuff over and over.  The vb mapping didn't tell us anything we didn't already know.  But this way she doesnt' really have to teach Trisha anything but a few words here and there over the next year.  Sorry maybe I am being unfair but I don't think so.

Carol

Trishasmom

I advocate, not for the sake of advocating, but for the sake of MY CHILD.

On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 6:23 PM, <Mcda...@aol.com> wrote:

        Carol..........I am so sorry to hear of this.  I truly thought they were getting their act together for Trisha.  What does Trisha PLOP say about what she can do.  I always try to have that connect to goals.  Does she know money.....ie what a penny is a dime etc?  Maybe that could be a math goal.  Does she know how to dail 911 on the phone?  It does seem to me that they are generic.  I don't know Trisha that well and even I know you don't live near a bus stop.  What transitions have they in place for her?  I think she is almost 19 right in Feb? 

 

M-C 

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[Rose-Marie]

Carol,

Sigh. I'm so sorry to see this backpedaling. It is incredibly
frustrating--I can relate, as we are in a backpedaling situation here
too, for other reasons.

I have to agree with you that these look like goals slapped together
at the last minute. The language is a dead giveaway.

The ONLY place in the entire universe where the words "mand" and
"tact" are used (with this particular use of "tact" as a synonym for
"to name," rather than meaning the delicate handling of sensitive
subject matter) is the Special Ed environment. In the real world,
people do not "mand." They do not "tact." There is no need to write
these words in our childrens' goals unless we want them to stay in
Special Ed for a lifetime. "Mand" and "tact" are behavioral terms
coined by B. F. Skinner. They have been adopted by educators to set
themselves in a caste above parents--a condescending, divisive tactic,
even if it is unintentional. As both as parents and as teachers with
morals, we need to stand up against this.

Are you replaying The Emporer's Clothes in your mind right now? That's
all these words are. They are not a fancy ermine cloak; they are
imagined finery. The Emporer is naked beneath it.

I would insist that Trisha's goals be written in plain English. As a
teacher, I refuse to write IEP goals/objectives containing such jargon
(and it didn't take much to convince my administrators why--jargon can
be very difficult to defend in court, should it ever come to that).
Any random pedestrian pulled off the street should be able to
understand and follow every goal as it is written.

If I want a child to request something, the objective should say
"request." Mand? P-tuey.

Tact? That isn't even a verb. So what's with this: "Trisha will tact

50 two-component verb-noun, noun-verb or noun-attribute combinations

from readily available core vocabulary?" Ooooh, English please.
Between you, me, and the fence post, this has "canned-goal-grabbed-at-
the-last-minute" written all over it. It has no meaning; it's just a
lot of verbal fluff.

A benefit to insisting on lay terms is that it gets the teacher to
think hard about what is happening--what the setting looks like, how
Trisha would respond, what she is learning, how we can tell...

Wrightslaw describes S.M.A.R.T. goals (http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/
iep.goals.plan.htm). Sounds like the teacher needs to brush up on
these...

Hopping down off my soap box now,
Rose-Marie,
mom to Angela, age 14

[Trishasmom]

Thanks so much Rose-Marie!  I can't remember if we can send attachments or not but I'll give it a try.  I've made some suggested goals myself and sent to the team for review.  They are not written in terms of measurement but more of what I think Trisha needs.  I figure the "experts" can figure out how to measure them. lol  If the attachment doesn't go through may I send directly to you? I've only done math, spelling and reading goals so far, I will continue to work on the rest this week.  Our IEP meeting is Jan. 6th so trying to get this done before we meet.

Carol

Trishasmom

I advocate, not for the sake of advocating, but for the sake of MY CHILD.

[Rose-Marie]

Hi Carol,

Sure, if the list won't take attachments, feel free to send to me
personally. I really liked the IEP goal ideas you had roughed out in
your original post...much more relevant and meaningful than the
teacher's suggestions. But then, YOU are the expert on Trisha. I hope
your school team understands that. :0)

Happy to help however I can,
Rose-Marie

On Dec 29, 3:27 pm, Trishasmom <csvill...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks so much Rose-Marie!  I can't remember if we can send attachments or
> not but I'll give it a try.  I've made some suggested goals myself and sent
> to the team for review.  They are not written in terms of measurement but
> more of what I think Trisha needs.  I figure the "experts" can figure out
> how to measure them. lol  If the attachment doesn't go through may I send
> directly to you? I've only done math, spelling and reading goals so far, I
> will continue to work on the rest this week.  Our IEP meeting is Jan. 6th so
> trying to get this done before we meet.
>
> Carol

> *Trishasmom*
> *I advocate, not for the sake of advocating, but for the sake of MY CHILD.*

> > aacparents+...@googlegroups.com<aacparents%2Bunsubscribe@googlegrou­ps.com>
> > .

> > For more options, visit this group at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/aacparents?hl=en.
>
>
>

>  Math suggested goals.doc
> 120KViewDownload
>
>  Reading suggested goals.doc
> 107KViewDownload
>
>  Spelling- Writing suggested goals.doc
> 94KViewDownload- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Rose-Marie]

Hi Carol,

Aha! On the group website (not my email inbox), the attachments came
through dandy! No need to send personally. :0) I'll go through them
now, although with kids and husband home for vacation, I can't promise
to make it through all of them today.

Great to know about the attachments, isn't it?

Rose-Marie

[Trishasmom]

yes thank you!  I look forward to your thoughts.

Carol
Trishasmom

I advocate, not for the sake of advocating, but for the sake of MY CHILD.

--

[Eleanor Giriyappa]

I am getting around to reading my e-mails after illness and the holidays. Can the teacher prove what she said about reading. As far as I can figure out, there has not been a lot of research on reading for kids with multiple disabilities or ones that use an ACC device. It seems that the common reasoning has been teaching sight words to non speakers since there is no way to know if the child is processing phonics. Now that more children use ACC devices it seems that reasoning does not stand up.   Before we started homeschooling my daughter, I went round and round with the school. We ended up teaching reading at home even before we pulled my daughter out all together. We have used ALL from Penn State and I have seen the program that Attainment has from University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Both programs seem to take into account ACC users. Has anyone used anything else? --- On Tue, 12/28/10, Trishasmom <csvi...@gmail.com> wrote: