Part 3 of 3: SMART IEP Goals in Action – A Student Case Study The third and final part of this series will take a look at the student case study of Johnny.  (Names have been changed for privacy reasons.)  Johnny has been diagnosed with a severe language-based learning disability that affects his speech, oral and receptive language, and ability to crack the phonetic code.  He has severe deficits in phonological awareness (the ability to discern and manipulate sounds, rhyme, recognize syllables, identify first, last, and medial sounds, as well as blend and segment sounds). For example, when given the word octopus, [...]

Part 2 of 3: Examining Ineffective IEP Goals In this edition, I want to explore the essential foundation for the development of a SMART IEP.  This begins with a well written Student Strengths and Key Evaluation Results Summary.  The Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education provides the following prompts for this section. What are the student’s educational strengths, interest areas, significant personal attributes and personal accomplishments? What is the student’s type of disability(ies), general education performance including MCAS/district test results, achievement towards goals and lack of expected progress, if any? (1) The student summary should always begin with the student’s strengths and [...]

Part 1 of 3: Defining SMART Goals for IEPs It is estimated that about 5.8 million American school children, ages 6 to 21 receive special education through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (www.edweek.org).  With this many children receiving special education based on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), it is imperative for parents and service providers to understand the importance of a well written IEP. A well-written IEP is used as a road map to drive a child’s specialized instruction for an entire year, so it’s important that your child has a clear, cohesive framework to ensure that s/he reaches the [...]