Receptive-Expressive-Social Hierarchy of Skills (for use with IEP goals)
Receptive
Responds to basic commands-(come
here stop, no, sit)
Nonverbal imitation-gross motor
Matching (object, picture/photo,
drawing)
Identifies common nouns (object,
picture/photo)
Following one-step directions (give
me, find the, put the, point to)
Identifies body parts
Expressive
Imitating vowels
Social/Play
Maintain brief eye contact
Imitating inflection, loudness or
duration of phonation
Imitating syllables (CV, VC)
Nonverbal imitation-facial
expressions
Using objects meaningfully
Imitates gestures to indicate wants
Solitary play
Spontaneous gestures
Parallel play
Imitates words
Social attention (looks at object when
directed, looks in response to name)
Shared attention to objects/actions
(joint reference-using eye gaze to
request shared interaction)
Social regulation (pushes, pulls
person to request item, gives item to
request, points to object to request)
Attends to large/small group
activities for 3-5 minutes
Participates in group unison activities
(hokey pokey, ring around the rosey)
Reciprocal interaction during
structured activities (songs, fingerplays) to maintain interaction
Reciprocal interaction during
unstructured activities (free choice
time) to maintain interaction
Uses spontaneous words to request
items of interest
Uses spontaneous words for greetings
and farewells
Uses spontaneous words to protest
Identification of people
(family/familiar)
Spontaneous words for requests
Identifying plural markers
Spontaneous words for nonexistence
(all gone, away, bye)
Identifying early prepositions (in, on,
under)
Identifies actions
Spontaneous words for rejection
Identification of people
(teachers/classroom peers)
Labels actions (one word actions)
Following two-step related
commands
Labels people (teachers/class peers)
Following two-step unrelated
commands
Following two-step directions with
locations
Identifying a member of a category
Beginning to use grammatical
morphemes
Uses pronouns (I, me, you) eg. for
possession (my, mine)
Two word utterances (action + object,
action + attribute, object + location,
possession+ object)
Yes/no questions with intonation
Sort into categories
Associations
Identifying exclusion (not)
Sequencing 2-3 part routines, events
or stories
Identifying simple emotions (sad,
happy, mad)
Expanded labels and actions (skiing,
washing clothes)
Identifying prepositions and
adjectives
Matching an object or picture to a
given definition
Points to and identifies opposites
Labels people (family members)
Uses plurals
Uses irregular past tense
Uses regular past tense
Uses pronouns (he, she, we, your,
yours, these, those)
Says negatives (not, aren’t don’t)
Adds a quantifier (some, a lot, two) to
nouns
Elaborates with descriptive words
(color, texture, size)
Sentences up to 5 words
Uses spontaneous words for
commenting
Turn taking with one partner
Turn taking in a group
Participates in cooperative play with
one partner
Participates in cooperative play in a
group
Following group verbal directions
Shares unfavored item with others
Shares favored item with others
Emergent perspective taker
Receptive-Expressive-Social Hierarchy of Skills (for use with IEP goals)
Chooses objects described as a
synonym pair
Points to singular and plural objects
as they are named
Locates and points to possessive
nouns desired
Begins saying copula and auxiliary
verbs
Uses articles appropriately
Demonstrates understanding of
various pronouns by choosing objects
or pictures
Chooses objects or pictures desired
with a sentence containing the word
not
Points to a picture which answers a
stated “WH” question
Uses regular 3rd person singular verbs
Describes pictures using prepositions
Initiates conversation by gaining
person’s attention/calling name
Initiates conversation with a routine
script
Maintains conversation by sharing
information and sharing feedback
(saying “I know”, “uhuh”)
Maintains conversation by using
appropriate topics
Talks about future events
Can terminate a conversation
appropriately
Expresses facts, rules, beliefs,
attitudes, and emotions
Asks questions by inverting word
order (is he…?)
Produces primitive tag questions (I’m
going, okay?)
Conjoins clauses, usually with “and”
Describes current events
Answers simple "yes/no" questions
Answers who, what, where questions
Answers when, how, why questions
Beginning to use antonyms
Beginning to use synonyms
Names categories
Names items in a category
Retells a story or talk about an event
Gives directions
Uses oral language to inform, to
persuade, and to entertain
Explains what has been learned
Uses language effectively for a
variety of purposes
Gives accurate directions to others
Summarizes and restates ideas
Describes past/future events
Uses polite markers
Attempts communication repair
during conversation (eg. Asking
clarifying questions)
Uses appropriate vocal
volume/appropriate inflection
Defines relationship/role of others in
their environment