Chapter 4: The Individualised
education programme (IEP)
Creating IEPs for students and setting appropriate goals that measure children’s
progress over time.
Objectives:
At the end of the chapter participants will:
 Be able to define and explain the purpose of an IEP.
 Know the types of information needed in the baseline.
 Be able to state why we write goals
 Be able to write goals which are:
i.
Measurable
ii.
Objective
iii.
Functional
4.1
Why do we write IEPs?
IEPs are legally mandated documents that are required to ensure that children with
disabilities are receiving the education and support services they have a right to.
More specifically the IEP is a working document designed to:
•
•
•
4.2
Address specific learning needs of a child by demonstrating appropriate
assessment and planning by the teacher or specialist
State appropriate interventions that will improve a child’s capacity to acquire
new skills
Sustain appropriateness of teaching strategies and approaches
The definition and purpose
How did IEPs come about? Legislation and policy regarding individuals with special
needs has come a long way in the past 10 years. Some major points to consider
regarding individual programmes in Kenya and the current legislation:
 The African Decade of people with disabilities has seen the introduction of the
Children’s Act (2001), free primary education (2003), the People with
Disability Act (2003) and the draft edition of the Early Childhood Development
(ECD) Policy (2007).
 The ECD policy recommends that all children’s learning centres are equipped
with facilities for people with special needs.
 There are 125 special schools in Kenya which, together with special units
attached to regular schools, must accommodate potentially 3 million people
with disabilities.
 In 1995, Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO) proposed that intellectual
disabilities were more prevalent than other disabilities.
 In 2006, the number of children with special education needs completing the
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) increased by 76.5%.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
32.
The definition of an IEP is an Individual Education Programme and their purpose is
to ensure ALL children with special needs are receiving appropriate educational
services in their schools.
4.3
Compiling the IEP
The following four components need to be included in a good IEP.
A. Assessment. How is the child doing? Is the child making
progress?
D. Delivery.
How will the
program be
implemented?
B. Baseline. What
skills does the child
have? Where
should the child be?
C. Composition. How can the gaps be bridged?
A. Assessing the child
As discussed in chapter 3, a good assessment is the key to good programming. It
is hard to effectively work with an individual if you do not know what they can and
can not do. Assessment is not a one time deal. Assessment should be done on
an ongoing basis in the classroom. In a regular education classroom most
teachers use grades as a measure of assessment.
Think about your classroom. How are you assessing your children? How could
you include assessment into some of the activities that you already implement?
When starting an IEP the most important thing is completing an assessment of
the child’s skills across academic areas (e.g. Math, reading, communication).
When reviewing the IEP you will also reassess these same skills and perhaps
additional skills as well.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
33.
B. Establishing the baseline
What information do you think is important to have in the baseline IEP? Some
things to consider might include:
 the child’s name,
 the child’s birthdate or approximate age
 the language(s) the child speaks and those spoken at home
 the child’s attainment of developmental milestones
 length of time the child has been at school
 the child’s likes and dislikes
 any hospitalizations or significant illnesses
 any information in the child’s history that you consider important or
significant as it relates to the child’s development and educational
planning
 Areas of difficulty for the child
 And most importantly what the individual CAN do and at what level.
For example:
Matathia can rote count to ten. He can point to up to three
objects and count while pointing.
This tells us what Matathia is doing and so we know where he needs to
go. Possible goals could be:
Matathia will be able to rote count to twenty.
Matathia will be able to discrete item count up to five
C. Composition of the IEP
This speaks to putting together a well organized and well written IEP. A good IEP
has functional, measurable and ATTAINABLE goals for the children to work
towards. Goals can and should be altered as the program progresses and as the
child meets their goals. The satisfying thing about a well written IEP is that it
gives you as a teacher or professional a chance to see the results of your work
with the child.
D. Delivering the program
This is where you work on activities that help the child attain their goals.
E. Assessing the child
Back to assessing the child. How is the program going? Is the child making
progress? What could YOU be doing differently?
 VSO Jitolee 2008
34.
Remember as educators it is up to US to change our behavior, our teaching
methods or the classroom environment to suit the needs of the child. A child can
only make changes if we give them what they need to make those changes.
4.4
Who is involved in creating an IEP?
