20 Best Self-Advocacy IEP Goals for Students with Disabilities

Self-advocacy IEP goals are a key element of the special education process as they empower students with disabilities to better understand their own academic, emotional, and social needs, effectively communicate them to others, seek support, and advocate for their rights at school and beyond. Importantly, setting up, achieving, and monitoring progress towards their own goals and objectives not only helps children reach better education outcomes but also helps them develop and cultivate crucial life skills that help them well after high-school graduation.

This article brings together the 20 most relevant, practical, and useful self advocacy goals for children with IEPs. These goals cover a number of different categories of objectives and skills and can be easily adapted to the specific needs and situations of students with various types and degrees of disabilities covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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What Self Advocacy IEP Goals Are

Generally speaking, self advocacy refers to the act of representing yourself, speaking up for your rights, and communicating your interests. It means that you are able to tell others what you think, how you feel, and what you require and to ask for what you need.

The concept of self advocacy plays a crucial role in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. It signifies that children with disabilities are able to take control over some major aspects of their education, express their unique needs, and request accommodations in a way that best aligns with their situation.

This makes self advocacy IEP goals a chief part of the IEP document.

To be effective, these goals have to be SMART, which refers to them being:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

While self advocacy IEP goals can be very diverse to correspond to the circumstances, requirements, and potentials of children with many different disabilities impacting education, they fall into a few main categories depending on what they are trying to achieve.

The most popular categories of IEP goals for self advocacy include:

• Asking for help
• Communicating needs to teachers and peers
• Identifying strengths and weaknesses
• Explaining needs and asking for accommodations in the classroom setting
• Requesting accommodations and supports in community settings
• Participating in the IEP process including meetings and reviews

It’s important for the child to actively participate in setting up their own self advocacy goals for IEP while being supported by their parents, teachers, district representatives, and IEP advocates. This is the only way to ensure that the student understands the objectives, appreciates their significance, considers them important, commits to working towards achieving them, and knows how to reach them.

Why Self Advocacy IEP Goals Are Important

Incorporating self advocacy IEP goals into the special education process is important for many different reasons. First and foremost, it ensures that the child has a say in their own education and growth as a person and that they learn to speak for themselves from a young age. This is a major skill for everyone but especially for people with disabilities who frequently remain underrepresented and marginalized.

In addition, self advocacy boosts children’s independence, confidence, and communication skills, allowing them to protect their own rights and interests instead of having to rely on other advocates, such as parents, friends, or professionals. The development of these skills can be linked to better academic, behavioral, and socio-emotional outcomes as students feel more prepared to handle a range of adverse situations inside and outside the classroom.

Finally, learning how to be their own advocate in IEP helps children build solid skills and habits that prepare them for life beyond school, whether they go for college or employment. These include but are not limited to knowing how to navigate challenging circumstances, learning how to express themselves and their needs, and understanding how to defend their rights in different settings.

Having said all that, the 20 best self advocacy IEP goals for children of different ages and grade levels and with different disabilities include:

1. By the end of the year, the student will initiate and actively participate in at least two discussions with their teachers about necessary learning accommodations and adjustments.

The first self advocacy IEP goal falls under the category of needs communication. The objective aims to teach the child to successfully recognize the need for special modifications to the learning method to accommodate the impact of their disability and effectively communicate this need to a general education or special education teacher based on their own initiative. This should happen on at least two separate occasions in the course of the academic year.

This goal encourages students to take the initiative when appropriate to defend their rights as outlined under IDEA and in their own IEP document as well as to look for practical solutions (learning accommodations) to specific challenges, building on their problem-solving skills.

The best way to measure this goal is by teacher feedback and reports.

2. For the rest of the school year, the student will inform new teachers or substitute teachers about their learning accommodations and the need for them, in at least 80% of instances.

Due to national teacher shortages and for other reasons, most schools end up changing teachers or having to resort to substitute teachers, in general education as well as in special education, at some point throughout the school year. The next self advocacy goal for children with IEPs refers to their ability to share their need for special ed arrangements to new teachers, teacher aides, and substitute teachers when the need arises. This communication of needs has to be initiated by the student and to happen within a reasonable timeframe to allow for an undisrupted education process despite the change in school staff.

With the help of this objective, children learn to protect their rights to special accommodations as well as to feel comfortable when initiating communication with individuals of authority that they are not familiar with.

