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Longitudinal Curriculum Development Program Plan
By: Abbey Knop
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A. Student Description
C is a friendly and sweet eighth grader who loves to be around new people. She
enjoys coloring, drawing, playing board games, and goofing around with friends. She is
currently in the ASSIST program at Urbana Middle School in which many of her goals focus
on functional, basic academics such as reading adapted books about community and social
skills and one-to-one correspondence counting. She also works on vocational skills and has
some classroom and school jobs, which she completes everyday, like putting up the school
announcements in the main hallway and the teacher’s lounge. C loves to be with her peers,
but has some trouble initiating conversations and answering questions. If she does not
know the answer to a question, she will try and re-direct by pointing at something or
scratching herself. She is afraid of some of the gym equipment, but will try and concur her
fears each time she encounters the equipment. She is always eager to try new things and
loves working one on one with teachers.
B. Description of Current Residence and Other Environments
C lives with her parents and brother in a single home. Although they are the only
ones living in the house, C’s mother mentioned how many people are constantly passing
through and around. C’s brother is 17 years old and attends Urbana High School. C has
frequent interaction with her grandparents as C’s family gets together with them for dinner
every Wednesday and Friday. For the majority of her free time, C spends a lot of time at
home with her mom and cousin. It’s important to note that C’s mother performs most of the
daily living skills for C. And although C’s mother was interviewed, we were not able to see
the home so we didn’t have any information about the student’s current residence. As a
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result, we have no information on the house’s layout or of the domestic sub-domains’
characteristics.
At school, C has functional reading and math, but still goes to p.e., art, and other
electives with her general education peers. As mentioned already, C attends Urbana Middle
School and is in an ASSIST program. This program focuses on functional life and vocational
skills, and therefore it teaches students who lack important daily living and employment
skills how to function in the home and community. The class is composed of 4 students, one
teacher, and one paraprofessional. As a way of teaching and generalizing the basic
functional skills targeted in the ASSIST program, various community settings are chosen for
instruction once a week. The class attends different restaurants such as Mexican,
McDonald’s and O’Charley’s, where the students practice the skills of greeting, ordering
clearly, responding, knowing their order, and paying with money. The students attend
these settings once a month. In terms of stores and shops, the class has instruction at the
Mall, Grocery store, Walgreens, and Target. At the mall, students work on not touching
everything, waiting in line, finding an open check out, greeting, paying, taking
receipt/bag/change, and saying goodbye. In addition to these skills, the students work on
seeking out employees and asking for help at places such as the grocery store, Walgreens,
and Target. These settings are targeted for instruction once a week.
The Social Services used for instruction include the library and Laundromat. At the
library, the students work on asking for help, seeking out employees, putting books back
where they belong, and having a library card and knowing how to use it. Skills practiced at
the Laundromat include cleaning up a spill and paying with quarters. The class visits these
settings once a month. Finally, Health Services used for instruction include the doctor and
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the dentist. At these locations, students work on asking questions, stating feelings of
discomfort, following directions, and providing the receptionist with the student’s name
and appointment time. These settings are visited a few times a year.
In addition to the previous community settings mentioned, C’s mother identified
other places that are highly preferred or used by C. In terms of restaurants, these settings
include Taco Bell, Chili’s and Ryan’s as Taco Bell is C’s favorite fast-food place and C’s
family often visits Chill’s and Ryan’s. These settings are visited at least once a week. For
stores, this would be Toys R’ Us as C loves to carry and play with stuffed animals. The
student visits Toys R’ Us twice a week. For Social Services, these settings include the Movie
Theater and Skateland. C and her family visit the movie theater once a month whereas
Skateland is rarely ever visited. However, the student has expressed an interest in going to
Skateland more often and therefore it’s worthy of mentioning. Finally, in terms of Health
Services, C visits Carle Hospital and Provena Health Clinic a few times a year, although
visits to these settings used to be much more frequent.
C. Description of the Student’s Future Environment
According to C’s mother, C will be living at home with her family after High School.
As a result, three representatives of the high school were interviewed to see what types of
domestic, leisure recreation, and community skills were important for a typical student to
be successful in this setting. The skills identified represent what a typical high school
student should possess. A high school general education teacher, student, and social
worker were interviewed. The rest of this section will provide the results of my interview,
followed by a brief section comparing the results of my partners’ interviews.
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For the domestic domain, skills were identified in the following areas: hygiene,
mealtime, clothing management, and health/safety. In terms of hygiene, a typical high
school student should possess the skills of showering and shaving regularly, using
deodorant everyday, washing hands regularly, and wearing clean clothes. In terms of
mealtime skills, the student should be able to cook/make/assemble meals on their own,
follow recipes and directions, operate home appliances (i.e. stove, oven, microwave,
dishwasher), and set and clear tables. For clothing management, a typical student should
be able to do laundry on their own, sort out different family member’s laundry, fold clothes,
and to put them away. Finally, the health/safety skills possessed by a typical student are
communicating information in emergencies, distinguishing between an emergency and a
non-emergency, seeking out help when in danger, and avoiding strangers.
