Welcome back to our Building Your Best IEP Goals series where we are diving into a wide variety of categories under which you can find a whole range of goals and how we can use goal ideas in these categories as guideposts for targets we recognize as helpful to our students before turning them into individualized goals. We will be covering several categories of goals based off of our free IEP Goal Idea banks, in which we go a little more in depth into the process of individualizing goals. 

This week we are honing in on Behavior Skills, but you can also check out parts 1, 2, and 3 if you would like to explore some other goal idea bank categories further, or download some of our idea banks directly from the AGU store for free! With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at why we create behavior skill related IEP goals in the first place and some of the different types of behavior skills a student may benefit from working on. 

For many people reading this post, “behavior” may feel like a bit of a loaded word, and one that can sometimes lead to IEP goals that try to “correct” harmless actions like flapping, scripting, or fidgeting. It can sometimes be difficult to separate those harmful IEP goals from ones that address genuine risks of harm or distress to the student or others. 

That is why when we are choosing behavior related IEP goals for students it is especially crucial to be able to point out the tangible benefit to the student of meeting such a goal. While this in and of itself is not a perfect solution, it is a crucial bare minimum to think about whether we are simply attempting to eliminate a behavior we deem to be “bad” versus working on behavior skills that have a practical purpose.

Likewise, while we may decide that seeing certain behavior outcomes can help us measure whether a student is successful in meeting a behavioral goal, it can be much more helpful to the student when we find ways to frame those skills in terms of how they benefit the student. 

A student who has trouble with being loud and disruptive when feeling emotionally overwhelmed, for example, would benefit more from a goal that emphasizes the framework of finding ways to self-regulate healthily as opposed to avoiding the negative of disrupting class. Of course it all comes down to each individual, and you will have to make judgment calls to the best of your ability, but approaching with this mindset can make a world of difference! 

As a quick reminder before we dive into goal suggestions and sample individualized goals, here is the broad template we use to individualize goal ideas: 

If you are interested in diving a little deeper into this topic you can find more on individualization cover it more closely in part 1 of this series and go into even more detail in each of our free goal banks! 

Our behavior skill categories are broken down situationally and by the types of self-regulation that might help with a particular situation. As a general rule, most of the focus is on the self-regulation component, but there are also categories with focus on a specific outcome like respecting boundaries, completing undesirable but necessary tasks, or managing challenging/harmful behaviors. 

When considering which goal ideas to use as a framing for your individualization process, keep in mind that it is also OK to break down a complex behavioral challenge into multiple goals the way we would any other complex task. 

It may be important for a student’s well-being to have de-escalation tools when they are having a meltdown, and it may also be important that they respect the boundaries of their classmates during those times. Progress toward either of those goals is important, and emphasizing them as important separate goals does not mean you have to treat them separately when working on strategies for improvement! 

Coping strategies are all about trying different tools to navigate difficult situations before they spiral out of our control. There are all sorts of different triggers that might necessitate coping strategies which will vary by individual. The key with these skills is identifying when a coping strategy may be necessary and employing a strategy that helps with the situation. 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Develop self-awareness and self-recognition 

• Learn about emotions, feelings, sensory needs, and overall needs 
• Identify what emotions and dysregulation feels like 

Learn about and identify coping strategies 

• Identify triggers and proactive strategies together to support self-regulation
• Identify coping strategies that may be a good match for supporting self-regulation
• Try coping strategies, practice using them ahead of time and during dysregulation, adjust as needed

Self-regulation  

• Identify and label emotions (if possible in the moment, and afterwards) 
• Practice using coping strategies, adjust as needed
• Create a list of coping strategies that may be applicable across emotions, use as a helpful tool to refer to during the moment

Breaks

• Practice and consistently use breaks to destress and self-regulate across the day
• Needing a Break
  • Learn about needing a break, what it looks like, and practice using it
  • Create a system of communication (use AAC, specific communication systems), practice communication system to use around sharing that a student needs a break
  • Practice taking a break before, during, and after the need to take a break
• Break Space
  • Learn about the break space, see it in person, practice walking to it frequently, identify what to do in the break space 
  • Practice communication system to use the break space and use it
  • During a time of stress, go to break space, use break time strategies 

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Self-regulation - Create a list of coping strategies that may be applicable across emotions, use as a helpful tool to refer to during the moment 

“By 10/15, given assistance and ideas to choose from by an instructor or helper, Lisa will identify three coping strategies she can try when she is feeling angry or frustrated and identify an order in which she will try each strategy when she is feeling angry or frustrated.” 

