Tips for developing an Individual Learning Plan
Who will benefit from an Individual Learning Plan?
Most children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can access the required curriculum and
achievement standards for their Prep year level with careful planning and when reasonable
adjustments are made to the teaching, learning and assessment.
A small number of students with ASD may also require adjustments to year level expectations if
they require learning at a level below or above the Prep year level, for some or all learning
areas. In this case, an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is developed for the student outlining the
Australian Curriculum or the Queensland Curriculum learning areas to be adjusted. Assessment
and reporting of these individual goals is against the achievement standard of the curriculum
identified in the ILP.
A small percentage of students with ASD accessing a Prep program who have significant
educational support needs will require a highly individualised curriculum. For these students, a
negotiated ILP documents their individual curriculum profile and appropriate learning
expectations. Assessment and reporting is against the expectations documented in the ILP.
Planning for the individual needs of the student is a process (planning and meeting) as well as a
product (the documented plan).
Before the ILP meeting:

consider who will be involved in the planning meeting as a smaller team is sometimes more
practical and efficient

review and collate all the information you have regarding the student’s current achievement
level and individual learning needs via work samples, video, images, documented
conversations, documented observations, reports and formal assessments

develop an agenda and distribute it beforehand to assist members to prepare for their role in
the process

consider any parent or carer support needs for the meeting such as an advocate, interpreter,
or support person, as well as succinct, specific visual information for parents who may have
literacy or communication difficulties

consider that school ‘jargon’ is usually new for many parents and can be overwhelming or
intimidating

allow for one to one and a half hours for the meeting; parents want opportunities to discuss
their child’s needs as well their own aspirations.
During the ILP meeting:

introduce the participants of the meeting and their role

review the purpose and format of the meeting using the agenda as a guide; outline any
protocols and guidelines for discussions and planning

prompt parents to be actively involved in the meeting by providing observations, aspirations,
expectations and information regarding their child as well as advocating for them

identify which year-level achievement standard the student can demonstrate in each
learning area: this will enable the selection of the appropriate year-level curriculum to be
taught

for those students with a highly individualised curriculum, identify which learning
expectations are appropriate

set goals for the reporting period (usually six months)

outline the adjustments needed for the student to achieve these goals, elements of the
curriculum likely to require focused teaching and additional support

consider how the home and school will support the achievement of these goals

set implementation timeframe

confirm the agreed upon goals to ensure that all participants are in agreement

inform the participants they will receive copies of the agreed upon ILP.
After the ILP meeting:

document the ILP as per the provision in OneSchool (EQ staff only) or via ILP formats
developed by individual schools and share with the ILP team for signing.
Implementing the ILP:

considering the ILP goals set, begin with what the student has already demonstrated
(strengths, current year level achievement standard) and progressively map a plan for the
reporting period (usually six months) for student learning

differentiate the teaching and learning by adjusting how the content is presented to the
student (e.g. include interests and strengths, visual supports, concrete language)

make decisions about how best to sequence teaching and learning based on the student’s
learning needs and strengths (e.g. extra time for processing, templates, scaffolds, preferred
sequences or work systems)

adjust the learning environment where appropriate

determine how the student will demonstrate their learning, and if adjustments are required
(e.g. length of time, using information and communication technologies (ICT), actively show
rather than write or say)

plan and use regular assessment for learning to continuously monitor progress of the
student and use this information to make decisions about, or changes to, the planned
teaching and learning

plan and use assessment of learning i.e. collect evidence of student achievement against
standards for summative purposes when required

maintain and document regular communication with the ILP team, including parents to
monitor progress and obtain information to support or make changes to the planned teaching
and learning

review the ILP each reporting period (usually 6 months), in collaboration with the team

examine work samples to determine the year-level achievement standard (or progress
towards learning expectations documented in the ILP) that the student has demonstrated as
this will support the selection of the appropriate curriculum to be provided in the next
reporting period

report student achievement on the achievement standard for the year-level curriculum
taught, or against documented learning expectations as identified in the individual learning
plan

use this information to inform planning for next ILP.