Join Rachel, Chris, and Lucas this week for a roundtable discussion about writing Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals for students with complex communication needs (CCN). Topics discussed in this roundtable include:

1. Why augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices should be used in early intervention and not just as an ‘intervention of last resort” for students with CCN.
2. Using the accommodations section to detail what the student needs as part of his or her free appropriate public education.
3. Adding minutes for coaching the circle of support about AAC on the IEP as a “related service” instead of a “direct service”
4. Why listing a specific system or app in the IEP can cause problems, and how those problems can be avoided by describing, rather than naming, the system.
5. Why accessories for AAC devices (keyguard, switches) should be included in the IEP.
6. Why new training goals may be important when there is a major change in the circle of support.
7. Why being specific about what you are going to measure in a goal is critical when you are measuring it later
8. The need to go beyond requesting when writing goals – include commenting protesting, asking questions, etc.
9. AAC therapy is language therapy – in many cases you don’t even need to mention the system or app when writing a language goal
10. Who should be responsible for an AAC-related goal on the IEP?