Example 2: Breaks - Needing a break - create a system of communication, practice communication system to share that a student needs a break

“By 10/15, working together with instructor, William establish a system for communicating that he needs a break with both a verbal and a silent component.” 

These skills hone in on times when a student may already be feeling overwhelmed and in need of self-regulatory strategies. Practicing skills in these situations can be challenging as there is no safe way to practice being in an overwhelmed state, nor would we want a student to become overwhelmed X number of times just so we can measure how well they are coping. As a general rule the more you can focus on the gameplanning component and identifying goals that are observational but don’t have a set numerical benchmark the better.

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Starting to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, dysregulated 

• Learn what this looks like from person to person
• Describe what it feels like to help develop self-recognition
• Complete check-in around feelings, identify and label feelings, what is wrong, what could be the source of dysregulation

Coping Strategies 

• Identify coping strategies that may be a good match to destress and self-regulate
• Try coping strategies, adjust the list as needed
• Practice using coping strategies
• Use break time as needed, go to break space
• Complete check in of break space
• Complete check out of break space to debrief
• Identify what was the trigger or cause of dysregulation
• Learn about strategies to help next time
• Adjust coping strategies as needed 

Communication 

• Utilize a communication system around asking for help, for a break, and other coping strategies
• Practice using communication system during other times of regulation to ensure a common practice, consistent use, and increased comfort in using the communication system during a time of dysregulation

Aggression during early stages of dysregulation, rumbling, heightened state 

• Given times of rumbling and somewhat heightened state, student will keep hands to self and engage in pre-identified coping strategy to destress
• Maintain safety of self and/or others by using pre-identified coping strategy during early stages of dysregulation

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Starting to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, dysregulated - complete check in around feelings, identify and label feelings, what is wrong, what could be the source of dysregulation 

“By 12/1, in at least 50% of situations where he demonstrates signs of feeling overwhelmed, Jonathan will complete a check in around how he was feeling and what might have caused him to feel overwhelmed by the end of that school day.” 

Example 2: Communication - Utilize a communication system around asking for help, for a break, and other coping strategies 

“By 3/15, with regular reminders from an instructor or helper, May will communicate with an instructor or helper that she is beginning to feel overwhelmed before she has a physical reaction in 50% of identifiable instances. 

If coping is about navigating triggers before they become a big deal and rumbling/heightened is about coping with triggers after they have already had an impact, de-escalating meltdowns is all about finding ways to regulate and navigate situations where the trigger has had a major impact and the student may not feel fully in control of their response. Coping with a meltdown should focus on getting back to a place of self-regulation and control while avoiding violating the boundaries of others. 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Meltdowns

• Learn what meltdowns are and what they can look like
• Describe what their own meltdowns feel like to help develop self-recognition
• Learn about safety measures to ensure student is safe during a meltdown and proactive strategies to ensure access to communicating their needs

Coping Strategies 

• Identify coping strategies that may be a good match to destress and self-regulate
• Try coping strategies, adjust the list as needed
• Practice using coping strategies
• Use break time as needed, go to break space
• Complete check in of break space
• Complete check out of break space to debrief
• Identify what was the trigger or cause of dysregulation and then meltdown
• Learn about strategies to help next time
  Adjust coping strategies as needed

Communication 

• Utilize a communication system around asking for help, for a break, and other coping strategies
• Practice using communication system during other times of regulation to ensure a common practice, consistent use, and increased comfort in using the communication system during a meltdown

Aggression during meltdown 

• During a meltdown, student will keep hands to self and engage in pre-identified coping strategy in a separate space
• Maintain safety of self and/or others by using pre-identified coping strategy during meltdown in a separate space

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Coping strategies - Complete check out of break space to debrief 

“By 11/1, with a template sheet provided by instructor, Devon will complete a checkout debrief in 75% of cases when he needs to use the decompression space for self-regulation, identifying what he thinks caused him to feel dysregulated, the strategies he used to self-regulate, and how he feels now.” 