For the leisure recreation domain, a general view of the typical activities high school
students engage and participate in were provided. These activities include: watching
movies either at home or at the theater, playing sports (i.e. basketball, football, volleyball,
tennis) either alone or with others, participating in hobbies/interests (i.e. biking, bowling,
swimming, listening to music, etc), hanging out with friends, having sleepovers with
friends, going shopping, and going to parties and other social events hosted by friends.
For the community domain, the settings typically visited by high school students as
well as the skills typically possessed by these students in these settings were identified.
The community settings identified include: the Movie Theater, Mall/shops (i.e. Kohl’s,
forever 21, etc), Restaurants (sit down and fast food), the grocery store, the Doctor’s office,
and the Dentist. In terms of the Movie Theater, the following are skills that typical students
should possess: ordering tickets/concessions independently, choosing items within a
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budget, finding seats, and locating the correct theater. For the Mall or other shops, the skills
of choosing items within a budget, knowing what they want and where to get it, seeking out
employees when needed, and knowing and being able to communicate their clothing size to
others are those typically possessed by high school students.
In terms of restaurants that are either fast-food or sit down, students should be able
to communicate their order to the server/cashier, choose items within a budget, and
exhibit good line waiting skills. In addition to these skills, students at a sit-down restaurant
should also be able to communicate their name and the amount of people in the party to
the hostess as well as accurately calculating the tip. For grocery store settings, typical high
school students should be able to seek out employees when needed, choose items within a
budget, and know what they want and where to locate it in the store. Finally, when visiting
the Doctor and/or the Dentist, a student should be able to provide the receptionist with
their name and appointment time, communicate feelings of discomfort, communicate
concerns/questions to the health care provider, and to exhibit good waiting room skills.
In addition to the skills/settings provided by my interviewee, my partners’
interviewees’ had some additional information to suggest. For recreation leisure, their
interviewees’ thought that a typical high school student would be involved by doing the
following: running, weight-lifting, watching tv, going to football and basketball games,
using their computer, and going to school dances. For the community domain, the
interviewees’ identified additional skills in the sub-domain of restaurants, health services,
and the library. It’s important to note that the skills identified for transportation were only
found with Lauren’s interviewee. In terms of restaurants, the interviewees’ identified the
skills of ordering off the menu and asking for directions/help. For the library, skills
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identified included: looking for an item in the library and knowing how to ask an employee
for help. In terms of health services, Rachel’s interviewee identified being able to
differentiate between doctors as an additional skill a student in this future environment
should posses. Finally, for transportation, the interviewee identified the skill of getting to
places, or around town, on own (i.e. by walking, driving, or taking bus).
D. Completed Yellow Book
E. Identification of Skills/IEP Objectives
Domestic Skills/Objectives:
1. When a knife is needed for a meal, C will use the knife correctly to cut the food by
accomplishing 100% of the steps of the task analysis for 4 consecutive probes.
2. When going to the restroom, C will wipe her private area after toileting by using a glove
and will then wash and dry her hands with the help of picture representations of the
task with 100% for 5 consecutive trials.
3. When needing to cross the street, C will do so by walking up to the curb, looking both
ways to check for cards, and walking across to the other side of the street when the
coast is clear with 100% accuracy for 5 consecutive trials.
4. When C’s clothes are dirty, C will take off her dirty clothes with the help of picture
representations of the task and will put on clean clothes after having chosen from an
array of different clothing options picked out by her mom or the aid that’s with C with
100% accuracy for 4 consecutive trials.
5. When in a situation that requires her basic information to be provided, C will
communicate her name, telephone number, and address by using sentence starters (i.e.
“My name is...., my phone number is (217) --- ----, my address is….”) to help C initiate
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providing her information and then by saying the missing information with 100%
accuracy for 5 consecutive trials.
6. When her nose is running, C will blow and wipe her nose by using a Kleenex and by
accomplishing 100% of the steps in the tasks analyses for 4 consecutive trials.
Leisure Recreation Skills/Objectives:
7. When around friends in a social setting, C will talk with her friends, initiate
conversations with them and answer questions that are directed to at her with 100%
accuracy for 4/5 consecutive probe trials.
8. When preparing meals at home, C will cook with her mom by working together and
following her mom’s simple verbal requests/prompts that are aligned with the
directions for cooking that particular meal with 100% accuracy for 4 consecutive probe
trials.
9. When at a gym either in the community or at school, C will know the importance of
fitness by saying at least 2 reasons why it’s important and will use this information for
motivation to work hard at fitness with exercise with 100% accuracy for 5 consecutive
trials. In this case, exercise refers to engaging in rigorous activity intended to increase
muscle tone.
