IEP progress report comments for OT goals

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

An occupational therapy progress report comment gives the current data next to the baseline and the target, names the support level and the task, and says what happens next, in words a parent can follow. Example: Ava now spaces 15 of 20 words correctly on copied sentences, up from 9 of 20. The goal is 18 of 20. She is on track.

OT progress comments have a particular problem. The therapist knows exactly what changed, but the comment often comes out as therapy language: "Improved bilateral integration with decreased need for proprioceptive input." A parent cannot tell from that whether their child can zip a coat.

These 24 comments are sorted by OT goal area. Each one shows the goal, the baseline, the current data, the target and the measure, then the comment written from that data. The students and numbers are fictional. For comments sorted by data pattern (on pace, flat, slipping) across all subjects, see IEP progress report comment examples. The occupational therapy IEP goals pillar covers goal writing.

What every OT progress comment needs

The IEP must say how progress toward each goal will be measured and when reports will be given, such as with report cards.^[1] A comment that meets that bar has 5 parts.

The current number, in the goal's unit. "7 of 10 letters", not "good progress".
The baseline and the target in the same unit, so the reader sees the distance traveled and left.
The task and the support. "On a 3-sentence copy task, with raised-line paper." Supports change results, so name them.
A plain verdict. On track, ahead, slower than expected or not yet started.
The next step. What will change, if anything.

Keep sensory and anatomy terms out, or explain them in a few words. "Heavy work (carrying books, pushing chairs)" is clear. "Proprioceptive input" is not.

How to pick the right comment pattern

What the data shows	What the comment must say	Data you need
Steady gains toward the target	On track; keep the plan	3 or more dated probes on the same task
Goal met early	Met; what the new target or condition is	Probes meeting the criterion twice
Gains only with a support	Progress depends on the support; plan to fade it	Support level recorded on each probe
Strong in therapy, weak in class	The skill has not carried over yet	Probes from both settings
No change after 6 or more weeks	Flat; what will change in the plan	Graph with the goal line
Missed sessions or thin data	Data is limited; why; what happens next	Session log

Fine motor comments

Scissors. Goal: cut out a curved shape within a quarter inch of the line on 80% of the outline. Baseline 30%; now 65%; measured on art projects. Comment: "Mateo now cuts within a quarter inch of the line on about two-thirds of a curved shape, up from one-third in September. The goal is 80%. He is on track and has moved from card stock to regular paper this quarter."
Classroom tools. Goal: use a stapler, hole punch and tape correctly in 4 of 5 opportunities with each. Baseline 1 of 5; now 4 of 5 for stapler and tape, 2 of 5 for hole punch. Comment: "Mateo uses the stapler and tape on his own in 4 of 5 tries. The hole punch is still hard, at 2 of 5. We are trying a desk-mounted punch next quarter."
Fasteners. Goal: tie shoelaces with a double knot, 7 of 7 steps. Baseline 2 of 7; now 5 of 7. Comment: "Jayden can now do the first 5 steps of tying on his own. He still needs help pulling the loops tight. He is on track to meet this goal by spring."
Hand endurance. Goal: write or color for 8 minutes without stopping to rest the hand. Baseline 2 minutes; now 2.5 minutes. Comment: "Noah's writing time before needing a rest has barely changed, from 2 minutes to about 2.5. This is slower than expected. Next quarter we will add a slant board and shorter writing bursts in class, and recheck in 6 weeks."

Weak: "Mateo has made good progress with fine motor skills." Better: Comment 1 above. It gives the number, the baseline, the target and the task.

