Asking for help means noticing you can’t finish a task alone and telling someone. In a classroom, it rarely looks that tidy. One student sits with a blank worksheet for ten minutes and never signals. Another asks “is this right?” before reading the question. “Will ask for help when needed” fits neither, because nobody can say when help was needed.
An asking for help IEP goal that holds up at the table names the moment help is needed, how the student asks (speaking, signing, a help card or AAC), how soon and how often, measured against a baseline. Each of the 16 worked goals defines its moment and starts from an example baseline, for students with disabilities requesting help in whichever mode they use.
Jump to the goals
- Noticing the need: N1–N4
- Choosing who to ask, and when: C1–C4
- Making the request: R1–R5
- Students who ask before they try: P1–P3
- 24 more goals by grade band
Noticing, choosing, asking: the three skills inside one request
One help request is three skills in a row: notice you’re stuck, choose who to ask and when, and ask in a way the listener understands. Each link breaks on its own, so an asking for help IEP goal targets the one that’s breaking.
When a student doesn’t ask, check four patterns:
- Doesn’t notice. The work looks fine to them, or they keep erasing without seeing that nothing changes.
- Notices but doesn’t want to be seen struggling. A review of classroom research ties help avoidance to how students judge their own academic and social competence, and to the classroom’s social climate (Ryan, Pintrich & Midgley, 2001).
- Doesn’t know who to ask, or how.
- Has learned that asking doesn’t work. No one answers, or an adult always gets there first.
The first and third are “can’t yet”: teach the skill. The second and fourth are “doesn’t”: change what happens around the request before raising the criterion.
Three needs look alike on a progress report. A student who hasn’t started at all, though they know what the task asks, has an initiation need. A student who stops partway and stays stuck is the one this guide is for. A student who doesn’t finish or turn work in has a work-completion need. When the stuck moment comes with “I’m just bad at this”, pair the help goal with negative self-talk IEP goals.
If a student asks for help because they feel unsafe, or tells an adult about harm, staff follow the school’s reporting and crisis procedures; a goal never replaces them.
Asking for help IEP goal examples, step by step
A help opportunity, the moment help is needed, is when [Student] can’t go on without help: no progress for 60 seconds with the materials out, an error [Student] can’t fix, a missing item, or a direction not started after 30 seconds because [Student] doesn’t know what it asks. The 60- and 30-second marks are starting points; lengthen them for a student who needs more processing time. Write the definition that fits the student into the goal and the log, so every adult counts the same moments.
Every baseline below is example data from an opportunity log like the one in the help-request log section, kept for 3–5 sessions in the goal’s setting, or longer for moments that happen less than daily; yours comes from your student’s own log. Put the baseline number and its date in the present levels statement. IDEA requires a statement of present levels, measurable annual goals that meet the needs arising from the disability, and a description of how progress is measured and when it is reported (34 CFR 300.320(a)).
Each goal follows one pattern: in [setting], when [help opportunity], [Student] will [request in the named mode] within [time], with [prompt level], in [criterion] across [window], as measured by [who records it, on what] (baseline: [number from the log]). Open each with “By [date]” or “Within 36 instructional weeks”. Where a goal says “ask” or “tell”, the mode is the one the student’s IEP already names: spoken, signed, written, typed or AAC.
Noticing the need
N1 [Grades K–5]. During a daily 15-minute seatwork window in the resource room, when [Student] stops making progress, [Student] will turn the desk card to its red “stuck” side within 90 seconds, with no adult prompt, in at least 70% of logged opportunities in each of 2 consecutive weeks (at least 8 a week), as measured by the teacher’s opportunity log; an opportunity is logged when [Student] signals or reaches 60 seconds without progress (baseline: signaled in 1 of 9 opportunities over 4 days; sat, erased or left the seat in the rest).
N2 [Grades 6–8], self-monitoring. At 3 planned checks during the daily 20-minute independent math block, [Student] will mark a three-choice card (“I’ve got it / I’m unsure / I’m stuck”), and the mark will agree with the teacher’s check of the work on at least 80% of completed checks across 10 consecutive blocks (at least 24), as measured by the card against the teacher’s check sheet. “I’ve got it” agrees with correct work; “unsure” or “stuck” agrees with an error or no progress (baseline: agreed on 5 of 12 checks over 4 blocks; marked “I’ve got it” at 6 of the 7 checks with an error).
