How can I turn my child’s strengths into IEP goals?

During our small-group explorations, one parent of a child with dysgraphia shared that her son is a great typist. Yet, before distance learning, her child “was forced to write a sentence five times before he was allowed to type. It was like he was being punished, instead of encouraged to learn his way. Now that he’s distance learning, typing is the only option, so he’s typing all of his work and thriving.” Typing is clearly one of this child’s strengths, and should be presented to the IEP team as a skill to help him achieve writing goals.

Another parent shared that her child is nonverbal, but can communicate with sign language. The ability to sign is a strength, so the parent can develop a goal for her child to learn more signs.

Yet another parent shared that a goal for her child is to memorize phone numbers using music. Get creative! If your child responds to music or is skilled at singing or playing an instrument, you can incorporate music into their goals.

Learn more in our article Strength-Based IEPs: How Focusing on the Whole Child Can Transform Your IEP.