Enhancing IEP Goal Development for Preschoolers with Autism: A Preliminary Study on ChatGPT Integration.
Fifteen minutes with ChatGPT made preschool teachers write better, broader autism IEP goals.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Preschool teachers wrote IEP goals for children with autism.
Half got a 15-minute ChatGPT tutorial first.
Then experts scored every goal for quality and domain balance.
What they found
Teachers who used ChatGPT wrote stronger goals.
Their goals also covered more areas like talking, play, and self-care.
The AI group beat the no-AI group on both counts.
How this fits with other research
Peck et al. (2025) asked BCBAs to judge ChatGPT and human answers.
The AI answers won. Salih’s trial moves that lab win into a real classroom task.
Yagafarova et al. (2025) gave novice tutors an AI coach.
Fidelity rose. Both papers show AI can lift adult performance in autism services.
Wetherby et al. (2018) used web videos to coach parents.
Salih swaps parents for teachers and videos for ChatGPT, keeping the same easy-scale idea.
Why it matters
You can copy the 15-minute tutorial tomorrow.
Open ChatGPT, feed it a child’s present levels, and ask for five SMART goals.
Edit, paste into the IEP, and you have balanced, measurable targets in minutes.
No extra cost, no new software.
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Join Free →Type this prompt into ChatGPT: ‘Write five SMART goals for a 4-year-old with autism who has weak joint attention and two-word speech.’ Use the output as your first draft.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: The impact of well-crafted IEP goals on student outcomes is well-documented, but creating high-quality goals can be a challenging task for many special education teachers. This study aims to investigate potential effectiveness of using ChatGPT, an AI technology, in supporting development of high-quality, individualized IEP goals for preschool children with autism. METHODS: Thirty special education teachers working with preschool children with autism were randomly assigned to either the ChatGPT or control groups. Both groups received written guidelines on how to write SMART IEP goals, but only the ChatGPT group was given handout on how to use ChatGPT during IEP goal writing process. Quality of IEP goals written by the two groups was compared using a two-sample t-test, and categorization of goals by developmental domains was reported using frequency counts. RESULTS: Results indicate that using ChatGPT significantly improved the quality of IEP goals developed by special education teachers compared to those who did not use the technology. Teachers in the ChatGPT group had a higher proportion of goals targeting communication, social skills, motor/sensory, and self-care skills, while teachers in the control group had a higher proportion of goals targeting preacademic skills and behaviors. CONCLUSION: The potential of ChatGPT as an effective tool for supporting special education teachers in developing high-quality IEP goals suggests promising implications for improving outcomes for preschool children with autism. Its integration may offer valuable assistance in tailoring individualized goals to meet the diverse needs of students in special education settings.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2026 · doi:10.1177/1525740114551632