N3 [Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs]. Before starting a multi-step assignment in a general education or college class, [Student] will mark one or more steps on the direction sheet that [Student] expects to need help with and, before starting that step, check in with the teacher about it (a question, or “I’ve got it now”) in person or by note, on at least 75% of multi-step assignments across 4 consecutive weeks (at least 10), as measured by the marked sheet, initialed by the teacher at the check-in (baseline: 0 of 6 assignments over 2 weeks; 4 came back with the hardest step blank).
N4 [Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs], self-monitoring. During the daily independent work period, [Student] will record on a pocket card each time [Student] was stuck and what [Student] did (asked / tried a strategy / waited). At least 80% of the stuck moments in the staff log will appear on the card for the same period with the same action, every week for 3 consecutive weeks (weeks with at least 5 logged moments), as measured by the case manager’s Friday comparison of card and log (baseline: 3 of 16 staff-logged moments over 10 days (19%) were on the card; it was filled in on 2 of the 10 days).
Choosing who to ask, and when
C1 [Grades K–5]. At recess and lunch, when [Student] has a problem with a peer that [Student] can’t solve with the class’s taught steps (stop, say it, walk away), or right away if anyone is hurt or [Student] feels unsafe (safety reports are expected every time and handled by school procedure, whatever the goal’s criterion), [Student] will tell a duty adult what happened in one sentence (“Sam took my ball and won’t give it back”), by speaking or with the picture card the IEP names, before going back to play, in at least 75% of recorded incidents over a 9-week grading period (at least 5 incidents; if fewer occur, the window runs on into the next period), as measured by the assigned recess paraprofessional’s incident card, reviewed weekly by the case manager (baseline: told an adult in 1 of 7 incidents in the previous 6 weeks; grabbed, pushed or hit in 4; walked off alone in 2). Report the incident count beside the percentage, since fewer incidents is progress too. With hitting in the baseline, ask whether the student needs a functional behavior assessment.
C2 [Grades 6–8]. During partner or small-group work, when [Student] is stuck on a step (logged when [Student] leaves the group, stops working for 60 seconds, or asks a group member about a step), [Student] will ask a group member about that step before leaving the group to find the teacher, with no teacher prompt, in at least 70% of logged opportunities across 4 consecutive weeks (at least 12), as measured by teacher event recording on the opportunity log (baseline: asked a group member in 1 of 9 opportunities over 2 weeks; left the group to find the teacher in 5; stopped working in 3). Use it only where the class routine is peers-first and the IEP doesn’t specify adult support.
C3 [Grades 6–8]. When the teacher is working with another student or group, [Student] will put up the help flag and keep working on the posted “while you wait” task until the teacher arrives, instead of calling out or walking up, on at least 80% of help requests in each of 2 consecutive weeks (at least 8 a week), as measured by a teacher tally of each request (flag / call-out / walk-up; kept working: yes/no; minutes to arrival) (baseline: 1 of 9 requests over 3 days met both parts; 2 used the flag, 7 were call-outs or walk-ups). The teacher reaches a flag within about 3 minutes, or sooner if [Student] can’t wait that long; if waits run longer, fix the routine first.
C4 [Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs], work site: model goal B.
At the community work site, when [Student] is unsure how to do an assigned task or runs out of supplies, [Student] will go to or message the designated supervisor, or the backup the site names (not a customer), within 3 minutes and tell them what is needed, by speaking, typing or with AAC, with no job-coach prompt, in at least 80% of opportunities logged across 4 consecutive weekly shifts (at least 8), as measured by the job coach’s opportunity log (time stuck, time asked, who was asked), and by the supervisor’s confirmation or the message log as the coach fades (baseline: asked the supervisor in 2 of 8 opportunities over 3 shifts; waited at the station for 6–15 minutes or asked a customer in the rest).
Making the request
R1 [Grades K–5], AAC or help card: model goal A.
During table tasks and centers, with [Student]’s AAC device or help card within arm’s reach, when [Student] can’t open, reach or finish a step of the activity, [Student] will select HELP on the device or hand the help card to the nearest adult within 30 seconds of getting stuck, with no more than a gesture prompt, in at least 80% of logged opportunities in each of 3 consecutive weeks (at least 10 opportunities a week), as measured by the paraprofessional’s opportunity log (opportunity, request yes/no, mode, prompt level, seconds), reviewed weekly by the SLP (baseline: 0 of 14 opportunities over 5 school days met these terms; [Student] requested twice, both after a full physical prompt, cried or pushed materials away in 6, and sat without signaling until an adult stepped in during the other 6).
