Desired Outcomes of Behavior Goals

IEP goals allow a team knowledgeable about the student's learner profile (including the student's disability, developmental level, and unique areas of need) to identify behaviors to modify (i.e., increase or decrease) which will ultimately increase the student's quality of life by increasing the student's repertoire of functional, usable behaviors that allow their needs to be met in an effective way.

Behavior change "success" is not simply whether the student decreases or stops the use of a challenging behavior, rather, it includes a variety of indicators, including:

  • Using the identified replacement behavior (FERB)
  • Increase in general positive behavior
  • Continued use of the replacement behavior, across generalized settings (e.g., across people, activities, time, etc.)
When selecting areas to target with behavior goals, it is important to recognize that the student may not eliminate the use of all challenging behavior completely; this is particularly true for students with the most intensive needs and/or a significant history of using challenging behavior. Rather, ultimate goals for the student may center around significantly decreasing the use of challenging behavior and increasing the use of more appropriate, desired behavior. Additionally, it should be acknowledged that the use of a replacement behavior may need to become a permanent part of the student's behavioral repertoire.