To make the goal measurable, students should aim to inform a minimum of 80% of new academic staff about their situation. Progress is measured via teacher feedback and reports.

3. For the rest of the academic year, the student will ask for additional clarifications or other help when they don’t understand a classroom assignment or activity, in 4 out of 5 instances.

The next goal aims to teach school-age children to learn when and how to ask for additional help in order to gain the understanding and insights they need to successfully complete a challenging assignment and progress academically. Both students with and without IDEA qualifying disabilities sometimes find it difficult to make sense of a classroom activity, no matter how well or not the teacher explains it. However, students with disabilities are frequently more hesitant to ask for additional clarifications because of the social stigma that they often face as a result of their health problems.

Thus, this self advocacy IEP goal strives to give children the confidence to demand assistance when needed, using an appropriate method, whether by raising their hand in class, asking the teacher for clarification after class, going to office hours, or sending an email requesting help. Seeking assistance should become the norm in the conduct of children with IEPs, so this behavior should be observed in at least 80% of the classroom time.

The most effective way to measure progress towards this goal is through teacher feedback and reports.

4. Each week, the student will ask the teacher for further clarification and examples when facing a concept that is difficult to understand, on at least two occasions.

Similarly, any student could occasionally struggle to understand a difficult concept when delivered using a traditional teaching method, but disabled children are likely to face this challenge more frequently because of the negative impact of the disability on their skills and capabilities. If this happens on a regular basis, a child can fall significantly behind peers and grade-level standards and risk failing school.

To avoid this, it is important for special ed students to set it as a goal for themselves to ask their teachers and instructors for additional explanations and specific examples every time when they come across a topic or a concept that is more difficult to grasp than usual. This can be done during instruction or afterwards, depending on the method that the child identifies as the most appropriate in each particular situation.

To make this goal measurable, the intent can be for this to happen at least twice per year. Progress can be tracked based on teacher feedback and reports.

5. For the rest of the semester, the student will raise their hand and explicitly ask for help when facing a problem or a task beyond their abilities in the classroom, in at least 80% of instances.

While the next goal is related to the previous two, it is broader, striving to teach children to request assistance in a wide range of challenging situations inside the classroom, not only when they don’t understand an assignment or a concept. There are numerous other challenges that children that qualify for IEPs face in the classroom setting, where a lot can be achieved by simply asking for extra help and support from the teacher.

This goal specifically focuses on raising their hand to ask a question as this helps boost student’s confidence in front of peers and instructors, develop their communication skills, and build their problem-solving capacities. Students should aim to do that in at least 80% of relevant situations.

Measurement can be done via teacher feedback and reports.

6. For the rest of the year, the student will remind their teachers of approved testing accommodations when taking an exam, on at least 90% of occasions.

Testing accommodations are a standard practice in Individualized Education Programs when the severity of the disability is enough to necessitate this modification. These can include extended testing time, extra breaks, quiet space for testing, assistance in completing the answer sheet, printed copy of verbal instructions, and others.

Under this goal that falls into the asking for accommodations category, the student should become comfortable and confident enough to highlight to their teachers their need for and right to special testing accommodation. Children need to understand that this modification gives them the opportunity to perform at their best and show their knowledge in the most effective way, and they also need to have the courage to continuously remind their teachers of their situation. This self advocacy goal should be implemented to a minimum of 90% of examinations.

Progress gets measured with the help of teacher feedback and testing notes and protocols.

7. By the end of the academic year, the student will reflect in writing on at least one strength and one challenge in each core subject area and submit a short report to the teacher.

The next self advocacy IEP goal belongs to the identifying strengths and weaknesses category. This objective is significantly more inner-centered than the ones previously discussed. It asks for the child’s self-reflection on their unique powers and weaknesses that originate from their disability in relation with each of the core subjects that they study. The student should identify a minimum of one strength and one challenge in each core subject, explain its meaning and significance in writing, and submit a short written report to the teacher.

In addition to solidifying the student’s own understanding of their health status and its impact on the education process, the child will also improve their analytical and writing skills. Moreover, they will self advocate their right to make necessary accommodations to maximize their strengths and minimize the impact of their weaknesses to teachers.

Measurement can be done via student self-reports and teacher reports.