R2 [Grades K–5]. At arrival and dismissal, when [Student] needs help with a zipper, backpack or lunchbox, [Student] will ask an adult with a request that names the item (“Help with my zipper, please”), by speaking or with a picture card, with no adult prompt, in at least 80% of opportunities across 15 consecutive school days (at least 24), as measured by a staff tally on the arrival and dismissal checklist (baseline: named the item in 1 of 10 opportunities over 5 days; said only “help”, whined or waited in the other 9). Adults wait about 5 seconds before stepping in, so the request has room to happen.
R3 [Grades 6–8]. When [Student] asks for help during independent work, [Student] will ask a spoken or written question that names the step and says what [Student] already tried or which part is unclear (“I did the first part, but I don’t get what number 3 is asking”), in at least 70% of logged requests over 4 consecutive weeks (at least 15), as scored by the request log’s two-point check (names the step; says what was tried or what is unclear) (baseline: 0 of 9 requests over 2 weeks met both points; 1 named the step, and most were “I don’t get it”).
R4 [Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs]. When [Student] misses a direction or doesn’t understand an assignment in a general education or college class, [Student] will send the teacher a message through the class platform, or hand in a written note, by the end of that school day, naming the assignment and the question, in at least 75% of such situations across a 9-week grading period (at least 8), as measured by the case manager’s weekly check-in, where a situation is any assignment that [Student] messaged about, or that came back missing or blank because [Student] missed or didn’t understand the directions (checked with [Student] at the check-in), and the teacher confirms which messages arrived (baseline: 0 of 5 situations in the previous 4 weeks; each time, the teacher learned of it from a missing or blank assignment).
R5 [Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs], community. On weekly community instruction trips, when [Student] can’t find an item on the shopping list after looking for 3 minutes, [Student] will approach a store employee and ask where it is, by speaking or by showing a typed note on [Student]’s phone, with no staff prompt, on 5 of 6 consecutive trips where an item can’t be found, as measured by the teacher’s community-trip checklist (baseline: asked on 0 of 4 such trips; left the item off or waited for staff to find it). Getting lost and street safety belong in a community safety goal.
Starting with the IEP in effect when the student turns 16 (younger where the IEP team or state requires it), tie the work-site and community goals (C4 and R5 above, P3 below) to the IEP’s measurable postsecondary goals for employment, training or, where appropriate, independent living, and to the transition services that support them (34 CFR 300.320(b)).
Goals for students who ask before they try
Some students ask for help with every problem before reading it. They have often learned that an adult arrives first, so the prompt has become part of the task. These goals measure the order, try and then ask. Each also requires the student to keep asking when the try doesn’t work, so a student who goes quiet meets none of them.
P1 [Grades K–5]. During 30-minute independent reading and writing blocks, [Student] will check off the step used on a three-step “try first” card (reread the direction, look at the model, ask a table partner) before raising the help signal, on at least 80% of help requests in each of 2 consecutive weeks (at least 5 a week), and will still raise the signal on every block with a logged stuck moment, as measured by the checked card and a teacher tally on the opportunity log (request; step checked: yes/no; stuck with no request) (baseline: 1 of 12 logged requests over 3 blocks came after a try-first step; most came within 20 seconds of a new direction).
P2 [Grades 6–8]. During a 25-minute independent work block, at least 80% of [Student]’s help requests will be about a step [Student] has attempted (work visible on the page), and [Student] will still ask after an attempt on blocks with a logged stuck moment, on 4 of 5 days for 2 consecutive weeks, as measured by a teacher tally of requests marked “attempted: yes/no” (baseline: met on 0 of 5 blocks; in a typical block, 3 of 11 requests came after an attempt). Track the number of requests per block as a separate monitoring number, never as a cap.
