Impact statement examples: how the disability affects learning

The impact statement is the shortest part of present levels and often the weakest. Many IEPs fill it with one line: "The student's disability affects their progress in the general education curriculum." That sentence is true of every student with an IEP, so it says nothing about this one.

A useful impact statement answers three questions. What skill is the gap, with a number? Which class task does it get in the way of? What does that cost the student? The 24 examples below show weak and strong versions across areas, with the data each strong version rests on. Students and numbers are invented to show the format.

The pillar guide on present levels of performance shows where the impact statement fits among the four parts.

What the law asks for

The present levels statement must include how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum, meaning the same curriculum as for children without disabilities. For preschool children, it describes how the disability affects participation in appropriate activities.^[1]

That is the legal basis for the impact statement. Some forms give it a separate box, labeled "effect of disability" or "impact of disability." Others expect it inside each area's narrative. The content is the same either way.

A simple formula

Most strong impact statements follow this shape:

Because (the skill gap, with a number), (student) cannot yet (a specific class task) in (setting or subject), so (the consequence for learning or participation).

You do not have to use these exact words. The formula just keeps the three parts in. A statement missing the number reads as opinion. One missing the class task reads as a test report. One missing the consequence does not explain why the team should act.

Reading

Example 1: Decoding in content classes, grade 5

Weak: "Remy's learning disability in reading impacts all subjects."

Strong: "Because Remy reads about 45% of multisyllable words correctly, he cannot read the assigned sections of his grade 5 science text on his own. He comes to labs without the background reading the rest of the class has done."

Why it works: It names the skill, the text and the consequence. The data comes from three word-list probes.

Example 2: Fluency and test time, grade 8

Weak: "Talia reads slowly, which affects her grades."

Strong: "Talia reads grade 8 text at a median of 92 words correct per minute. On timed unit tests in social studies, she finishes about two-thirds of the items, and her scores on the items she completes are near the class average."

Why it works: It shows the gap is speed, not understanding, which points to both a goal and an accommodation.

Example 3: Comprehension in discussion, grade 3

Weak: "Jonah has poor comprehension."

Strong: "Jonah answers 2 of 8 inferential questions correctly after reading grade 3 stories. In whole-class read-aloud discussions, he repeats a detail when asked why something happened, so he rarely contributes to the part of the lesson that is graded for participation."

Why it works: The consequence is a real, graded part of the lesson.

Example 4: Early literacy, kindergarten

Weak: "Brielle is behind in reading readiness."

Strong: "Brielle names 9 of 26 letter sounds. During daily small-group phonics, she cannot join the word-building activity, which uses letter tiles for sounds she does not yet know, so she spends the time watching peers."

Why it works: It shows how the gap removes her from the instruction meant to close it.

Writing

Example 5: Written answers across subjects, grade 6

Weak: "Andre has difficulty with written expression."

Strong: "Andre writes a median of 2 complete sentences in 10 minutes. In science and social studies, most assessments use short written answers, so his grades are lower than his spoken answers in class would predict."

Why it works: It compares written and spoken performance, which shows the disability is in the writing, not the content.

Example 6: Spelling and note-taking, grade 9

Weak: "Spelling deficits impact Quinn's learning."

Strong: "Quinn spells about 70% of words correctly in his own writing. His class notes contain so many misspellings that he cannot read them back to study, and his biology quiz scores drop on material he learned from notes."

Why it works: The consequence is concrete: notes he cannot use.

Example 7: Handwriting speed, grade 4

Weak: "Fine motor weakness affects Liam's work."

Strong: "Liam copies 24 letters per minute and his hand tires after about 4 minutes. He finishes about half of the written work in class and takes the rest home, where it often goes unfinished."

Why it works: It ties a motor skill to completion rates the teacher sees.

Math

Example 8: Fact fluency and multi-step work, grade 4

Weak: "Dana's math disability impacts her progress."

Strong: "Dana writes a median of 12 digits correct on 2-minute fact probes. In grade 4 multi-digit multiplication, each problem takes her 3 to 4 minutes because she counts on her fingers for each fact, so she completes about a third of each practice set."

Why it works: It shows how a basic skill slows grade-level work.

Example 9: Word problems, grade 7

Weak: "Problem solving is an area of need."

Strong: "Owen scores a median of 5 of 16 on the department's solution rubric for two-step problems. Unit tests in grade 7 math are mostly multi-step, so his test grades average about 20 points below his homework grades."

Why it works: It names the test format and the gap between homework and tests.

Example 10: Functional math, grade 11

Weak: "Shauna has low math skills."

Strong: "Shauna pays with the next dollar correctly on 4 of 12 purchases. At her community job site, she cannot buy her lunch on her own and depends on staff for every purchase."

Why it works: For a student on a functional curriculum, the impact is in daily life.

Attention and executive function

Example 11: Starting work, grade 5

Weak: "Ezra's ADHD affects his learning."

Strong: "Ezra takes a median of 6 minutes to start independent work after directions. In a 20-minute work period, that leaves him about 14 minutes, so he finishes about half the assigned problems."

Why it works: The arithmetic makes the cost plain.

Example 12: Organization and missing work, grade 8

Weak: "Lena is disorganized."

Strong: "Lena turned in 18 of 34 assignments on time this quarter. Most missing work was finished but left in her backpack or not uploaded. Missing work has lowered her grades in four classes by one to two letter grades."

Why it works: It shows the work was done, which points to an organization need.

Example 13: Sustained attention, grade 2

Weak: "Max has a short attention span."