8. By the end of the semester, the student will independently ask for at least one appropriate accommodation in an extracurricular activity and clarify the need for it.

While some disabilities prevent students from participating in extracurricular activities, other disabled children are not simply able but actually encouraged to take part in them for the many potential benefits. However, participating in extracurricular activities might necessitate certain modifications, just like being in a classroom setting.

This goal aims to teach students to self advocate for themselves outside the regular education classroom in general and in the extracurricular setting in specific. In specific, the objective is for the child to independently identify at least one accommodation that would make their participation possible, easier, or more enjoyable and ask the teacher for it. Examples can include changing the location to a disability-friendly place, or adjusting the timing around the special education classes or therapy sessions that the student needs to attend.

Progress towards that goal can be reported by the student themselves or their extracurricular activity teachers.

9. By the end of the school semester, the student will be able to identify and outline at least three self advocacy strategies that have proven effective in the classroom.

The next self advocacy IEP goal is considerably more demanding and comprehensive, but that’s why it is also very important and effective in building self-awareness and self advocacy skills among students with disabilities.

It pertains to taking the time to analyze one’s performance throughout the school year, across different subjects in order to identify three or more self advocacy strategies that have proven to deliver the best results for students in the classroom. They can be related to asking for help, communicating needs, requesting accommodations, participating in IEP meetings, or any other category. Then, the student should prepare a short paper, a poster, or a PowerPoint presentation to outline each successful strategy, why they think it was successful, and how they plan to use it in the future to further improve their self advocacy skills within the IEP process and beyond.

The achievement of this goal can be measured via self-reporting, teacher reports (if the final deliverable is presented to a teacher), or IEP meeting participation notes (in case the conclusions are presented in an IEP meeting).

10. Within the next three months, the student will prepare and deliver a PowerPoint presentation about their disability, its effect on the education process, and successful learning strategies to a small group of peers.

Another highly effective goal for children with IEPs is to conduct some of their own research on their disability, what it entails, how it impacts learning processes and education outcomes, and the best strategies to counter its negative effect via accommodations. Next, the student should work on a short presentation using PowerPoint or a poster to deliver to their class or a select group of peers and friends. To whom the presentation is delivered largely depends on the child’s disability, its impact on presentation skills, and the student’s personal preferences and level of comfort.

This strategy is particularly useful as it encourages children to deploy and improve their research skills and practices, find new high-value resources, and develop plans for self advocacy purposes. Moreover, it sharpens their own understanding of their condition and needs while also helping them work towards removing the stigma from students with learning disabilities. Furthermore, it helps build presentation skills and confidence that are crucially important throughout school and beyond.

Fulfilling this goal can be measured using student self-reports, teacher reports, and even peer feedback.

11. By the end of the semester, the student will be able to effectively communicate one or more of their strengths, challenges, and goals to peers, in at least two group settings.

The next goal combines two general categories: Identifying strengths and weaknesses and Communicating needs to peers. In addition to parents and teachers, fellow students play an important role in the special education process even though their role is not officially defined and stipulated. Nevertheless, it is key for children with disabilities to communicate and engage effectively with peers, just as it is for those without disabilities.

For the purposes of this goal, a student should recognize a minimum of one strength, one challenge, and one personal goal in the education context related to their disability. Then, they need to discuss them with a group of their fellow students, whether during class, during an extracurricular activity, or during a group meeting dedicated to this goal. This activity truly builds self advocacy skills as talking about your challenges with peers is significantly more daunting than standing for your rights in front of teachers who are professionals in the field of education and are already familiar with your IEP.

Measurement can be done via special education teacher feedback or observations.

12. By the end of the year, the student will explain their learning accommodations and the need for them to peers in a controlled environment, at least three times.

The following self advocacy IEP goal is also associated with the student’s communication and interaction with peers while falling under the general category of explaining needs and accommodations. To be precise, the child needs to prepare and talk to their fellows about the special learning accommodations they have the right to, what they entail, and how they help them address the challenges stemming from their disability. The discussion should happen in a controlled environment and should be supervised by a special education teacher or coordinator.

In addition to providing the student with a better grasp of their learning disability and required accommodations, this goal also builds the necessary skills and confidence to discuss problems with peers and to engage them in the process. This can help prevent any misunderstandings on behalf of peers as to why a certain student is treated differently inside and outside the classroom.