10. When at a swimming pool and in her swimming suit, C will get shoulder-deep in the
pool by using the stairs to walk into the water and stopping once water is at shoulderline level with 100% accuracy for 4/5 consecutive trials.
Community Skills/Objectives:
11. When shopping in the community (i.e. Wal-Mart, Toys R’ Us) C will seek out employees
and ask for help in locating a particular store item on 5 consecutive trips to the store.
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12. When at Taco Bell or shopping in the community (i.e. Wal-Mart, Toys R’ Us, Mall) C will
exhibit good line-waiting skills by making subtle movements, standing in her place in
line, and showing no/little sign of frustration with 100% accuracy for 3 consecutive
outings.
13. When at Wal-mart, Toys R’ Us, Taco Bell, McDonalds, or the Mall, C will give the correct
amount of money, or a rounded up version, to the cashier by paying with single dollar
bills for 5 consecutive trips.
14. When at Taco Bell or McDonald’s, C will identify the correct number of items being
ordered by visually showing the amount using her fingers with 100% accuracy for 5
consecutive outings.
15. When at fast-food or sit-down restaurants (i.e. Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Ryan’s) C will
make conversations with companions by making good eye contact, speaking in a clear
and with an inside voice, picking a topic from which both parties are interested in
and/or can contribute to, and applying appropriate wait time so that her companion
can respond with 100% accuracy for 5 consecutive outings with a buddy/companion.
16. When in class, C will be given a photo of an item need and a list of pictures that
represent various store options located in the Mall. Once the verbal prompt of “what
store would you likely find this item?” is provided, C will be able to point to the picture
of a store in the Mall based on item need with 100% accuracy for 4/5 consecutive trials.
F. Rationale for Skills Selected for Instruction
Domestic Domain
The domestic skills targeted in the IEP objectives were chosen based on their
importance. These skills are all highly ranked, and are related to either health, safety, or
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hygiene, all of which are categories of domestic skills that take precedence over skills
identified in other domestic domains. For example, the skill of knowing how to safely cross
the street is much more important than knowing how to operate home appliances. For the
objectives, two skill clusters were made: one that dealt with clothing and another that dealt
with skills used in the bathroom. These skills were clustered together as they were related
and therefore could be taught together in sequence.
The first IEP objective targets the skill of using a knife. This skill was chosen as it is
one of the highest ranked and the skill is considered to be a high priority from the school.
This skill was also targeted because it was the only other skill left for mealtime, and
therefore it makes sense to teach her this skill so that she can be proficient in all her
mealtime behaviors.
The second objective involved a skill cluster of the following two skills: wiping after
toileting and washing and drying hands. Both of these skills were clustered together
because there is a relation between them, as you should wash/dry hands after using the
bathroom, and therefore by placing the two skills side by side it will be easier to teach.
Again, the skill was targeted because it was hygiene related and the skills were considered
high priority by both C’s mom and the school.
The third and fifth objectives targeted two different skills for the same reasons. The
third objective targeted crossing the street while the fifth objective targeted the skill of
communicating name, phone number, and address. Although these are different skills, they
were both chosen because they relate to safety and were considered to be high priority by
C’s mom and the school.
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Taking off dirty clothes and putting on clean clothes was the skill cluster targeted in
the fourth IEP objective. These two skills were clustered together as they were related and
typically occur in sequence together. Therefore, it would make sense to teach both skills at
the same time. The skills are related to hygiene, a category that should take precedence
over other domestic categories/areas of skills for the first year of instruction. Finally, both
skills are high priority by the mom and the school.
The last IEP objective identified for the domestic domain was targeted for the same
reasons why the skill in the fourth IEP objective was chosen; the skill of blowing and
wiping your nose is hygiene related and is considered a high priority by the mom and the
school. Unlike the fourth IEP objective, however, the skill isn’t apart of a skill cluster.
Leisure Recreation Domain
IEP objectives for the leisure recreation domain were chosen for various reasons.
First, the skills chosen to target represent those that are the higher-ranked skills. However,
whereas some skills were chosen because they were high priority, other skills were chosen
because they were the last skills/activities to target in a given sub-domain. Half of the IEP
objectives represent skill clusters as these skills were connected and therefore had
practicality in terms of teaching both skills at once and in sequence together.
The first IEP objective represents a skill cluster and targets the skills of talking with
friends, initiating conversations, and answering questions. The skills were clustered
together as they are related and are usually sequenced together in this order during a
regular social interaction. These skills are related to being social, an area that C is currently
working on in all three domains, especially in regards to these three specific skills. Finally,
these skills are highly ranked and were identified as high priority by the school.