In a well funded education systems there are many professionals that are available
to help create and implement the IEP.
When possible the IEP team should involved:
 The child
 Parents and/or guardians
 Friends and relatives
 Teaching staff
 Doctor
 Psychologist
 Speech, occupational, physio therapist
The more people involved in the development of the IEP the better, as it will reflect a
child’s true skills and needs. For example the parents may say the child can count
money out when they run errands but a teacher might not see this skill demonstrated
at school.
Realistically, the teacher is the main person responsible for creating and
implementing the IEP.
4.5
Compiling the IEP
What makes a good IEP? Think Smart.com
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4.6
Specificity – the objectives are clear
Measurability – progress is checked & recorded
Achievable goals – based on emerging skills
Realistic targets – appropriately challenging
Time allocation – the time frame is manageable
Continuity and consistency in approach
Ownership – shared responsibility
Motivation – enthusiasm which recognises success
Writing the IEP
1) Gather baseline information - establish where the child is now. Consult with
your “team.”
2) Decide how to help the child progress to the next stage.
3) Define the overall objective/s and plan successive targets that make the
learning manageable. Think SMART.
4) Implement the plan and monitor regularly.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
35.
5) Contrast the progress of the child with the appropriateness of the targets.
Refine as needed.
There are many formats that you can use to ensure that all the information above is
incorporated. Included are two different styles of forms that we have used to get
teachers started with IEPs. Often to go from having no IEPs to being expected to
complete one for each member of your class that has special needs (and it is
Kenyan law!) is overwhelming. Get the basic information down first.
Make sure you have a form that includes:
- the child’s name and age
- the child’s current method of communication
- the child’s strengths and weaknesses
- measurable goals that address the weaknesses
By developing a form that works for you and your program you can ensure that the
writing process is not overwhelming.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
36.
Development of I.E.P. Form
Child’s Initials (or first name):
Child’s Age:
Presenting Concerns/Diagnosis (if any):
Present method of communication:
Student’s current strengths:
1.
2.
3.
Student’s areas for growth:
1.
2.
3.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
37.
Long term goal 1.
Short Term Goals
1.
Activities to Meet these Goals:
2.
3.
Long term goal 2.
Short Term Goals
1.
Activities to Meet these Goals:
2.
3.
Other Comments:
 VSO Jitolee 2008
38.
EXAMPLE Development of I.E.P. Form
Child’s Initials (or first name): K.M.
Child’s Age: 8 year old male
Presenting Concerns/Diagnosis (if any):
K is a child with profound deafness who started at Kitui School for the Deaf in January 2005. He presented with
behavioral concerns including shouting at other students, hitting and stealing their belongings.
Present method of communication:
Sign language and verbalizations. He can not produce any words, though produces a variety of sounds. He has about
2 signs that he uses consistently to make requests (go, play)
Student’s current strengths:
1. K is a fast learner. He picks up things quickly when he is interested and
engaged
2. K has began to learn signs and can currently sign the letters of the alphabet
and numbers. He attempts to finger spell 3 letter words
3. K can hold a pencil and is beginning to form letters and attempt to copy
words into his work book.
Student’s areas for growth:
1. K has a limited attention span ( about 15-20 minutes) and needs frequent
breaks
2. K can not currently express basic wants and needs with signs
3. K has a small vocabulary and could benefit from increased receptive and
expressive language skills, including both written and signed words
 VSO Jitolee 2008
39.
Long term goal 1.
K will be able to sit at his desk for one 30 minute class period without leaving the room, hitting his peers or shouting at
the teacher by the end of the school year.
Short Term Goals
Activities to Meet these Goals:
1. K will be able to sit at his desk for
In all non-preferred learning activities the teacher will provide related
15 minutes without leaving the room,
manipulatives that K can interact with during the lesson. For example: in
hitting his peers or shouting at the
learning new words, real objects will be used wherever possible.
teacher in 4/5 classes
Whenever K (or anyone else) is sitting at his desk in the way the teacher
2. Given prompts such as verbal
wants she will provide him with additional attention or verbal praise. Each
praise and teacher attention K will sit
morning the teacher will make a chart. When K sits at his desk for 15 or more
at his desk for 20 minutes without
minutes without interruption, K will be allowed to draw a smiley face on the
leaving the room 1x per school day
chart. At the end of the day K and the teacher will count how many smiley
3. By the end of the second term K
faces he earned.
will be able to sit at his desk for 25
When K has had a good day sitting at his desk, he will be allowed additional
minutes given manipulatives and
time to play at preferred activities AT HIS DESK.
verbal encouragement in 9/10 classes
Long term goal 2.