Progress can be reported via special education teacher observation and feedback.

13. By the end of the year, the student will identify and make use of at least two school or community resources to work on their self advocacy skills.

The next goal aims to bridge the gap between the public school system and the community at large and to expand self advocacy work beyond the scope of the classroom and the formal education system. Specifically, the student should conduct independent research to find out a minimum of two relevant support resources to help them enhance their self advocacy skills at school or within the community. In addition, the child should attempt to use these resources and derive benefit from them.

Appropriate resources could include talking to the school counselor, joining a peer mentorship program, or getting a card for the local library, among others. These activities will help students start building skills and habits that are crucially important for life after school in addition to allowing them to directly enhance their self advocacy knowledge and abilities.

Reporting on this goal can be done via student self-reports, school records, local community organizations records, and special education teacher feedback.

14. By the end of the semester, the student will independently ask for a special accommodation in a community setting, in at least 75% of situations.

Student effort in the community space should go beyond simply figuring out potential self advocacy resources. Being an active part of the local community and learning how to protect their rights is key for children who are approaching graduation and will soon have to be active members of society. That’s why the next goal focuses on asking for accommodations in the community setting.

The objective is for a child to request the necessary practical modifications for their situations in at least three out of four situations in a community environment that demand accommodations for them to participate meaningfully and actively. Some specific examples can include asking for disability-friendly access at the library, requesting a modified task at a community workshop, and asking for a written summary of a community lecture. The main point of these activities is to make students feel confident enough and secure enough to self advocate for themselves under any circumstances.

The best way to measure the fulfillment of this goal is through parent reports and community feedback.

15. By the end of the year, the student will request help or support in a community setting, in at least 4 out of 5 instances.

Another self advocacy IEP goal related to the category of asking for help and accommodations in community settings is specifically requesting assistance during activities performed in a community that are relevant to the particular context. For instance, a child with a disability might ask the librarian to help them find a book or ask another library patron to reach a book located on a top shelf for them.

Once again, this strategy will ensure not only that the student remains an active member of society despite their disability (as long as the disability doesn’t objectively prevent such participation) but also that they have the necessary skills to handle significantly more challenging situations with ease, once they graduate from school and need to be more directly involved in the community. Depending on the disability of the student and their IEP plan, the number of targeted engagements can vary widely, but usually managing to ask for required support in at least 80% of applicable cases is a good benchmark.

The most appropriate method to measure progress towards this goal is via parent reports and community feedback.

16. For the rest of the year, the student will identify and verbally present at least one strength and one challenge during each IEP meeting, with no more than one verbal prompt from an IEP team member.

The next set of self advocacy IEP goals tackle the category of participating in the IEP process via IEP meetings and reviews. While the student doesn’t have to be a member of the IEP team and doesn’t need to participate in IEP meetings, this is their right and it is a great way to make the IEP process as adequate and tailored to their specific needs as possible. Being involved in discussions, meetings, and reviews is crucially important, especially for older children (as long as their disability doesn’t entirely prevent this), in order to support transition to a post-school reality and more independence. An extremely effective way to do this is through setting up some goals that aim to help students represent themselves during IEP meetings.

The first one is similar to a goal that was already discussed above, but in a different setting. In particular, the child should pinpoint at least one of their unique powers and weaknesses resulting from their disability and present it to the members of the IEP team. This will not only boost their analytical and communication skills but also give useful insights into their situation as seen from a first person point of view to the people who eventually make all the decisions about their special education plan.

This goal can easily be measured with the help of IEP meeting minutes, participation notes, and IEP team feedback.

17. During the next IEP meeting, the student will show a PowerPoint presentation that they have created and present at least one learning strategy or accommodation that has helped them improve outcomes.

Additionally, the child needs to solidify their self advocacy during the IEP meetings by preparing a PowerPoint or poster presentation that highlights one learning accommodation or teaching strategy that has proven particularly beneficial in boosting the outcomes of the IEP document. This could concern academic, behavioral, or socio-emotional results targeted by the IEP strategy.

This objective has the potential to bring a number of major advantages, including but not limited to learning to identity the most relevant types of accommodations based on their disability, summarizing important information and presenting it in a clear manner, and asking the IEP team to review and modify the IEP document in a way that puts more focus on this successful learning adaptation relative to others less effective strategies. As such, this activity can have a very positive impact on the quality and relevance of the IEP plan and the final outcomes for the child.