Example 2: Meltdowns - Describe what their own meltdowns feel like to help develop self-recognition. 

“By 3/1, with assistance from instructor, Suzie will create a Meltdown Narrative which identifies what she is feeling during different stages of a meltdown as well as signs she can use to predict that she may be at risk of a meltdown.” 

What exactly constitutes a problem is going to vary from person to person, but one thing that we can all agree on is that when we agree there is a problem it is helpful to feel like we can solve it! Whether it’s a mistake we may have made, a problem that we need to navigate on our own, or a problem with need to navigate with other people, effectively solving problems is one way of trying to meet our needs and avoid states of overwhelm or dysregulation! 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Dealing with mistakes 

• Learn about the process of making mistakes, how we learn from them, and the opportunities for growth
• Self-assess and identify the types of mistakes that are more frustrating than others
• From this list, learn more about the root of why these types of mistakes are more frustrating
• Identify and match strategies to navigate through these types of frustrating mistakes
• Practice using said strategies, review and evaluate progress, adjust strategies as needed 

Dealing with a problem (like getting stuck, finding something difficult, etc.) 

• Identify and describe problem (what, how, why), how it affects the student, what they feel
• Learn about strategies to navigate problems (ask for help, ask for a break to process, and other specific coping strategies)
• Identify and match strategies and solutions to navigate certain types of problems
• Practice using said strategies and solutions
• Review and evaluate progress, adjust strategies as needed 
• Practice using a communication system as needed to communicate needs

Dealing with a problem with other people 

• Identify and describe problem (what, how, why), how it affects them, and what they feel
• Incorporate perspectives from the others involved
• Learn about strategies to navigate problems, then practice, review and evaluate progress, adjust strategies as needed 
• Practice using a communication system as needed to communicate needs

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Dealing with mistakes - Self-assess and identify the types of mistakes that are more frustrating than others 

“By 4/2, working with instructor, Christina will identify the three types of mistakes that she gets most frustrated about making, as well as corresponding strategies for how to cope when those situations arise.” 

Example 2: Dealing with a problem - Learn about strategies to navigate problems 

“By 10/15, with at least 3 practice sessions and a visual guide, Edwin will be able to identify at least 5 strategies he can try when he notices a problem related to completing work or to staying self-regulated.” 

Sensory as a category covers the wide range of skills related to how we might be physically feeling, how we can identify our physical feelings, and using specific sensory tools. While it may seem intuitive to follow one’s own feelings it is not always that simple for everyone! 

Not only do some people have to practice identifying what they are feeling from a sensory standpoint, it can also be an extended period of trial and error figuring out what sensory tools might be most helpful in a given situation! If it seems like a potential obstacle to a student’s self-regulation is identifying when they might be about to feel overwhelmed then it’s possible a sensory goal may help. 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Sensory needs 

• Learn about sensory needs, input across all senses, sensitivity
• Self-assess and identify all of the sensory needs that are applicable to the student
• Complete inventory of sensory needs
  From this list, learn more about these types of sensory needs
• Match with sensory resources (sensory tools, sensory toys)

Sensory tools 

• Learn what sensory tools are a good match with sensory needs
• Learn how to use sensory tools
• Practice using sensory tools to meet sensory needs and to ensure they are used in the most optimal way for the student and the tool
• Student learns about sensory tool rules and how to follow them for a given setting

Sensory-seeking behavior 

• Identify alternates for sensory-seeking behavior
• Use alternates to type of sensory input the sensory-seeking behavior is filling:
  • Tactile
  • Movement
  • Visual
  • Audio
  • Oral
• Learn how to use sensory tools
• Practice using sensory tools to meet sensory needs and to ensure they are used in the most optimal way for the student and the tool