K will have 20 signs which he uses to communicate his basic wants and needs
Short Term Goals
Activities to Meet these Goals:
1. K will learn and use the signs for
The teacher will model and provide hand over hand (h-o-h) instruction in using
help, want, give, drink, eat, yes and
these 7 signs in real life situations. For example: when it is clear K wants
no by the end of the term.
something, the teacher will model the sign want 1-3 times and then help K do
2. K will combine the signs help, want it h-o-h before giving him the desired item. Instruction will be done playfully
and give with a pronoun to make
and positively to encourage his use of communication
requests (i.e. help me, I want, give
Using a repeat-model-expand strategy, the teacher will consistently model 2
me) by the end of term 2.
sign phrases in natural scenarios.
3. K will use signs to participate in
The teacher will ask K questions in class that she knows he can answer.
class when cued, 1x per class period. When he does not respond, she will model the sign/answer and encourage
him to imitate her
Other Comments:
K enjoys lessons and activities that include manipulatives. His attention span is much higher when he has materials
that he can interact with
 VSO Jitolee 2008
40.
Alternate Form:
IEP record form
Date of IEP: _____________________ Child:________________
Class: _______________
Curriculum Area
School:
Present level of
functioning:
Teacher: _______________________
___________________________________________________________
Target (what we
want the child to be
doing)
Suggested
activities:
Resources and/or
teaching strategies
to support the child
Number (pre-number skills)
Language (Pre-reading, prewriting, speech, language,
communication)
Activities of Daily Living
Physical Development
Arts/Crafts/Music etc.
Other:
 VSO Jitolee 2008
41.
Date of review, and
initials of reviewer
4.7
Writing goals
Writing good clear goals can make the lesson planning and assessment of the
child much easier. It is important to make sure also that the goals are written
to capture the skill you actually wish to measure. For example, if you want the
child to be able to recite the alphabet, you wouldn’t want the goal to state:
child will be able to recognize all the alphabet letters. Alphabet recitation and
recognition are two different skills.
Long-Term and Short-term Goals
When writing goals also consider long-term goals vs. short term goals:


A long-term goal will be to improve the area of difficulty identified. These
are the BIG PICTURE goals (e.g. independence in activities of daily living)
Short-term goals are the steps that will help to achieve your long-term
goals. These should be simple and achievable in a designated time frame.
The child will
use speech to
communicate his
wants and needs
Two word phrases
Single words
The child will use
gesture paired
with vocalizations
to make requests
short term
The child will use
single words to
make requests
The child will
combine two or
more words to
make requests
short term
short term
Gesture paired
with vocalizations
long term
You can think of short term goals as the building blocks for the long term goal.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
42.
By setting clear and manageable short term goals, you promote the process for
learning as demonstrated by the example below:
You set small,
realistic goals
Goals achieved
child
progresses
You set
slightly bigger,
realistic goals
Parents eager
to help their
child
Those involved are motivated
to continue working with the
child
By setting small realistic goals you allow the child, the teacher and/or the parents to
see success. When the child succeeds it is motivating to their caregivers, and helps
them realize the effect they are having on the child. This in turn means they are likely
to work harder and the child will make more progress.
In the field of special education people always talk about what children or people can
not do. This lowers everyone’s expectations and in turn decreases motivation in
working with the child. Consider this alternative scenario when you set big unrealistic
goals:
You set big,
unrealistic
goals
Parents eager
to help their
child
Everyone
involves is
discouraged
Goals not achieved, child does
not progress
 VSO Jitolee 2008
43.
Why do we write goals?
WE WRITE GOALS SO WE CAN MEASURE CHANGE, THEREFORE THE GOALS
MUST BE MEASURABLE.
Activity: Review the list of goals below. GO through them one by one and
decide if each goal is measurable?
If you decide it is not measurable, how would you re-write it so that it is
measurable?
