14 IEP Communication Goals (With Examples)
IEP communication goals should target the student's functional communication needs — requesting, answering questions, or expanding expressive vocabulary — in the modality they actually use (verbal speech, sign, or AAC), with clear accuracy criteria measured by the SLP.
Communication goals span a wide range depending on whether the student is developing early language, refining grammar, or building conversational skills. These 14 goals cover the core functional communication targets most frequently written into IEPs and speech-language plans.
Requesting & Functional Communication
- 1.By [date], [student] will use a complete sentence to request a preferred item or activity in 4 of 5 observed opportunities.
- 2.By [date], [student] will request help or a break appropriately when needed in 4 of 5 observed opportunities.
- 3.By [date], [student] will use a communication device or gesture to indicate a choice between 2 options in 4 of 5 opportunities.
Answering Questions
- 1.By [date], [student] will answer yes/no questions about a familiar topic with 85% accuracy across 4 of 5 trials.
- 2.By [date], [student] will answer simple 'wh-' questions (who, what, where) about a familiar routine with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 trials.
- 3.By [date], [student] will answer 'why' and 'how' questions requiring inferencing with 75% accuracy across 4 of 5 trials.
- 4.By [date], [student] will follow a 2-step direction without visual support in 4 of 5 observed opportunities.
Expressive Language
- 1.By [date], [student] will use target vocabulary words spontaneously in a sentence with 75% accuracy across 4 of 5 opportunities.
- 2.By [date], [student] will use correct grammatical structures (regular past tense, plurals) in spontaneous speech with 80% accuracy in 4 of 5 trials.
- 3.By [date], [student] will describe a familiar object or event using 3+ descriptive details in 4 of 5 opportunities.
- 4.By [date], [student] will retell a short story with 4 key events in the correct sequence in 4 of 5 opportunities.
Social Communication
- 1.By [date], [student] will initiate a greeting with a familiar peer or adult in 4 of 5 observed opportunities across 3 settings.
- 2.By [date], [student] will take an appropriate conversational turn without interrupting in 4 of 5 observed opportunities.
- 3.By [date], [student] will stay on-topic during a 3-turn conversational exchange in 4 of 5 opportunities.
When to Involve the SLP
Not every communication goal needs to sit exclusively with the speech-language pathologist, but goals involving articulation, language structure, or AAC vocabulary should be developed with their input. Classroom teachers are well-positioned to reinforce goals throughout the day, but the SLP's assessment data should be what sets the specific target and criteria.
Paste your assessment data and generate an IDEA-compliant, individualized goal in seconds.
Try it free →