Communication IEP goals for a child with Down syndrome
A child with Down syndrome may sign, speak one word and point to an AAC icon in one day, so "communicate" hides which mode counts. The goal should spell out the mode being scored, the length it expects, and how a prompt reduces credit. Open your child’s IEP to the goal page and read one goal for three things: the baseline it starts from, the behavior someone could count, and the date it gets reported.
By The Advocate Ally, checked against the rules it cites. Sources checked September 17, 2026.
Is this your goal?
“Student will get his message across to others by whichever method seems to work in the moment.”
The line names no mode and no length, so an adult could count a point, a sign or a word and call it the same thing.
What the rule says
“A statement of measurable annual goals … [and] [a] description of … [h]ow the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured, and when periodic reports … will be provided.”
34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i) and (a)(3)
The rule’s own example of a periodic report is quarterly, issued with report cards: four updates a year.
The three tests
Every strong goal below passes all three.
BaselineWhere your child is today, as a number with its date, in present levels.
CountableA behavior two adults would tally the same way. Read the goal: what would you count?
ReportedHow often the number comes home. Check the progress-reporting box, then the last report sent.
Weak“Given a wanted item out of reach, Rocco will demonstrate requesting skills, independent of a model, on 4 of 5 opportunities weekly.”
Strong“Given a wanted item out of reach, Rocco will request it using two signs or two AAC icons combined, independent of a model, on 4 of 5 opportunities weekly.”
Baseline
Rocco points; no sign or icon combination yet.
Countable
Two symbols joined, one request, one clear mark.
Reported
Five chances weekly, summed as twenty monthly.
Two adults cannot agree on what "demonstrate requesting skills" looks like, so a year of checkmarks never shows two symbols joined.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“What two-symbol combination counts as one request under this goal?”
Underline, in the progress-reporting box, what counts as one combined request.
3rd through 5th grade
Weak“Rocco will initiate a comment on his AAC device without an adult prompt, on 6 of 8 sessions a month.”
Strong“During small-group work with a peer, Rocco will initiate a comment on his AAC device without an adult prompt, on 6 of 8 sessions a month.”
Baseline
Initiates with adults, rarely in small-group peer work.
Countable
A comment on the device, self-started: countable.
Reported
Eight sessions monthly, about seventy chances yearly.
Drop the peer setting and adult small talk counts, so data never shows Rocco talking with classmates.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“Is this scored with peers, or does adult conversation count too?”
Look in present levels for peer talk recorded separately from adult talk.
6th through 8th grade
Weak“Given a question from a classmate, Rocco will answer using several words in speech or AAC, reported each month.”
Strong“Given a question from a classmate, Rocco will answer using three or more words in speech or AAC, reported each month.”
Baseline
Rocco answers with one word, not three.
Countable
Three words or more, counted per answer.
Reported
Answer lengths logged monthly, nine logs yearly.
Swap "three or more" for "several" and one word counts as met, so a year of checkmarks hides that Rocco never grew.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“Does the count require three words, or does one word still pass?”
Find the latest word count in the meeting notes and check its date.
9th through 12th grade
Weak“On a work-based learning shift, Rocco will use speech or AAC to report a problem to a supervisor within one minute, on 3 of 4 shifts.”
Strong“On a work-based learning shift, Rocco will use speech or AAC to report a problem to a supervisor within one minute, on 3 of 4 shifts, reported each quarter.”
Baseline
Rocco now waits for a supervisor to notice.
Countable
Reported within a minute: timed, present or not.
Reported
Without reported each quarter, no shift count arrives.
Leave off the report date, and one strong rotation becomes the year’s only evidence while later shifts go unrecorded.
IDEA requires the IEP to say how progress is measured and reported: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3).
“Will the quarterly report list how many shifts he spoke up on?”
Job coach time per shift belongs on the services page; look there.
What to ask the team
Which mode counts toward this goal: speech, sign, AAC, or any mix?
What message length does the baseline measure?
Will data include peer talk, or only adult-directed exchanges?
An example is not your child’s goal: it does not replace the data the team starts from, or advice from someone qualified in your state.
Have every goal in your IEP checked against these three tests, free.
The review reads every page you upload, flags each goal missing a baseline, measurable criteria, a target or a timeline, and quotes the wording with its page.
