Setting Goals: A Reach, A Stretch, and a Leap

When I was in second grade my grandmother told me to write down what I wanted to be when I grow up and put it somewhere so that I would see it every day. I took a small piece of paper and wrote, “When I grow up I want to be a teacher” and slid it into the corner of the mirror in the bedroom I shared with my sister.

Well-meaning family members told me that college was expensive (and we were poor).  They suggested that I have a back up plan. I said, “Well, I could be a pediatrician.” They laughed and said, “Obviously, she doesn’t get it.” I wasn’t paying attention to the obstacles. I was looking at the goal. I was flexible about the job title, but I knew I wanted to have a career that allowed me to make a difference in children’s lives. I was willing to put whatever work was required into achieving that goal. Even now, when I want to achieve something, I write it down and then keep notes about what needs to be accomplished along the way to make that happen.

As the new school year begins, it gives us a chance for a fresh start. It also gives us the opportunity to think about what we really want for our children who are using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).

There have been a lot of articles written about IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) goal-writing, and I’m linking a couple of those articles here (Lauren Enders’ guest blog on PrAACtical AAC) and here (Linda Burkhardt and Gayle Porter) in case you clicked on this article hoping for that type of information.

In this post, I’m taking a more informal approach to goals and suggesting that you think about what will make a difference for the AAC user(s) in your life and what steps you can take to make those goals a reality.

Choosing goals is overwhelming for teams sometimes because when a child has complex communication needs (CCN), evaluations are typically completed, and goals are derived from areas of weakness.  The issue with that approach is that often the evaluations are not a true reflection of the student’s ability, and for many of the student’s I’ve worked with, the entire evaluation is in the “very low” range.  When you’re trying to use a tool to aide in a prioritization, it only works if it differentiates the choices. If you’re shopping and you decide that you’re going to buy the least expensive pair of boots, it doesn’t work if they are all the same price. You have to change your criteria and make a decision based on the outcome that is going to be most beneficial.

When you’re thinking about setting goals for individuals who have CCN, my suggestion is to look at their strengths and build from there.  One way you can do this is by using the Reach-Stretch-Leap Method (I just made it up. It’s not an actual evidence-based method.). Here’s how it works:

1. Document the individual’s current level of communication skills and write them down (Bonus points if you also take video of the individual using AAC. Double bonus points if you share the video in the Speak for Yourself Users Group, whether they’re using SfY or not). As growth happens incrementally, we often don’t see the progress unless we have a way to look back.  I read an article years ago that said goals are more likely to be achieved if you write them down. My grandmother may have read a similar article when I was in second grade.
2. Look at the current skills of the individual and the logical next steps (i.e. If they’re using one word, a goal might be combining 2 words). Also, consider areas that are stressful for them or subtle nonverbal communication that you see, but someone unfamiliar most likely would not (i.e. he vocalizes more harshly and uses consonant sounds when he’s overwhelmed or she pauses and looks to the left when she’s going to elope). A goal might be to model language as soon as you see those subtle cues so that the AAC user can start to learn language to advocate for sensory needs instead of relying on someone being able to notice subtle nonverbal cues.
3. Categorize your goals as a reach, a stretch, or a leap. If you’re reading this post and it’s not the beginning of a school year, choose a timeline for the goal (3 months, 6 months). Goals should have a time component so there’s accountability and a set period of time to check in and re-evaluate progress.

A Reach

Choose a goal(s) that you and/or your AAC user can reach. This should be something that is achievable by the end of the school year, even if you only “stay the course.” If a student is currently using 50 words and they’ve only been using AAC for a year, a “reach” goal could be that they learn and use 50 new words this year. If you are currently modeling once a week for half an hour, a “reach” goal would be that you model twice a week for fifteen minutes so that the exposure is more frequent but the amount of time you spend doing it in the week doesn’t change. Of course, feel free to reach higher.

A Stretch

Choose a goal that you/your AAC user can achieve if everyone gives a little extra. A “stretch” goal for the student who is currently using 50 words could be to learn and use 100 new words in the year by targeting 10 new words each month. If you’re currently modeling once a week for a half an hour, a “stretch” goal could be to model for 15 minutes each day. Of course, feel free to stretch farther.

A Leap 

Choose a goal that you/your AAC user can achieve if you make communication a priority and everyone in the student’s life jumps in and supports AAC. A “leap” goal for the student who is using 50 words might be that they are going to learn to use 160 new words this year by targeting the 16 core words from PrAACtical AAC each month and to have an additional 500 words made available through modeling and aided language input. If you’re modeling once a week for half an hour, a “leap” goal could be to model during dinner and before bed every day and for at least a total of two hours throughout each weekend day. In addition, the school would commit to modeling throughout the day for at least 10 minutes each hour. A “leap” goal would be that by the end of the year, the student is independently combining words to comment, request, convey information, and tell short narratives about the day. After you write the “leap”, it should make you sit back and think, “That would be incredible.” Dream big on this one.

So, if you’re ready to get started…

Complete this form (this is the link to the PDF. The image is below.) and share it with the other stakeholders in your child/student’s life. Stakeholders include parents, teachers, support staff, board certified behavior analyst, speech-language pathologist(s),  physical therapist, occupational therapist, Uncle Vinny who doesn’t know a thing about AAC but your child beams when he walks into the room because he is a naturally strong communication partner who is awesome with your child. Goals are more likely to be met if they are shared and multiple people in the child’s life are working toward them. It also lets other people know what you view as a priority.

*The symbols in this post and the form are Smarty Symbols® created by Smarty Ears, LLC. You can get them in the Custom Boards app or through the Smarty Symbols® website.

My (admittedly unsolicited) advice when you’re setting goals for individuals using AAC is to focus on their strengths. The more you look, the more strengths you will find. Choose to see their skills and build on those until they expand and infiltrate into the more challenging areas.

Setting goals is like hiking through the woods. When you’re in the woods and you look up, you choose what to see. You can see the barrier created by the leaves or you can look beyond and see the sky. Once you decide to look for the sky, you notice that the movement of the leaves creates glimmers of sunlight. The true beauty is in the combination of glimmers and shadows. Without one you wouldn’t notice the other.