By the end of the week, 30th January 2006 the learner should be
able to bring a chair into the classroom when asked
The child will be able to write her name
Moses will be able to sit in his chair for five minutes
Francis will make requests using words in 3/5 situations
The child will demonstrate happiness when given food
By the end of the term Mary should be able to concentrate on a
task for at least 20 minutes
In any given school day, the learner will participate in the lessons
three times
The student will be able to identify the alphabet letters
Calistos will engage in a back and forth interaction with an adult
for 2+ turns
By December, Billy will have 25 words (any language) and use
them appropriately
All of these goals except one were measurable, meaning you could take data on
these. For example, after a term we could report the number of words Billy has or the
number of alphabet letters the student can identify. When we re-assess the child we
can see if their skills have improved or not. If they haven’t we know we have to look
at our teaching strategies and make some changes in the plan.
The one goal that was not measurable is re-written below. Happiness is a subjective
term that we can not quantify.
The child will demonstrate happiness
when given food
 VSO Jitolee 2008
Lilian will use a single word to request
lunch 3/5 days or
Lilian will use a spoon to
independently feedherself
44.
When we have a series of well written goals for each child, the lessons you present
now have a focus. For example, you now know that during any class Charles is
supposed to be seated for 2 minutes, and you have to encourage Nora’s use of
words in class participation. If you are providing speech and language
support/therapy, the goals you have written will drive your therapy plan.
Teaching is hard work! You are expected to meet a variety of needs at any one
moment. While goal writing can be arduous, it gives you a focus and actually makes
your work easier in the long run. In addition, it allows you to document change which
reflects both on your children’s growth as well as your abilities as a teacher. Be sure
to retain copies of exemplary work for your portfolios, as well as for review on days
when you need a moral boost!
4.8
Writing Goals for your Students
When writing goals for your student:
- Consider the opinions and expertise of your team!
- Completed an assessment if you have not spent time observing the child’s
strengths and weaknesses.
1. Generate a list (at least three) of things that this child CAN DO.
2. Generate a list of things you would like the child to BE ABLE TO DO.
3. Come up with goals for these areas of growth. As you do think about:
i. Is this a short term goal or a long term goal?
ii. Is this a realistic and a manageable goal? If not, how can I break
it down?
iii. What is the developmental level of this skill. Can the child do the
things that precede it?
For example:
- You want the child to be able to name alphabet letters.
Consider, can the child recognize letters?
- Or you want the child to be able to add numbers.
Consider does the child know number values?
You would not expect a child to walk if they are not able to even
stand! Language and academic skills are the same.
iv. Is the skill functional? That is, will the skill benefit the child in his
life? Can the child use this skill to improve their quality of life or
ability to complete activities of daily living?
 VSO Jitolee 2008
45.
Steps in developing a goal plan (to be incorporated in the IEP):
The following steps can be used as a guide to develop a goal plan
Step one
After you have assessed a child, decide on the communication skills the child
needs help with. (Remember: your long-term goal is to develop these skills).
Step two
Decide on three or four goals that will help to develop these areas. These are
the short-term goals.
Step three
Turn to the relevant activity and choose one activity idea to achieve each of the
short-term goals.
Step four
Choose activities that are appropriate to the child’s level of functioning. Use a
developmental checklist if you are unsure what stage the child is functioning at in
each area.
Step five
Now try out these activities with the child to ensure they are appropriate. They
should neither be too difficult nor too easy.
Step six
If you think that the activities you have chosen will help the child, and if you can
teach them to the parents, write them into your IEP.
Step seven
Add to and change these activities as the child develops.
Step eight
Explain to those involved with child why they are doing the activity, and how it will
help them. Allow them to ask any questions about what you have planned for
them.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
46.
4.9
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Points to Remember:
A good IEP is essential for giving direction to our involvement with a child.
An IEP should be designed to meet the needs of each individual child.
In order to draw up a good IEP we must first have completed a good assessment.
An IEP must be realistic, with small, achievable steps.
Setting a few clearly defined short-term goals at one time is a good idea.
The short-term goals we set must be related to the long-term goals we want the
child to achieve.
When goal planning we need to think carefully about which skills we should
develop first.
Goal planning is an ongoing process and a goal plan should be updated as the
child progresses
 VSO Jitolee 2008
47.
 VSO Jitolee 2008
48.