Strong: "Max is engaged in a median of 45% of 30-second checks during whole-group lessons, while classmates are engaged in about 85%. He misses most of the directions given after the first few minutes and needs them repeated one to one."

Why it works: The peer comparison shows how far from typical he is.

Behavior and social-emotional

Example 14: Leaving class, grade 4

Weak: "Behavior interferes with learning."

Strong: "Sienna leaves the classroom a median of 2 times per day, usually during writing. She misses 10 to 20 minutes of instruction each time, about 30 minutes a day, most of it in writing."

Why it works: It turns behavior into lost minutes of instruction.

Example 15: Anxiety and participation, grade 7

Weak: "Anxiety impacts Keira at school."

Strong: "Keira has missed 9 of 42 school days this year and visits the nurse a median of 3 times per week with stomachaches. Oral presentations are 20% of her English grade, and she has not completed one."

Why it works: It names attendance, nurse visits and one graded task. Percent of a grade is a fact from the syllabus, not a statistic.

Example 16: Peer conflict, grade 3

Weak: "Darius has trouble getting along with peers."

Strong: "Darius has had 11 conflicts at recess and in group work since September, mostly after losing a game. Teachers now place him in smaller groups, so he has fewer chances to work with classmates in the cooperative learning the grade 3 curriculum uses."

Why it works: It shows how the response to his behavior also limits his access.

Communication

Example 17: Expressive language in class, grade 2

Weak: "Speech and language delays affect academic progress."

Strong: "Olivia uses regular past tense correctly in about a quarter of required contexts and her sentences average 4 words. In grade 2 writing and oral retells, her answers are hard to follow, so teachers cannot tell if she understood the story."

Why it works: It explains how a language gap hides what the student knows.

Example 18: Intelligibility, kindergarten

Weak: "Evan is difficult to understand."

Strong: "Unfamiliar listeners understand about a third of Evan's words. During centers and recess, peers often do not respond to him, and he has started to play alone rather than join groups."

Why it works: For a young child, participation in activities is the curriculum.

Example 19: AAC access, grade 3

Weak: "Zion is nonverbal, which limits his participation."

Strong: "Zion uses a speech-generating device and makes unprompted requests on about a third of chances. His device does not yet have the science and math vocabulary for grade 3 units, so he answers lesson questions only with yes and no."

Why it works: It finds a fixable barrier (missing vocabulary) rather than blaming the disability.

Motor, sensory and health

Example 20: Mobility and transitions, grade 6

Weak: "Physical disability affects school access."

Strong: "Ana uses a wheelchair and takes a median of 7 minutes to move between classes, including the elevator. Passing time is 4 minutes, so she arrives after the warm-up activity that starts most math and science lessons."

Why it works: It describes access in minutes, which points to a schedule or route change.

Example 21: Sensory needs, grade 1

Weak: "Sensory issues impact Kiara's day."

Strong: "Kiara leaves loud settings on most occasions, including 6 of 8 assemblies, fire drills and cafeteria lunches this fall. She eats lunch alone in the classroom and has missed two whole-grade events."

Why it works: It counts events and names what she misses.

Example 22: Hearing, grade 5

Weak: "Hearing loss impacts Mateo's learning."

Strong: "Mateo has a moderate hearing loss and uses hearing aids and a remote microphone. When the microphone is not passed to classmates, he misses about half of peer comments in discussions, measured by repeating them back. Class discussions count toward his ELA and social studies grades."

Why it works: It describes the effect with and without his technology, so the team can see the fix.

Example 23: Vision, grade 9

Weak: "Visual impairment affects her access to materials."

Strong: "Lucia has low vision and reads 18-point print at about 60 words per minute. Teachers project class notes at a size she cannot read from her seat, and handouts come in 12-point print, so she depends on a peer to read materials to her in most classes."

Why it works: It points to specific materials and formats that can change.

Example 24: Chronic health condition, grade 10

Weak: "Medical needs cause absences."

Strong: "Jamie has sickle cell disease and has missed 14 of 50 days for pain episodes and appointments. When he returns, he has no system for getting missed work, and he has incompletes in three courses."

Why it works: The disability is a fact; the impact is the missing system for catching up.

How to write an impact statement for preschool

For children ages 3 to 5, describe how the disability affects participation in appropriate activities: play, circle time, centers, snack, transitions and getting along with peers. Use the same three parts. "Because Ruben deletes most final consonants, peers often do not understand him during dramatic play, and he leaves the center within 2 minutes" is a strong preschool impact statement.

How to measure what the impact statement describes

The impact statement does not need its own data system. It borrows numbers from the rest of the present levels and from records the school already keeps: attendance, nurse visits, grades, minutes out of class and work completion. Make sure each number in it also appears, with its source, in the current performance part of the statement.

The work completion page and the duration recording page cover two of the most common impact measures. More example statements by area are in the reading examples and the speech and language examples.

Printable quick reference

All 24 examples on one page. Free to copy and print, with no email or sign-up.

When the impact statement is drafted, check that each consequence leads to a goal, service or accommodation. The steps in how to write a PLAAFP cover where it fits, and the goal checker catches gaps in the goal that follows. If your statement keeps coming out vague, compare it with the weak vs strong rewrites.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• PLAAFP in the IEP glossary
• Baseline in the IEP glossary
• Work completion measurement
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• Present levels of performance (PLAAFP): what to include, with examples
• How to write a PLAAFP, step by step
• PLAAFP examples for reading
• Weak vs strong present levels: before-and-after rewrites
• Writing student strengths as observable performance
• Student and family vision statement examples for the IEP

Sources

1. 34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

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.