Impact of an IEP Goal Builder on Social Goals for Autistic Students

This pilot study examined (a) the perceived barriers to creating high-quality social and emotional learning (SEL) IEP goals for autistic students without intellectual disabilities, and (b) the impact of using a data-driven SEL IEP goal builder—a key component of the Ivymount Social Cognition Instructional Package (IvySCIP)—on the quality of SEL IEP goals. Based on data from 40 instructor/student dyads, we found the following: First, based on phone interviews, instructors identified a number of significant barriers to the creation of SEL IEP goals for this population, including lack of ability to reliably assess students’ SEL strengths and needs, lack of a goal builder/goal bank, and lack of comprehensive, data-driven support for generating SEL goals and tracking progress toward goal mastery. Interviewees agreed that IvySCIP effectively addressed these barriers. Second, based on a comparison of pre-intervention SEL IEP goals and those created using the IvySCIP goal builder, the quality of instructors’ IEP goals appeared to improve after introduction of the goal builder, with post-intervention goals significantly more likely to include settings, givens, specific/demonstrable behavior being targeted, and measurement criteria to ensure meaningful progress monitoring. Post-intervention goals also drew more equitably from a range of SEL domains.