Sensory IEP goals-is that possible? school OT says it's not

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Sensory IEP goals-is that possible? school OT says it's not

Hi-I have a 5 year old diagnosed with ADHD and obvious sensory seeking behaviors-to me(mom-a PT), neuropsych, pediatrician, private school teachers, neurologist and i have documentation from all MDs. Problem is his OT in public school is refusing to give him sensory diet.

we went to mediation over this and had an independent OT eval done since mediation and she stated he needs more than we even requested including a sensory diet, pull out, extra transitioning time etc-anyhow my point is-are there specific sensory goal examples i could find somewhere? the school OT is I believe just not wanting to budge-our IEP meeting is this Thursday for followup after mediation and i doubt she is going to budge-classroom has available sensory accommodations-not enough in my opinion-he can't self select either. OH my-if you could forward IEP goals that would be appropriate much appreciated.

she (public school OT) stated clearly you can't make up goals for sensory seeking behaviors-i bet she's trying to get out of putting ot services on IEP for sensory seeking behaviors, period. private school is doing sensory activities and have documented improvements in behaviors after sensory activities. crazy.

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Sensory IEP goals-is that possible? school OT says it's not

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Feb 20, 2011
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School ot NEW
by: Anonymous

You all need to remember that school ot and private ot are very different . Don.t expect clinic based therapy to occur in school.

Jan 21, 2011
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Sensory IEP goals-is that possible? school OT says it's not NEW
by: Anonymous

The school therapist is not trying to get out of providing services. She is technically correct - it is not appropriate to put "sensory" goals in the IEP. As stated in a previous post (see May 11, 2010,) it is not appropriate to have separate "OT goals" or "PT goals" in an IEP. Nor is it appropriate to write "sensory goals". The use of a sensory diet is an intervention strategy. The IEP goals should be developed by the team; identifying the behaviors/tasks the child needs to accomplish in order to succeed in their educational program. (The baseline performance for the identified behaviors should also be clearly articulated in the Present Level of Performance.) Once the goals are established, the team then discusses the strategies and related services (this would include OT or PT) that may be necessary to help the student achieve their goals.

The goals in the IEP should be related to an activity/task in the school that is impacted by your child?s sensory deficits. You mentioned that they have seen improvement in the private school. Can you describe the specific behaviors in school that have been improved? For example, sometimes a child with sensory needs will have difficulty concentrating/attending to a task, or they may have difficulty with transitions throughout the building. The IEP goal should be written in a way that identifies the problem area; i.e., "Johnny will attend to a seat-work assignment for 5 minutes without teacher redirection." Then sensory strategies would then be identified in the accommodations section of the IEP.

If you can clearly describe the task, activity, or behavior that has been improved since the addition of sensory strategies at private school, then you might be more likely to make a case for those strategies to be used to support behavior goals in the IEP.

Jan 20, 2011
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Michigan NEW
by: Anonymous

I live in Michigan and am just trying to gather enough information on SPD. I was just given a diag that ds has SPD. The therapists were changing and the new therapist indicated he has SPD the old therapist never said a word about it. Probably not much exp in that field?? Just in the beginning stages of all of this... and gathering gathering gathering as much information as i can. I have noted the information that has been on this site, however any more information I should know would be helpful for my case to the school.

May 11, 2010
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IEP Goals vs. accomodations NEW
by: Anonymous

This is posted in support of the comment made by Denise, 5/7/10. It is not appropriate to have separate "OT goals" or "PT goals" in an IEP.Nor is it appropriate to write "sensory goals". The use of a sensory diet is an intervention strategy. The goals should be developed by the team; identifying the behaviors/tasks the child needs to accomplish in order to succeed in their educational program. (The baseline performance for the identified behaviors should also be clearly articulated in the Present Level of Performance.) Once the goals are established, the team then discusses the strategies and related services (this would include OT or PT) that may be necessary to help the student achieve their goals.

For example, a student that might benefit from a sensory diet may have a goal that addresses attention to task or staying in their seat for a specified amount of time during instruction. The use of a sensory diet is a strategy - not a goal. Along with an IEP, containing goals for the student?s performance, the therapist should develop a treatment plan that addresses the strategies used by OT to treat the student. This would include sensory strategies and/or any consultation regarding modifications or adaptations.

At times, if the strategies are to be incorporated into the child's school routine (as is the case with a sensory diet) the plan may need to be written into the IEP under a portion that addresses accommodations. The other piece that is so often over looked is the need to follow up with good data collection and monitoring by the therapist to help the team determine if the strategy is beneficial.

May 07, 2010
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IEP goals versus accommodations NEW
by: Denise

Lots of people, parents and professionals alike, have a hard time understanding that as a related service, OT does not formulate their own goals. Technically, and in a best case scenario, the goals on an IEP are the student's goals. the first steps are in obtaining present levels of function, strengths and then needs of the student. For every need, a goal must follow, but the goals are not discipline specific. What is the purpose of a sensory diet for your child? Generally, I put therapuetic interventions such as a sensory diet in the accommodations section of the IEP. In order for a student to be successful in attaining their overall goals, be it attending to task, writing, reading, math-whatever the need is-the accommodations are what set the student up for goal attainment.