Handwriting comments

Letter formation. Goal: form 10 dictated magic c letters correctly in 8 of 10. Baseline 3 of 10; now 8 of 10 on 2 probes. Comment: "Sam has met his goal for forming a, c, d, g, o and q. He formed 8 of 10 correctly on two probes in a row. We have moved on to tall letters like b, h and l."
Spacing. Goal: leave a space between words in 18 of 20 gaps on copied sentences. Baseline 9 of 20; now 15 of 20. Comment: "Ava now spaces 15 of 20 words correctly on copied sentences, up from 9 of 20. The goal is 18 of 20. She is on track. She still uses a spacer tool, which we will start fading next month."
Reversals. Goal: write b, d, p and q correctly in 19 of 20 letters in dictated words. Baseline 12 of 20; now 13 of 20. Comment: "Eli is reversing b and d about as often as in the fall, at 13 of 20 correct. This is slower than expected. His teacher and I now use the same b-d strategy in every lesson, and I will check again in 6 weeks."
Legibility at length. Goal: keep 90% of words readable across a full page. Baseline 70% falling to 40%; now 85% falling to 70%. Comment: "Ella's writing stays readable longer. About 85% of words are readable at the start of a page and 70% at the end, up from 40%. The goal is 90% throughout. We are adding a short hand break halfway through long tasks."

Weak: "Ava's handwriting is neater." Better: Comment 2 above. "Neater" becomes a count of correct word gaps.

The OT IEP goals for handwriting and letter formation goals show where these goals come from.

Keyboarding and output comments

Typing speed. Goal: type 20 words per minute with 90% accuracy. Baseline 8; now 14. Comment: "Owen now types 14 words per minute with 92% accuracy, up from 8. The goal is 20. He is on track and practices 10 minutes, 3 times a week."
Home-row accuracy. Goal: type a copied passage with home-row fingering at 95% accuracy. Baseline 70%; now 96% on 2 probes. Comment: "Owen has met his typing accuracy goal at 96%. Next quarter we will focus on speed."
Speech-to-text. Goal: dictate and edit a paragraph, 6 of 6 steps. Baseline 2 of 6; now 4 of 6. Comment: "Priya can now start speech-to-text, dictate and fix most errors on her own, doing 4 of 6 steps. She still needs help adding punctuation by voice. She is on track."
Choosing an output method. Goal: choose handwriting or typing for each task and finish it, 4 of 5 tasks. Baseline 1 of 5; data from 3 tasks only. Comment: "Priya chose a writing method and finished 2 of 3 tasks this quarter. There were only 3 written tasks with a choice, so we do not have enough data to judge progress. Her teachers will offer the choice weekly next quarter."

Weak: "Owen is getting faster at typing." Better: Comment 1 above. Words per minute and accuracy, both with numbers.

Visual motor comments

Copying designs. Goal: copy multi-part designs in 4 of 5. Baseline 1 of 5; now 3 of 5. Comment: "Jonah now copies 3 of 5 designs with several parts, such as a cross inside a square, up from 1 of 5. The goal is 4 of 5. He is on track."
Far-point copying. Goal: copy 3 lines from the board within 5 minutes. Baseline 11 minutes; now 6 minutes. Comment: "Eli now copies 3 lines from the board in about 6 minutes, down from 11. The goal is 5 minutes. He still gets a printed copy for longer notes, so he does not miss content while he builds speed."
Math alignment. Goal: line up digits in columns in 90% of problems. Baseline 40%; now 90% in the resource room, 55% in class. Comment: "Luis lines up digits correctly on 9 of 10 problems with me, but on about half in his math class. The skill has not carried over yet. We are bringing his graph paper into math class next quarter."
Worksheet navigation. Goal: find the right problem or box on a worksheet in 9 of 10. Baseline 3 of 10; now 8 of 10. Comment: "Lucy now finds the right place on a worksheet 8 of 10 times, up from 3. She uses a finger guide. She is on track."

Weak: "Luis has mastered aligning digits." Better: Comment 3 above. It reports both settings honestly.

Self-care comments

Coat and backpack. Goal: store coat and backpack within 3 minutes of arrival. Baseline 7 minutes; now 3 minutes on 4 of 5 days. Comment: "Leo has met his arrival goal. He hangs up his coat and backpack within 3 minutes on most days. We are moving to a goal for packing up at dismissal."
Toileting fasteners. Goal: fasten buttons, snaps and zipper after toileting, 5 of 5 steps. Baseline 2 of 5; now 4 of 5. Comment: "Sara now does 4 of 5 steps on her own after using the bathroom. The top snap is still hard. Her family and I are trying pants with an elastic waist and one button."
Lunch routine. Goal: complete the cafeteria routine, 7 of 7 steps. Baseline 3 of 7; now 6 of 7. Comment: "Ava does 6 of 7 lunch steps on her own, up from 3. She still needs help opening her milk carton. She is on track."
Dressing for PE. Goal: dress back after PE within 7 minutes. Baseline 12 minutes; now 11 minutes. Comment: "Marcus still takes about 11 minutes to change after PE, close to his fall time of 12. This is slower than expected. Starting next week he will change in a private stall with a picture checklist, and we will review in 6 weeks."