P3 [Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs], work site. At the work-based learning site, after being shown a task once and given its picture or written task card, [Student] will check the task card before asking the job coach or supervisor to repeat a direction, making no more than 1 repeat request per 2-hour shift without first checking the card, and will still ask after checking whenever the card doesn’t answer the question, on 6 of 8 consecutive shifts, as measured by the job coach’s tally of repeat requests per shift (card checked: yes/no) (baseline: met on 0 of 4 shifts; a median of 5 unchecked repeat requests per shift).
More asking for help goals by grade band
Each line below is a starting point: log a baseline in the same unit first, then set the numbers to fit the student.
| Skill or area | Grade band | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Noticing a problem | Grades K–5 | In planned “broken materials” probes (dry marker, empty glue stick), [Student] will show an adult the problem within 20 seconds on 8 of 10 probes, per the probe sheet. |
| AAC at snack | Grades K–5 | When a snack container won’t open, [Student] will select HELP on the AAC device with no more than a verbal prompt in 85% of opportunities over 10 school days, per the snack data sheet. |
| Getting attention | Grades K–5 | During centers, [Student] will say the adult’s name and wait for them to turn before asking, in 75% of requests over 3 weeks, per the para’s event log. |
| Asking before quitting | Grades K–5 | When stuck on phonics work, [Student] will say “Help, please” or hand over the help card before pushing the work away, in 9 of 12 logged opportunities, per the teacher’s tally. |
| Trying again | Grades K–5 | After an adult shows a step, [Student] will start it within 15 seconds, unprompted, in 80% of help episodes over 4 weeks, per the help log. |
| Reading partner | Grades K–5 | During partner reading, [Student] will ask the partner about an unknown word before raising a hand, on 70% of unknown words across 8 sessions, per the running record. |
| Hearing it again | Grades K–5 | When [Student] can’t repeat a planned two-step direction, [Student] will ask or sign “again” before starting, on 90% of those directions over 2 weeks, per the direction checklist. |
| Lunch packages | Grades K–5 | When a package won’t open after one try, [Student] will hand it to an adult and say or sign “open” within 30 seconds, unprompted, on 8 of 10 lunches, per the lunchroom checklist. |
| Asking in class | Grades 6–8 | In science, [Student] will ask at least 1 question a week about a topic marked “unsure” on an exit ticket, in 6 of 8 weeks, per the teacher’s question log. |
| Private signal | Grades 6–8 | In general education math, [Student] will use the agreed private help signal in at least 80% of observed stuck moments across 4 weekly observations, per the case manager’s form. |
| Missed work | Grades 6–8 | Within 2 school days of returning from an absence, [Student] will email each teacher for the missed work after 90% of absences in a semester, per the sent-mail folder. |
| Help sessions | Grades 6–8 | Within a week of a quiz score below 70%, [Student] will bring one written question to the teacher’s help session, after 5 of 6 such quizzes, per the sign-in sheet. |
| Tech problems | Grades 6–8 | When a device or login fails, [Student] will tell the teacher and name the problem within 5 minutes, in 80% of logged failures over a grading period, per the tech log. |
| Rating understanding | Grades 6–8 | After rating a lesson 1 or 2 on a 4-point understanding scale, [Student] will ask for help before leaving, in 85% of those lessons over 30 class days, per the exit tickets. |
| Reading support | Grades 6–8 | When a passage is too hard, [Student] will ask for a read-aloud or turn on text-to-speech, with no prompt beyond “What could you do?”, in 80% of opportunities across 15 sessions, per the prompt-level sheet. |
| Clarifying in discussion | Grades 6–8 | When [Student] doesn’t follow a group member’s point, [Student] will ask what they meant, scoring at least 3 on a 4-point rubric in 4 of 5 observed discussions, per the SLP’s rubric. |
| Test preparation | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | Before each unit test, [Student] will email or see the teacher with 2 specific study-guide questions, before 5 of 6 tests, per sent emails or teacher initials. |
| Checking finished work | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | At the work site, [Student] will ask the supervisor “Is this done right?” before starting the next task, on 90% of newly taught tasks across 6 shifts, per the job coach’s checklist. |
| Another explanation | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | When an explanation still doesn’t make sense, [Student] will ask in the same class period for another way (“Can you show me an example?”), naming what was unclear, on 70% of instances logged at weekly check-ins over a semester. |
| Service counters | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | When [Student] doesn’t understand a question from store or office staff, [Student] will ask them to repeat or explain it, unprompted, on 3 of 4 community trips where it happens, per the trip checklist. |
| Texting the job coach | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | When a step in [Student]’s task app is unclear, [Student] will text the job coach a photo and a one-line question within 10 minutes, on 8 of 10 logged occasions, per the text log. |
| Broken equipment | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | When a work-site tool stops working, [Student] will stop and tell the supervisor within 1 minute, without trying to fix it, on every logged occurrence over 9 weeks, per the incident log. |
| The right person | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | Given 10 written school and work problems, [Student] will name the right person to ask with 90% accuracy on 2 consecutive probes, per the scored probe sheet. |
| Fading the reminder | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs | In vocational class, [Student] will ask for help with no prompt beyond the posted visual reminder, in 80% of logged opportunities for 4 consecutive weeks, per the prompt-level log. |
Spoken words, a help card or an AAC button: how the student asks
The SLP and the team choose the request mode with the student. IDEA requires the team to consider the student’s communication needs and whether the student needs assistive technology devices and services (34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(iv)–(v)), so the mode in the goal should match the communication system the IEP already provides. Any device, card or SLP support the goal relies on belongs in the IEP’s services and supports as well.