IEP meeting minutes and team member feedback can be used to measure progress on this goal.

18. The student will actively participate in the next IEP meeting by reporting their progress on at least one self advocacy IEP goal and proposing further work needed to achieve the goal.

The next goal actively encourages the child to take ownership of their self advocacy IEP goals and become a driving force in setting them up, implementing them, and tracking progress. In particular, based on this objective, the student will monitor progress on a minimum of one of their self advocacy goals using the methodology agreed upon in the IEP document and share this progress during a meeting with the team. In addition, the student should be prepared to suggest at least one adjustment to current practices to make sure that this goal is reached in case they seem to be lagging behind at the moment. This recommendation can focus on their own effort or request help from others on the special ed team.

This step offers a great opportunity for the student to appreciate the importance of the self advocacy IEP goals and achieving them. In this way, they can understand that these goals are set up in order to help them develop their own skills and capabilities, represent themselves in the most relevant manner, and achieve the best possible outcomes within the IEP process.

Reporting on this objective can be done via IEP meeting participation notes and minutes as well as IEP team feedback and parent observation.

19. By the end of the year, the student will evaluate their own progress on self advocacy IEP goals, identify newly gained skills, and set up at least two new goals for next year.

This goal is an expansion of the previous one but is important enough to merit its own place. Namely, the child gets directly involved in measuring progress towards their self advocacy IEP goals over the course of the year and recognizing the new skills that they have obtained in the process of working towards their objectives. Based on what was feasible over the year, they should also propose at least two of their self advocacy goals for next year.

While students might not be qualified to actively contribute to all aspects of their IEP document, they are more than capable of setting up and monitoring progress on their own goals related to self advocacy. This exercise will teach them important skills in determining SMART goals for any process in life as the main principles are always the same. Observing the progress they have achieved over previous years will give their confidence the boost they need o be even better self advocates for their own rights and interests.

The most efficient way to measure this goal is through minutes of meetings of the IEP team and team member feedback.

20. In the next annual IEP meeting, the student will actively participate in the creation of the IEP document by articulating at least two personal goals related to their academic, behavioral, or socio-emotional development.

Finally, student’s participation in the formulation of the Individualized Education Program document should go beyond the specific self advocacy IEP goals and into other relevant aspects. For example, the child should come to the next annual IEP meeting prepared to discuss two progress goals that they would like to include in the official document for the upcoming year. These goals can measure advancement in the academic, behavioral, or socio-emotional field. Similar to the self advocacy goals, these objectives have to also be SMART.

This strategy is a perfect way to have the student take ownership of their IEP to boost their commitment and to enhance outcomes that make the most sense to the child themselves. It also teaches the student to think analytically and critically and to set up goals in life, which is crucial after school.

Progress on this goal can be measured with the help of IEP meeting minutes and IEP team reports.

10 Tips of Making Self Advocacy IEP Goals Effective

Setting up and implementing self advocacy goals that really work requires a structured process that involves a number of stakeholders.

Following are 10 practical tips for effective self advocacy IEP goals that maximize results for the child:

• Incorporate self advocacy goals in the annual IEP process and the official IEP document
• Actively involve the student in the process
• Encourage cooperation between all members of the IEP team to contribute to self advocacy efforts
• Make goals SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound)
• Prioritize key areas of self advocacy such as self-awareness, communication, problem-solving, communication, and transition
• Work on self advocacy outside the classroom and the school setting
• Use technology and available tools for practicing self advocacy and monitoring achievements
• Track progress and adjust goals accordingly
• Celebrate small achievements with the child to motivate them to keep going
• Enhance self advocacy with advocacy work from professionals to show the child they are not alone

These 10 strategies will help a child define the most relevant objectives, accomplish them, and extract the biggest benefit from them.

Bottom Line

Self advocacy IEP goals offer an important mechanism to get children involved in the IEP process and to teach them crucial life skills that will help them speak for themselves and protect their rights in a wide range of situations. These 20 specific examples of objectives used by special ed students around the US education system aim to show the diversity potential and inspire you to set up the most relevant goals for the children that you support. To be effective, goals have to be practical, concrete, and tracked.

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