Weak: "Sara is more independent in the bathroom." Better: Comment 2 above. It names the step that is still hard and the plan.

Sensory and participation comments

Break requests. Goal: ask for a sensory break with a card in 4 of 5 opportunities. Baseline 1 of 5; now 4 of 5. Comment: "Kai now asks for a break with his card in most cases when he needs one, 4 of 5 times. He used to leave the room instead. He has met this goal."
Headphones. Goal: put on headphones before a loud event in 4 of 5. Baseline 1 of 5; now 3 of 5. Comment: "Zoe puts on her headphones before assemblies and fire drill practice 3 of 5 times without a reminder, up from 1. The goal is 4 of 5. She is on track."
Assemblies. Goal: stay with the class for 25 minutes with a sensory plan. Baseline 5 minutes; now 15 minutes. Comment: "Ava now stays with her class for about 15 minutes of an assembly, using headphones and an end-of-row seat, up from 5. The goal is 25 minutes. She is making steady progress."
Return after a break. Goal: start work within 60 seconds after a movement break. Baseline 180 seconds; now 150 seconds; 4 sessions missed. Comment: "Kai's time to restart work after a break is about 150 seconds, down slightly from 180. He missed 4 OT sessions this quarter for testing, so progress is hard to judge. We will make up 2 sessions in January."

Weak: "Kai is better regulated." Better: Comment 1 above. It describes what Kai does instead of a state.

The OT IEP goals for sensory processing page shows how to write these goals around participation.

How to collect data that makes these comments possible

Comments like these need dated data on the same task, with the support level written down. Three habits help.

Probe on a schedule. One short probe every week or two, on the same task, gives 5 to 8 points per quarter. The how often to monitor progress guide covers timing.
Record the setting and support. A column for "OT room or class" and one for the support (spacer, raised-line paper, card) answers half of the questions parents ask.
Graph it. A graph with a goal line shows on track or not at a glance. The IEP data graph and aimline guide shows how.

Pick the measurement method that fits each goal and use the matching sheet from the free data sheets. For a full OT caseload, IEP Atlas Pro graphs goal data and builds progress reports from it.

When the code and the comment disagree

Many districts use progress codes such as "making sufficient progress". The comment should support the code with numbers. If a goal is coded sufficient progress but the data is flat, fix one of them. The IEP progress report codes guide covers common code sets, and how to write an IEP progress report walks through a full report.

Adapting comments by grade

Grade band	What changes in the comment	Example phrase
Preschool and K	Describe the routine and the help given	"With a light touch at the wrist, she now..."
Grades 1 to 5	Name the class task and the support	"On copied sentences, with a spacer tool..."
Middle school	Compare OT room and class data	"With me 9 of 10; in math class about half..."
High school	Tie to independence and transition	"He now changes for PE on his own in 7 minutes..."

Check that the goals themselves are measurable before the next report with the goal checker. More OT goal templates are on the goals for the OT role page.

Frequently asked questions

What should an OT progress report comment include?

The current data in the goal's unit, the baseline and the target, the task and any support used, a plain verdict such as on track, and the next step. Avoid therapy jargon, or explain it in a few plain words.

How do you report OT progress when the student did well in therapy but not in class?

Report both numbers and say the skill has not carried over yet. Then name the plan, such as bringing the support into class or having the teacher take data. That is more useful than reporting only the higher number.

What if a student missed OT sessions during the reporting period?

Say how many sessions were missed and why, report the data you have, and say that progress is hard to judge. Then state the plan, such as make-up sessions. Do not guess at progress you could not measure.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
American Occupational Therapy Association, AOTA
Progress Monitoring: Data & Goal Setting, National Center on Intensive Intervention

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.