I am currently working in a district that has used an 'old school' model of every discipline having its own goals and it is extremely frustrating. Only the child has goals on an IEP, not a speech therapist, not a resource teacher, not an OT-only the child. We use sensory diets all the time to help individual students to access their education and attain their goals. I am currently pushing to change our goal writing model...wish me luck!

Apr 17, 2010
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what helps? NEW
by: Anonymous

What are the sensory strategies that have worked for your son in his private school? Many sensory processing strategies have not worked for my ADHD son. The school ot has used a "diet" of movement breaks & classroom helper, seat cushion, weighted blanket, slant board, etc. Just because a child is diagnosed with ADHD does not mean he has sensory deficits.

Apr 14, 2010
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Sensory can be done in the schools NEW
by: Anonymous- and a school based occupational therapist

It is difficult but sensory diets can happen within the school, if you have a supportive educational team. We call them "movement breaks" and our children participate in them during set times of the day along with other times as they arise. As far as sensory goals they can be written here is just an example of what I have used in the past. explanation of purpose of goal - HG has decreased vestibular/proprioceptive processing that impacts his ability to coordinate his head and eye movements. HG has difficulty maintaining attention to task due to loosing his placement when copying from board to his paper.

LTG: By 11/03/2010 HG will improve his vestibular and propriocetive processing (processing of head movements and coordination of eyes) to independently copy 3 five word sentences from both a far and near model, paying attention to size, line placement and legibility 3/5 attempts.

This child also receives sensory integration therapy from me in the school for one hour per week. I will admit it is not the easiest task to accomplish in the schools due to lack of equipment etc, but we do have a suspended swing in our room and get creative with what equipment we have. I hope things work out for you and your child.

Jan 08, 2010
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thanks jillb NEW
by: Anonymous

thanks Jill B-he has had an behavioral therapist look at him. we are on track. last iep had someone from state and special ed director there and we had an independent OT evaluation completed and indicated a need for more sensory/independent sensory OT diet need. we are getting there slowly

Jan 08, 2010
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sensory diet in school NEW
by: jill b

My son's school (England) have been exceptional his sensory diet is not on IEP but they do it, and do it well even though the TA didn't understand how or why it worked for the 1st 8 months until we paid for her to go on a course. Maybe you could suggest your child having an IBP (individual behaviour plan) as well as IEP.

Dec 29, 2009
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sensory OT goals on his IEP NEW
by: Anonymous/school based OT consultant

All IEP goals should be related to the child's educational program. Technically, because OT (and PT for that matter) is a "Related Service" and not an educational program, it would be inappropriate to have an "OT goal" or a "sensory goal" in the IEP.

Here's the better question....The question to ask of the therapist evaluating or treating the child is: What functional tasks, required for school performance, are impacted by their sensory disorder? This needs to be included and accurately described in the Present Level of Performance section of the IEP. The goal should then be written in relationship to the child?s performance in the educational setting and in a way that connects it to the functional component described in the Present Level of Performance. If the therapist can make this connection to a behavior/task/functional skill necessary for success in the child's educational program, then there is rarely need to do "battle" with the district. The larger challenge is when a child has a SPD , does not qualify for an Educational Program and, therefore, does not "qualify" for OT.

Therapists should also have an Intervention Plan that ?ties? their intervention strategies (i.e., sensory strategies) to the educational goals identified in the IEP. Some districts are beginning to allow therapists to include the Intervention Plan in the IEP documentation. At the very least, therapists could bring this with them to the IEP to help parents and teachers understand how their intervention strategies are supporting the child's performance and achievement of their educational goals.

Dec 27, 2009
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same here NEW
by: Anonymous

We had a difficult time getting and convincing OT after transferring schools. I brought our behavior pediatrician with us, had the teachers and therapists fill out behavior forms and presented our plan and concerns.

It can be tough, he even has autism as his primary and speech second. We had a SIPT done to prove the dyspraxia and if they don't "show" it in school it can difficult.

Dec 22, 2009
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reply to anonymous re: looking at iep/from teacher NEW
by: 5 year old's mom no sensory goal

to previous answerer-yes, My son also has been diagnosed with ADHD, receives OT for fine motor issues and Speech therapy as well. where do i find this info-i live in Massachusetts.

Dec 22, 2009
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Get Informed NEW
by: Anonymous

As a Public School teacher and a mom of 2 with SPD your first stop should be your state government. Find out what schools in your state are required by law to provide. In MI where I'm from unless you have another condition like ADHD I can't even get an IEP on just SPD.

Dec 21, 2009
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sensory OT goals on his IEP NEW
by: Anonymous

my son has several sensory OT goals on his IEP, but I had to completely change schools to get them.

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Sensory IEP goals-is that possible? school OT says it's not

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Sensory IEP goals-is that possible? school OT says it's not