How do you decide what goals to work on during therapy sessions?
I am often asked about what goals to work on based on the results of the standardized tests that we are given. However, I actually don’t like to base my goals on those results.
In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, I am sharing how I actually decide on goals for my speech therapy students.
We all know that we have to generate an IEP and deal with the higher-ups and funding so we do need those standardized tests to justify our services. However, if we make our goals based on what they did wrong on the tests, we will be working on the same things for years and years.
We are here to work on tasks that are similar to those assessments, but we need to work on more than just those tasks. The things they do on those tests are not what they are going to need to do in society.
When determining goals, the best thing you can do is get as much information on the student as possible.
In This Episode You’ll Discover:
- Tips for conducting informal assessments
- Hierarchies and how to use them to determine what students are struggling with
- Why choosing random goals doesn’t work
- How to get more buy-in from your students
- How to use baseline tools to determine where they are and how to move to the next level
I hope this episode provides some clarity on how to set appropriate goals for your students. I know it can be confusing to determine what goals to work on, but we have to meet students where they are at. I write two or three goals annually and grow their confidence by working with them at the pace they need.
If you want to learn more about Bloom’s Taxonomy or the History of Legos Baseline, head on over to SLPElevate.com to learn more about the membership that I created to help SLPs working with older speech students. Not only do you get thematic resources every month that are easy to use and engaging, but you also get the help you need to decide what to work on and how to teach it.
Joke of the Week:
Q: Why did the kid eat his homework?
A: Because his teacher said it was a piece of cake.
Resources Mentioned:
Get the History of Legos Baseline inside the SLP Elevate Membership
Where We Can Connect:
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