Communication IEP goals when your child is blind or has low vision
Eye contact and pointing anchor most communication goals, and a blind or low-vision child cannot use either. The goal should specify what replaces that cue, the skill underneath it, and how she checks a listener is still there. Open your child’s IEP to the goal page and read one goal for three things: the baseline it starts from, the behavior someone could count, and the date it gets reported.
By The Advocate Ally, checked against the rules it cites. Sources checked September 15, 2026.
Is this your goal?
“By the end of the IEP year, the student’s social communication will have improved, per staff report.”
Nothing here says how she signals attention at all.
What the rule says
“A statement of measurable annual goals … [and] [a] description of … [h]ow the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured, and when periodic reports … will be provided.”
34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i) and (a)(3)
The rule’s own example of a periodic report is quarterly, issued with report cards: four updates a year.
The three tests
Every strong goal below passes all three.
BaselineWhere your child is today, as a number with its date, in present levels.
CountableA behavior two adults would tally the same way. Read the goal: what would you count?
ReportedHow often the number comes home. Check the progress-reporting box, then the last report sent.
Weak“Using her cane to locate a peer and saying their name first, Juniper will initiate a greeting to a classmate, counted daily and reported quarterly.”
Strong“Using her cane to locate a peer and saying their name first, Juniper will initiate a greeting to a classmate, on 4 of 5 mornings, counted daily and reported quarterly.”
Baseline
Her aide counts 1 greeting in 5 mornings.
Countable
A greeting said aloud: easy to hear.
Reported
Ten weeks of greetings make one report note.
No target number means one greeting the week of the observation counts as success, while Juniper stays silent most other mornings.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“Does the paperwork say four mornings out of five, or leave it open?”
Check present levels for how often she already starts a greeting.
3rd through 5th grade
Weak“Juniper will ask a peer for a specific object by name and location, on 4 of 5 requests, checked weekly and reported monthly.”
Strong“Given a verbal description instead of pointing, Juniper will ask a peer for a specific object by name and location, on 4 of 5 requests, checked weekly and reported monthly.”
Baseline
Pointing allowed, Juniper names 1 object in 5.
Countable
Object name plus location: two parts.
Reported
Weekly checks feed one number each month.
With the verbal-only rule unwritten, pointing sneaks back in, and nobody notices Juniper still cannot name what she wants.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“Does the goal ban pointing, or just prefer that she not?”
The goal page should already say pointing is not allowed.
6th through 8th grade
Weak“In small-group discussion without relying on faces, Juniper will demonstrate appropriate conversational skills, on 3 of 4 discussions, scored each quarter.”
Strong“In small-group discussion without relying on faces, Juniper will ask a partner a check-in question when a topic changes, on 3 of 4 discussions, scored each quarter.”
Baseline
Juniper checks in once out of four discussions.
Countable
“Conversational skills” names no question to ask.
Reported
Quarterly counts land beside her other grades.
A phrase with no visible act lets a nod count as understanding, so Juniper stays lost through every topic change.
IDEA requires goals to be measurable: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2).
“Which exact question would a teacher count as checking in?”
Does the progress-reporting box promise a quarterly count of her check-ins?
9th through 12th grade
Weak“Meeting a new teacher on the first day, Juniper will state her vision needs and one requested adjustment aloud, on 4 of 5 new contacts.”
Strong“Meeting a new teacher on the first day, Juniper will state her vision needs and one requested adjustment aloud, on 4 of 5 new contacts, reported each semester.”
Baseline
Juniper has self-advocated with one new adult.
Countable
Stated need plus one ask: two clear parts.
Reported
Nothing in writing gives this count a schedule.
Without a semester fixed, one confident introduction in August can stand as the year’s only proof she can self-advocate.
IDEA requires the IEP to say how progress is measured and reported: 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3).
“Is the semester this count reaches me written anywhere on the page?”
Ask the team to write the semester into the meeting notes.
What to ask the team
Is this measuring communication, or eye contact and gesture?
Did the baseline happen with a peer who understood her mode?
Could a missed visual cue be scored here as a communication failure?
An example is not your child’s goal: it does not replace the data the team starts from, or advice from someone qualified in your state.
Have every goal in your IEP checked against these three tests, free.
The review reads every page you upload, flags each goal missing a baseline, measurable criteria, a target or a timeline, and quotes the wording with its page.
