At Bridge School, IEP goals address a student’s overall participation and communication in their school, home, and community environments. Goals often focus on several communicative competence skills simultaneously and always address real-life communicative contexts or needs. Below are several examples of IEP goals appropriate for preschool, lower and upper elementary. The suggested age range serves only as a guide, as goals and objectives are personalized for each student. Please see the section on Communicative Competence Intervention Practices and Procedures, Preschool Program, and Elementary Program for more information on The Bridge School’s instructional contexts.

For Upper Elementary Aged Students (Grades 3 to 5)

Student will demonstrate his ability to independently write and send emails for at least 2 different purposes, given customized pages in his SGD and direct instruction, by writing an email message containing at least 3 of 5 required elements over 5 opportunities; as measured by classroom staff or SLP on a checklist.

Email purposes:

• Social
• Information- gathering, research
• Inquiry of teacher
• Inquiry of friend
• Receive homework assignment
• Turn in homework assignment

Student will use communication support technologies to compose and store messages for later use and demonstrate ability to use pre-stored messages strategically to speed message selection; given direct instruction and AAC systems; in 8 of 10 interactions requiring such strategies; as measured by SLP.

Student will demonstrate improved classroom discourse skills by independently producing appropriate messages during interactions with peers within his 3rd grade classroom and at Bridge School, including at least 3 of the different types listed below; given appropriate communication aids (including a sequenced digitized speech device and switch), and direct instruction, in 3 of 5 appropriate classroom opportunities; as measured by SLP observations recorded on a checklist.

• Indicate needs and wants to teacher and peers
• Solicit help from a peer
• Give help to a peer
• Ask a peer to be a partner or work together
• Agree with classmates’ opinions
• Use polite forms like please and thank you

Student will produce at least 3 personal narratives (spoken or written) per month, and share his story with at least one person in person or via email, and then save personal stories for later re-telling; given assistive technologies and appropriate AAC systems (communication books and boards, and voice output communication devices), as observed and charted by SLP.

For Elementary or Preschool Students

Student will demonstrate increased turn-taking during social interactions, games, songs, and play with preschool/elementary peers and adults using aided and unaided modes (vocalizations, gestures, communication support technologies, etc.); participating in an exchange by taking at least 3 turns, given minimal prompting, in 5 familiar preschool/elementary classroom routines, as measured by SLP and classroom staff.

Student will retell personal past experiences to someone who did not participate in the experience (including peers, family members, and unfamiliar adults), in 2 environments; using multimodal communication strategies (gestures, vocalizations, low-tech communication displays, mid- and high-tech voice output devices, etc.) to tell the following elements:

• 2-3 significant events;
• who was involved;
• where it took place;
• an evaluative comment;
• answer open-ended questions related to the event;

given customized low- and high-tech communication supports, structured daily practice, and partner training; as measured by SLP, classroom staff, and parent report.

Student will use increasingly more complex language, combining words and phrases, to express himself with language, given low tech visual symbols (with orthographic representations) and speech-generating devices; using optimal access method to retrieve messages on preprogrammed pages that include phrases as well as single words in grammatical categories (nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs), to clearly express original ideas in 2-3 word sentences; given direct instruction and guided practice opportunities, in at least 4 different classroom routines over 3 trial days, as measured by SLP or classroom staff observations.

Student will use environmental controls (EC) to problem-solve and affect his immediate environment for daily living and play routines (turning lights on/off, turning music on/off, turning on the computer, etc.), with ECs programmed into his speech-generating device, separate EC unit, or other assistive technology; demonstrating use of ECs during 5 routine activities, as measured by classroom staff observations and parent report

Student will demonstrate improved body-based direct selection skills by using eye pointing/visual orientation to locations, objects, people, or activities at school in order to communicate a desire/preference, answer a question, or direct partners, so that his gaze is accurately interpreted at least 80% of the time, on 3/4 trial days, as measured by classroom staff.

Student will independently initiate the use of remnants and mementos to bypass vocabulary limitations and establish preferred topics of interaction, in familiar classroom routines (including Sharing Time and telling Home News), given access to a customized “remnant book,” to be co-constructed with student and her family, as measured by classroom staff.

Student will initiate and maintain a social conversation by independently activating an entire sequence of up to 10 messages, when given at least 10 co-planned sequenced social scripts and a communication device, using an appropriate alternative access method, in 8 of 10 scripts, as observed and charted by SLP.

Student will understand and produce 8 targeted vocabulary words per preschool dramatic play theme, in familiar classroom routines, given direct instruction and access to communication supports and symbols (low-tech books/boards, signs/gestures, voice-output devices, etc.), in 3 out of 4 trial days, as measured by classroom staff observation and SLP-charted data.

Student will independently use aided AAC modes to engage in informal conversations with adult or peer partners in 2 environments by:

• setting a topic OR responding to the adult’s conversational opening,
• maintaining partner attention and topic cohesion for 3 conversational turns, and
• repairing breakdowns as needed;

for 3 conversations observed over one week, as measured by SLP observation and parent report.