IEP goals for nonverbal communication and tone of voice

Nonverbal communication covers everything people say without words: pointing, waving, facial expressions, body language, tone of voice and loudness. Goals in this area go wrong when they try to make a student look a certain way. They go right when they help a student understand other people's signals, use gestures as real communication, or explain their own style so partners do not misread it.

What this page adds: a clear line between affirming goals and masking goals, a decision table, 24 goals across six skill areas, a weak and measurable pair per section, and a measurement plan using short clips and real observations. Numbers are illustrations, not norms. The speech therapy IEP goals pillar covers every other area.

What to target, and what to leave out

Many autistic students make less eye contact, show feelings differently on their faces or speak with a tone others read as flat. These are differences, not skills to fix. ASHA's autism guidance supports building on the student's own communication rather than training typical-looking behavior.^[1]

Leave out: eye contact goals, "show an interested face," "use a happy voice," whole-body-listening rules, and goals that ask the student to hide stimming or movement.

Target: understanding other people's signals when the student wants to; using gestures and voice as communication; explaining one's own communication style; and changes to voice the student chooses, such as loudness for a setting or rising pitch so questions are heard as questions.

How to choose a nonverbal communication goal

Nonverbal skills sit inside pragmatics and social communication.^[2] Probe with photos, short audio and video clips, and observation in class.

Gestures and early nonverbal communication

1. During play, Mateo will point to share something interesting with an adult in 5 instances per 20-minute session across 3 sessions. Baseline: 1. Template.
2. Mateo will show a toy to an adult to share interest in 4 of 5 opportunities across 2 weeks. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
3. When greeted at arrival and dismissal, Isla will wave or signal hello or goodbye in her own way in 8 of 10 greetings across 2 weeks. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
4. During snack and play, Isla will use signs for more, help and all done in 10 instances per session across 3 sessions. Baseline: 2. Template.

Weak: "Isla will make eye contact when greeted." Measurable: Goal 3. A wave in any form is communication; eye contact is not required.

Understanding facial expressions

1. Given 10 photos of people, Aria will name the basic emotion shown (happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised) in 9 of 10 across 3 sessions. Baseline: 5 of 10. Template.
2. Given 10 photos, Aria will name the emotion and point to one face clue (eyebrows, mouth) in 8 of 10 across 2 probes. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
3. Given 10 short video clips, Caleb will name subtle expressions such as bored, confused or worried in 7 of 10 across 3 probes. Baseline: 2 of 10. Template.
4. Given 10 photos where faces are partly hidden (masks, turned heads), Caleb will use body and context clues to name a likely emotion in 7 of 10 across 2 probes. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.

Weak: "Aria will read facial expressions." Measurable: Goal 2. Naming the clue shows reasoning, not a lucky guess.

Understanding tone of voice

1. Given 10 short audio clips of the same sentence said in different tones, Aria will name the feeling the tone signals in 8 of 10 across 3 sessions. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
2. Given 10 recorded voices and 4 emotion pictures, Leo will match each voice to the picture in 8 of 10 across 2 probes. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
3. Given 10 short scenes, Leo will tell whether a speaker is sincere or sarcastic and give a clue in 7 of 10 across 3 probes. Baseline: 2 of 10. Template.
4. When a speaker's words and tone seem to differ, Nina will ask a checking question ("Are you joking?") in 4 of 5 opportunities across 4 weeks. Baseline: 0 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Leo will understand sarcasm." Measurable: Goal 3. It names the task, the count and the clue.

Goal 4 is often the most useful of the set. Asking when unsure works in every setting and puts no pressure on the student to read every cue alone.

Body language and context

1. Given 10 short video clips, Ethan will describe what a person's body language and the setting suggest they feel or want in 7 of 10 across 3 probes. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
2. When he notices a peer seems upset, Ethan will check ("Are you okay?") and respond to the answer in 3 of 4 opportunities across 6 weeks. Baseline: 0 of 4. Template.
3. Given 10 short scenarios, Grace will spot when a person's words and the situation do not match in 8 of 10 across 2 probes. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
4. At a job-training site, Grace will notice a waiting customer and greet or help them within 30 seconds in 4 of 5 opportunities. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Ethan will read social cues." Measurable: Goal 1. Video clips give a repeatable task with a clear count.

Using voice to be understood

1. Using a visual voice-level scale, Owen will match his loudness to the setting (library, classroom, gym) in 8 of 10 observed opportunities across 3 weeks. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
2. When reading or asking aloud, Owen will use rising intonation on yes or no questions in 8 of 10 questions across 3 sessions. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
3. When reading a passage aloud, Mila will vary pitch to show meaning (questions, surprise, emphasis) in 4 of 5 marked sentences across 3 passages. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
4. When answering in class, Mila will use a voice loud enough to be heard across the room, as confirmed by the teacher, in 4 of 5 opportunities. Baseline: 2 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Owen will use an appropriate voice." Measurable: Goal 1. "Appropriate" becomes a level on a scale matched to the setting.

Write voice goals only when the student agrees the change helps them, for example being heard in class or not being misread when asking a question.

Explaining your own communication style

1. When meeting a new adult or peer, Sam will explain how he communicates (such as "I don't look at faces much, but I'm listening") in 3 of 4 opportunities across a semester. Baseline: 0 of 4. Template.
2. When a partner's communication is hard to follow, Sam will ask them to adjust (speak slower, say it directly) in 3 of 4 opportunities. Baseline: 0 of 4. Template.
3. Using her device, Zoe will tell a new partner how she communicates (device, gestures, yes and no signals) in 4 of 5 introductions. Baseline: 0 of 5. Template.
4. When a message is not working, Zoe will switch modes (gesture, device, pointing, writing) in 4 of 5 breakdowns across 4 weeks. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Sam will use a more expressive face so peers understand him." Measurable: Goal 1. Explaining his style solves the misreading without asking him to mask.

How to measure nonverbal communication goals

For understanding goals, build sets of 10 photos, audio clips or video clips and use new ones each probe. Score percent accuracy on the accuracy data sheet. For gestures, checking questions and self-advocacy, count real opportunities on the opportunity data sheet. Classroom voice goals can use a short observation of 10 opportunities. Probe every 2 to 4 weeks and graph by skill.^[3]

Short-term objectives for nonverbal goals

For Aria's tone goal: by the first report, 6 of 10 with 2 choices (happy or angry); by the second, 7 of 10 with 4 choices; by the third, 8 of 10 with clips from new speakers. The short-term objectives guide has the format.

Adapting by age and profile

For more on early nonverbal communication, see speech therapy goals for nonverbal autism. For device users, see AAC goals examples and AAC in the IEP. Templates live on the pragmatic language goals, voice goals and AAC goals pages, and IEP goals for AAC users collects more. The goal checker flags vague criteria.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Pragmatic language goals (speech language)
• Voice goals (speech language)
• AAC goals (speech language)
• IEP goals for AAC users
• Pragmatics in the IEP glossary
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• Speech therapy IEP goals: examples by area
• Speech therapy goals for nonverbal autistic students
• AAC goals examples
• AAC in the IEP: devices, training and goals

Sources

1. Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASHA
2. Social Communication Disorder, ASHA
3. 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.