As a coping strategy 

• When feeling dysregulated, student will use listed sensory tool as a coping strategy

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Sensory tools - learn how to use sensory tools 

“By 5/1, given at least 3 practice sessions, Thomas will be able to identify and explain how to use at least 4 of the 5 sensory tools provided by instructor as well as identify his favorite tool to use for self-regulation,” 

Example 2: Sensory-seeking behavior - Identify alternates for sensory-seeking behavior
 

“By 3/15, given at least two reminders by an instructor or helper for each instance, Kelsey will chew on a sensory straw instead of her hair in at least 80% of instances where she seeks out a chewing sensory stimulus.” 

Rules and boundaries is another one of those areas where there is both a practical purpose for being able to follow the rules as a general skill and a risk of overly focusing on arbitrary rules over harmless behaviors that we consider to be “incorrect” rather than rules that serve an important purpose. 

As a general guideline when creating goals around rules, it helps to re-establish why we that particular rule or boundary is so important. This category also covers some of the unusual social norms that can exist around rules, like when certain rules do or don’t apply and situations where safety is the primary concern. 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Following directions 

• Learn about commonly used directions across settings and why they are important
• Describe how to follow directions, how the student listens and remembers to follow directions
• When adjustments are made to directions, student will learn about why the adjustment occurred, process the change, and work towards completing the task, activity, or assignment
• If student has questions, they can practice and use a communication system with the adult, classmates, or others
• Student can make a list of clarification questions that can help them better understand the directions and what is expected of them

Respect boundaries and others 

• Learn about boundaries and why they are important, identify examples
• Identify specific boundaries that are important to keep in mind

• Describe and explain strategies to 

  maintain and respect boundaries

• Reflect and review on progress and adjust strategies as needed
• Communicate when boundaries are about to be or are crossed

Learning when the rules do not apply 

• Learn about specific circumstances when the rules do not apply
• Describe scenarios and explain the why
• Identify situations in the student’s life when this is applicable
• Create a decision tree of when to check in about the rules, when they apply, and when they don’t apply

Safety

• Learn about safety protocol and why they are important, identify specific examples
• Describe and explain strategies to maintain safety

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Following directions - When adjustments are made to directions, student will learn about why the adjustment occurred, process the change, and work toward completing the task 

“By 10/15, given appropriate collaboration with instructor, Aisha will ask instructor why a particular schedule or instructional change is taking place in 80% of instances where a change occurs and confirm with the instructor that they both understand the reason why the change is occurring.” 

Example 2: Respect boundaries and others - Identify specific boundaries that are important to keep in mind
 

“By 11/1, given a visual aid and at least 3 practice sessions, Robert will be able to identify 5 specific boundaries related to personal space and touch that he should adhere to at all times when at school.” 

All of us can think of at least one task in our lives that we wish we didn’t have to do but also know it is important to complete. Such tasks can be incredibly stressful, especially if you add some of the other components on this list to the mix. If a particular task must be done but is also incredibly challenging from a sensory standpoint, it might require a great deal of skill in self-regulation and identifying when to take breaks before getting overwhelmed. 

If it’s a task that is manageable but that we dread nonetheless, it may be necessary to work on skills that help with task initiation. The crucial thing in this category is that we are figuring out how to approach and navigate a task that needs to be done even if we are not thrilled about it.

As with some of the other behavior categories, it is important to remember that while some unpleasant tasks are indeed necessary, we should still exercise caution in what tasks we might file under this category, and particularly focus on reaching a shared understanding with the student in question as to why a particular unpleasant task is necessary rather than using the existence of such tasks to gloss over reasonable complaints or needs a student might express in other contexts. 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Non-preferred tasks/activities 

• Identify preferred and non-preferred activities
• Learn about how the schedule is structured to include both
• Make choices about how and when the non-preferred activity is embedded during the day (e.g., student feels more rested and excited about school in the morning)
• Learn the why about non-preferred activities, how they can be helpful, and how they can help the student reach their goals
• Incorporate fun and interests into non-preferred activities