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The skill of cooking with mom was targeted for the second IEP objective. This skill
was chosen because it is the only hobby C has left to complete that she wants to do (rest of
her hobbies are at satisfactory level). This skill should be targeted since the student herself
considers it a high priority skill.
The skills of knowing the importance of fitness and working hard at fitness with
exercise were clustered together for the third IEP objective. These skills were clustered
together as there was a connection seen between knowing why fitness is important and
exercising to become more fit. These skills were highly ranked and were considered a high
priority from school. Finally, these skills were also targeted because the mother had voiced
her concern about C needing to loose weight as her weight is becoming more of an issue as
C continues to get older.
The skill of swimming was targeted in the last IEP objective. This sport was chosen
to target as it is the only sport identified in the ranking list. As a result, different skills
involved in this sport can be targeted across the three years of C’s curriculum development
plan. We can start her first year by teaching her the basic rules of swimming, which is
getting up to shoulder-level in the water. Obviously this skill would need to be taught
before teaching her how to stroke her arms and kick her legs underwater. Roller skating
and going to dances are the only two left in this sub-domain, so they can be the focus of her
instruction for the following two years of her curriculum plan.
Community Domain
The way I went about choosing my skills was first looking at the settings that were
the highest ranked. As a result, I tried focusing my IEP goals on the skills identified in these
settings: Taco Bell, Wal-Mart, Toys R’ Us, and the Mall. However, because a lot of the
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targeted skills in these highest ranked settings were found in other lower-ranked settings, I
had some IEP goals involve McDonald’s and Ryan’s, even though these settings are lower
down the list compared to other potential settings (i.e. Health services such as Carle
Hospital and Provena). Skills under the Health and Social Services sub-domain were not
chosen as these settings are not as often traveled to, making skill instruction and
generalization difficult for the next school year. Also it’s important to note that I was only
able to find one skill cluster to target in an IEP goal as the skills weren’t very relatable in
the settings I had chosen to target. In other words, I couldn’t see a distinct connection
between one skill and another and therefore I decided to have most of my IEP goals target
an individual skill. Finally, the number of skills selected can realistically be attained within
the next school year considering the current abilities of C.
The first IEP goal is the only one that represents a skill cluster. The skills of seeking
out employees and asking for help were put in a skill cluster as I saw the connection
between seeking out employees and asking for help and therefore thought it would be easy
to teach both skills together. These skills were targeted for instruction as they are in one of
the highest-ranked settings, they have been identified as high priority by both the school
and the current environment, and are considered to be skills needed in order to be
successful in the future environment. The settings identified for teaching this skill are ones
visited more than once a week for class instruction and by C’s family, and the hope is that
teaching the skills in more than one setting will help with generalization. The Urbana
Library was not targeted for this skill cluster as C doesn’t visit it often (i.e. once a month),
and the setting was of a lower rank than what I wanted to target for the first year.
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The second IEP objective targets the skill of exhibiting good line waiting skills.
Although this skill was a suggested skill for the school environment, the current
environment identified it as a high priority. The settings used to target the skill are places
that are traveled to at least once a week for school instruction and with C’s family, and the
hope is that teaching the skill in these multiple settings will help with generalization of the
skill.
Giving the correct amount of money over, or a rounded up version, when paying was
the next skill targeted. This skill was chosen because it was identified as a targeted skill in
many of the highest-ranked settings as these places, except for McDonald’s, are visited
more than once a week by C’s family or for class instruction. McDonald’s was chosen as a
setting to teach this skill as it targets the same skill as Taco Bell (i.e. one of highest-ranked
settings). However, this skill was only identified as a suggested skill by the school and
current environment. Again, teaching in multiple settings will aid in generalization.
The fourth skill targeted was identifying the correct number of items ordered. This
skill was chosen as it was identified as a high priority in the current environment. Again,
McDonald’s was chosen for instruction as the setting targets the same skill as Taco Bell as
well as McDonald’s is used for instruction once a month and is visited by C’s family a few
times a month. Teaching the skill in two settings will help with generalization.
Making conversations with companions was targeted in the fifth IEP objective. The
skill was identified as a suggested skill from the school and current environment.
McDonald’s and Ryan’s were settings targeted for skill instruction as these lower-ranked
settings had the same skills as Taco Bell, and therefore it made sense to target this skill in
all three settings in hopes that generalization will occur.
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Finally, the last IEP objective targeted the skill of identifying a store at the mall
based on item need. This skill was chosen as it was the last skill I had yet to target in the
highly ranked setting of the Mall. And because the Mall is visited at least once a week by the
family and for instruction, I figured it would be easiest to get this skill accomplished before
moving onto skills identified in the lower-ranked settings. The skill was only targeted for
this setting as no other setting with similar characteristics as the mall (i.e. multiple shops
under one roof) was identified by the school, current, or future environment. Therefore,
this would be the only setting that could be used to teach this skill, which could cause
issues with generalization.
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