Speech therapy goals for autism

This page has 16 speech and language goals for autistic students who use speech some or all of the time. Each one shows the condition, a baseline, the criterion and how to measure it, and links to the full template. If the student does not yet use speech to communicate, start with speech therapy goals for nonverbal autistic students instead.

For speech goals across every area, see the speech therapy IEP goals pillar. All numbers below are illustrations, not benchmarks.

What to target, and what to leave out

Target communication that changes the student's school day: being understood, getting help, refusing safely, following what the teacher means and connecting with peers who share an interest.

Leave out goals that measure compliance instead of communication. Sustained eye contact, "whole body listening" and stopping a harmless stim are not speech-language goals. They can raise a student's stress without making them any easier to understand. If a teacher needs to know the student is listening, write a goal for a response the student can give, such as answering a question or restating a direction.

Treat echolalia and scripted phrases as communication; they often serve a purpose for the speaker.^[1] Many autistic students process language in chunks, called gestalts, and use a whole phrase to mean something specific. A goal can help the student break those chunks down and recombine them. It should not aim to remove them.

How to choose the right goal

Start from what you see across settings. The autism eligibility tells you little about which goal fits.

Self-advocacy and requesting goals

These goals give the student a way to change a hard situation with words, so behavior does not have to do the job.

1. During independent work, when Jonah meets a task he cannot do, he will ask for help with a phrase or help card in 4 of 5 observed opportunities across 2 weeks. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
2. When an activity is too loud or too long, Ana will request a break with a spoken phrase or card before leaving the area in 8 of 10 opportunities. Baseline: 2 of 10. Template.
3. When offered an activity or food she does not want, Ruth will say no and offer an alternative, such as "No, I want blocks," in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 sessions. Baseline: 0 of 5. Template.
4. Given a new adult or substitute, Daniel will explain two things that help him communicate, using a prepared card if needed, scoring 3 of 4 on a short rubric in 3 of 4 tries. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.

Weak: "Jonah will use appropriate behavior when frustrated." Measurable: Goal 1 above. It names the situation (a task he cannot do), the response (a phrase or card) and the count (4 of 5 opportunities).

Gestalt and flexible language goals

For gestalt language processors, progress means moving from whole scripts toward smaller, flexible pieces. Score whether a message is new, not whether it is "correct grammar."

1. During play and snack, Leo will use a familiar gestalt (such as "let's get out of here") to request or comment in a fitting context at least 6 times per 20-minute session across 3 sessions. Baseline: 2 per session. Template.
2. Given adult models that split familiar scripts into chunks, Leo will combine two chunks into a new phrase (such as "let's go outside") at least 4 times per 20-minute session. Baseline: 0. Template.
3. During shared play, Mira will combine two single words into a phrase to request, comment or protest at least 10 times per 20-minute session across 3 sessions. Baseline: 2 per session. Template.
4. After a class event, Omar will tell one thing that happened and one thing that will happen next, using past and future verbs, in 4 of 5 sharing times. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Leo will reduce echolalia." Measurable: Goal 2 above. It counts new combinations instead of trying to remove the scripts that already carry meaning for Leo.

The expressive language goals page has more templates for phrase length and sentence formulation.

Understanding questions and directions

Many autistic students answer concrete questions well and lose track when the question asks why, how, or what someone meant. Use the classroom's real language for these probes.

1. During a class read-aloud, Ellie will answer who, what, where and why questions about the story correctly in 8 of 10 questions across 3 read-alouds. Baseline: 4 of 10, with errors mostly on why. Template.
2. When the teacher gives an indirect request (such as "Is your name on that paper?"), Ben will carry out the intended action in 4 of 5 observed opportunities per week. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
3. Given 10 short spoken scenarios, Ben will say what the indirect request is asking him to do in 8 of 10 scenarios on 2 consecutive probes. Baseline: 3 of 10. Template.
4. Given 10 short scenarios read aloud, Ana will name a likely cause or feeling and one clue from the scenario in 7 of 10 on 3 consecutive probes. Baseline: 2 of 10. Template.

Weak: "Ellie will improve comprehension of wh- questions." Measurable: Goal 1 above, with the baseline showing which question type is hardest.

More templates are on the receptive language goals page.

Conversation and peer interaction goals

Conversation goals should happen with peers, in places where peers talk. A goal met only with the SLP in a quiet room has not shown generalization.

1. During an interest club or lunch, Sam will start a conversation with a peer about a shared interest at least 2 times per observed session in 4 of 5 sessions. Baseline: 0 to 1. Template.
2. During a 10-minute peer conversation, Kai will keep a topic going for 3 or more turns, asking or adding on topic, in 3 of 4 observed conversations. Baseline: 1 turn. Template.
3. When a peer looks confused or asks "what?", Kai will rephrase or add information in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 sessions. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
4. During small-group discussion, Lena will wait for a pause and add an idea at least 2 times per discussion in 4 of 5 observed discussions. Baseline: 0 to 1. Template.

Weak: "Sam will improve social skills with peers." Measurable: Goal 1 above. It names the setting, the partner, the skill and the count.

The pragmatic language goals page and the conversation skills topic have more templates.

How to measure progress

Most goals on this page use opportunities data: you note each time the situation came up and whether the student used the skill. Use the opportunity trial data sheet and write the situation at the top, such as "task too hard" or "peer asks a question." The opportunities measurement guide shows how to score partial responses.

Use frequency counts for the gestalt and phrase goals, in a session of fixed length. Twenty minutes in the same activity each time keeps the counts comparable. For question goals, a 10-item probe every 2 weeks is enough.

Collect in more than one place. A short observation at lunch or in class each month tells you whether the skill travels. Regular, repeated measures are what let the team decide whether a goal is working.^[2] The full method is in speech therapy data collection.

Short-term objectives for these goals

Objectives can step up the setting, the support, or the criterion. Change one at a time.

• Setting: therapy room, then small group, then the classroom or lunch.
• Support: model plus visual, then visual only, then independent.
• Criterion: 2 of 5, then 3 of 5, then 4 of 5 opportunities.

For example, for the help-request goal: by the first report, Jonah will ask for help with a model and card in 3 of 5 opportunities in the therapy room. By the second, with the card only, in small-group work. By the third, without a prompt, during independent work in class. The short-term objectives guide covers the format.

Adapting by grade

For goals beyond speech and language, see IEP goals for autism. The IEP goals for autism hub collects templates from every area, and the speech and language goals hub lists every skill page. To check a draft, paste it into the goal checker.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Speech language IEP goals
• IEP goals for autism
• Goals for the SLP role
• Pragmatic language goals
• Autism in the IEP glossary
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• Speech therapy IEP goals: examples by area
• Speech therapy goals for nonverbal autistic students
• Language goals examples for speech therapy
• Speech therapy data collection in session
• IEP goals for autism: examples by area and age
• Vocabulary goals for speech therapy

Sources

1. Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASHA
2. 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.