Instructional Content and Self-Determination in Individualized Education Program Annual Goals for Students With Extensive Support Needs.

The team read 137 IEP annual goals for students with extensive support needs. These kids had autism, Down syndrome, or other intellectual disabilities. The researchers counted how many goals taught reading, math, or self-determination skills.

They also counted goals that only asked for compliance, like "sit quietly" or "follow directions."

Only one in ten goals covered academic content. Even fewer taught self-determination, such as choosing what to eat or asking for help. Nine out of ten goals focused on compliance.

In short, the plans prized quiet sitting over real learning.

Gandhi et al. (2022) showed that Grade 1–the students with autism already score far below peers on executive-function skills like planning and shifting. Andrews et al. (2024) now reveal that we barely target those skills in their IEPs.

Iversen et al. (2021) linked poor executive function to more repetitive behaviors across the kids. If we never write goals for EF or self-determination, we should expect those behaviors to stick around.

Rojahn et al. (2012) warned that adaptive-behavior assessments must cover conceptual, social, and practical domains. The new data show we are still skipping the practical part—teaching kids to make choices and solve problems.

Your students can’t practice skills we never write down. Swap one compliance goal for a self-determination goal this week. For example, replace "will follow three-step directions" with "will use a visual menu to choose lunch three days in a row." The same prompting and reinforcement still apply, but the child learns to make a real-life choice.