Explore a new food on the plate
When to use this goal
For young children who eat a small set of foods and become upset when a new food is near. The goal measures choosing to interact with a new food at any level, never eating it. Observed snacks, not age, decide fit, with the feeding team's input.
- Baseline
- Offer a new food on the learning plate at five snacks and record the highest step the child chose (left on plate, looked, touched, smelled, licked, tasted) and any signs of distress. Use the family's list of foods the child eats and foods they would like the child to try.
- Tips
- Pressure backfires: never praise or reward eating, never ask for one bite, and let the child remove the food whenever they want. Any interaction counts. Ongoing concerns about a very small food list go to the family and the child's medical team.
- Limits
- Food textures, liquid thickness, positioning for safe swallowing and any swallowing precautions come from the student's feeding or swallowing plan, which this goal never changes. New foods must be safe for the child's plan and allergies. This goal does not aim to change what the child eats and does not replace feeding therapy for severe food selectivity.
Original IEP Atlas template based on general measurement principles; not copied from any goal bank. ID mt-fd-013.
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Goal
By the annual IEP review date, during snack, when a small piece of a new food is placed on a separate learning plate next to the student's usual foods, the student will interact with the new food on the learning plate in a way they choose (looking, touching, smelling, licking or tasting) with an all-done bowl to put the food in at any time in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks, as measured by direct observation collected at five snacks a week.
Baseline: 1 of 5 opportunities.
- Condition
- Observable behavior
- Criterion
- Measurement method
Measurability check11 of 11 met
Met: Observable behavior. Stated as an action.
Met: Condition. Stated.
Met: Unit fits the behavior. Opportunities fits this behavior.
Met: Explicit criterion. Number and unit stated.
Met: Mastery rule and schedule. Both stated.
Met: Method produces the metric. Direct observation gives opportunities data.
Met: Review timeframe. Stated.
Met: Baseline and target compatible. Same unit, change in the right direction.
Met: Aligned with area of need. Still about Feeding & Mealtime Skills.
Met: Level of support. Defined.
Met: Blanks filled in. Nothing left to fill in.
Checks structure and wording only. Whether the goal fits the student is the team's call.
Short-term objectives (optional)
When are objectives required?Required for students on alternate assessments (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)(ii)); some states require them for everyone.
Paste into your IEP system
Most district systems have a separate box for each part of a goal. Copy them one at a time, or all at once as labeled text.
- Area of need
- Motor & Sensory Skills (OT, PT & Adapted PE) - Feeding & Mealtime Skills
- Baseline
- 1 of 5 opportunities.
- Annual goal470 characters
- By the annual IEP review date, during snack, when a small piece of a new food is placed on a separate learning plate next to the student's usual foods, the student will interact with the new food on the learning plate in a way they choose (looking, touching, smelling, licking or tasting) with an all-done bowl to put the food in at any time in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks, as measured by direct observation collected at five snacks a week.
- Timeframe
- By the annual IEP review date
- Condition
- During snack, when a small piece of a new food is placed on a separate learning plate next to the student's usual foods
- Behavior
- The student will interact with the new food on the learning plate in a way they choose (looking, touching, smelling, licking or tasting) with an all-done bowl to put the food in at any time
- Criteria
- In at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks
- Evaluation method
- Direct observation
- Schedule
- At five snacks a week
Copied as plain text, with straight quotes and plain dashes.
Matching data sheet
Opportunity tracker. One box per opportunity in each session.
Opportunity tracker
Opportunities- Student label:
- Target:
- in at least 4 of 5 opportunities
- Mastery rule:
- across 3 consecutive weeks
- Collection schedule:
- at five snacks a week
- Method:
- Direct observation
- Data collector:
Goal: By the annual IEP review date, during snack, when a small piece of a new food is placed on a separate learning plate next to the student's usual foods, the student will interact with the new food on the learning plate in a way they choose (looking, touching, smelling, licking or tasting) with an all-done bowl to put the food in at any time in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks, as measured by direct observation collected at five snacks a week.
Key: + demonstrated independently · P demonstrated with a prompt (note type) · − not demonstrated · NA no opportunity occurred
| Date | Activity / context | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | # + (of 5) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview shows 4 of 12 rows.
- Record up to 5 opportunities per session, matching the goal's denominator.
- Define in advance what counts as an opportunity so every data collector records the same thing.
- Count only + marks toward the criterion unless the goal specifies prompted responses.
The CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets, with formulas. Sheets print blank; no student data is stored.