Feeling stressed during the task/activity 

• Identify coping strategies and sensory tools or fidgets that could be helpful to have on hand
• Practice using coping strategies, sensory tools, and fidgets
• Practice and use a communication system around needs (asking for help, for a break)
• Use the communication system across people, settings, classes, and course of the day
• Take a break before and/or after completing the non-preferred task, or throughout
• Use breaks as needed to support increased time with a non-preferred task to ensure completion

Break things down 

• Break the non-preferred task down into chunks or pieces
• Incorporate breaks before and after pieces as needed, especially if longer task/activity
• Create and use a checklist for each step of the task/activity 
• Use a tracking system (the checklist itself) or another self-management system to support the student as they monitor progress on the activity or task

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: Non-preferred tasks/activities - Learn the why about non-preferred activities, how they can be helpful, and how they can help the student reach their goals 

“By 10/15, with help from instructor, Joseph will explain the importance of addition and subtraction skills, citing at least two real world examples of when he might use those skills.” 

Example 2: Feeling stressed during the task/activity - Identify coping strategies and sensory tools or fidgets that could be helpful to have on hand
 

“By 12/1, given a list of options to try by instructor, Kara will identify 3 coping strategies to help her maintain focus during reading time and attempt to use at least two of them during a reading time period over the course of one week.” 

Challenging behaviors refer to the types of behavior that can potentially cause harm to the student or other around the student and navigating those situations. Addressing challenging behaviors in IEP goals can be tricky because like in other high stress situations it’s not really possible to safely practice the situation itself. 

In those moments you may have a specific protocol you need to follow, but in a planning stage like writing IEP goals it can be much easier and more proactive to focus on the elements of self-regulation that help prevent such situations from arising in the first place. 

When addressing challenging behavior, it is entirely possible to try to adopt a preventative framework while also acknowledging the issue of the behavior itself and (in situations where it is necessary) placing an increased emphasis on harm prevention and safety. 

Sample goal ideas and subcategories:

Challenging behavior itself 

• Identify challenging behavior and what  it may look like physically for self and/or others
• Identify feelings, needs, related emotions for the why of the challenging behavior

Coping strategies 

• Identify triggers and proactive strategies together to support self-regulation
• Try coping strategies, practice using them ahead of time and during the needed moment, adjust as needed
• If using sensory tools, practice using sensory tools to meet sensory needs and to ensure they are used in the most optimal way for the student and the tool

Breaks

• Practice and consistently use breaks to destress and self-regulate across the day
• Needing a Break
  • Practice taking a break before, during, and after the need to take a break
• Break Space
  • Learn about the break space, see it in person, practice walking to it frequently, identify what to do in the break space 
  • During a time of stress, go to break space, use break time strategies  

Communication

• Create a system of communication (use AAC, specific communication systems), practice communication system to use around times of stress

Aggression towards self/others 

• During aggressive behavior, student will keep hands to self and engage in pre-identified coping strategy 
• Student will maintain safety of self and/or others by using pre-identified coping strategy

Individualizing goal ideas:

Example 1: The challenging behavior itself - Identify feelings, needs, related emotions for the why of the challenging behavior 

“By 10/15, with help from instructor, Nadine will identify the feelings she experiences when she feels the urge to bite herself, and identify at least two alternative coping strategies to try that address some of those feelings.” 

Example 2: Aggression towards self/others - During aggressive behavior, student will keep hands to self and engage in pre-identified coping strategy
 

“By 3/1, given prompting from instructor in situations where there is a perceived risk of hitting himself or others, Chris will go to the decompression space to self-regulate at least 90% of the time.” 

Building IEP goals around behavior skills can be a tricky balance of ensuring that we are still prioritizing our students’ needs and goals while keeping in mind the practical purpose for which we have certain rules and ask for certain behaviors in the first place. 

We hope this list of goals and individualization examples have offered some inspiration for finding that right balance with your students and establishing a shared understanding around the importance of certain behaviors and more crucially checking in with ourselves and ensuring our own needs are met. 

If you have experiences you’d like to share around crafting behavioral IEP goals we’d love to hear from you! Just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and we will be back next week with a focus on vocational skills.