| Mode | When it fits | What the goal names |
|---|---|---|
| Spoken phrase | The student speaks reliably under stress | The phrase, or “a request that names the step” |
| Sign | Adults in each setting know the sign | The sign, and who must recognize it |
| Picture or help card | A quick, quiet, portable mode | Where the card lives and who it goes to |
| HELP key on an AAC device | The student uses AAC | The device, the key, “within arm’s reach” |
| Help flag or hand signal | Whole-class settings with a waiting routine | The signal and the “while you wait” task |
| Written note, class-platform message or phone note | Grades 9–12 and 18–22 programs, work and community | The channel, the recipient and the deadline |
Every adult who works with the student knows the mode. Using the AAC device is never scored as a prompt: prompts are only what adults add (a gesture, a verbal cue, physical help), coded the same way as for a spoken request.
The help card can also go in the IEP as an accommodation every adult can deliver. As an accommodation, adults provide the card and honor it every time. As a goal, the team measures the student’s use of it.
A break request has a different job: it gets the student away from the task, while a help request gets the task done. Break goals belong with self-regulation IEP goals.
Teaching the request until no prompt is needed
Teach the request while the student is calm, on easy tasks first. A student already in tears over a worksheet is unlikely to pick up a new response then; in that moment, help, and keep the student’s familiar way of asking within reach.
- Model it. Adults press the HELP key or say the phrase themselves during ordinary work.
- Rehearse 2–3 scripts, short and the same every time: “Help, please.” “I’m stuck on number 4.”
- Build planned opportunities: a tight lid, a missing piece. Keep them brief, and mark them on the log as arranged. A planned opportunity never withholds a support the IEP promises, or anything the student needs for safety or comfort. For a student with a behavior plan, plan these with that team, start with easy setups and honor the request at once.
- Fade prompts with a wait. Give the cue, wait a set number of seconds, then prompt; lengthen the wait as the student answers sooner. This is time delay, which the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice lists as evidence-based for autistic learners, alongside prompting and functional communication training (Steinbrenner et al., 2020). Write the prompt order down so every adult uses it.
- Answer every request within about 10 seconds while the skill is new. A request nobody answers stops. Teach “not yet, I’ll be there in a minute” later, as its own step.
- Generalize to other adults, rooms and peers once the request is steady with one.
Check first whether asking for help appropriately is already taught to the whole class as one of the positive classroom behaviors; the IEP goal builds on that routine.
Rewriting a “4 out of 5 opportunities” goal
This goal comes from an earlier version of this page:
“By (date), the student will ask for help from a teacher or peer in academic settings when they do not understand a task or cannot proceed, in 4 out of 5 opportunities, as observed by educators.”
It reads well, but it never defines the opportunity, the period, the mode or the baseline, so it can’t be audited. Here it is against a monitor’s questions.
| The draft says | A monitor would ask | The rewrite says |
|---|---|---|
| “when they do not understand a task or cannot proceed” | Who decided they didn’t understand, and when? | “has made no progress for 60 seconds with the materials out, still has an error after a second try, or hasn’t started a direction 30 seconds after it was given because [Student] doesn’t know what it asks” |
| “in 4 out of 5 opportunities, as observed by educators” | Which five, over what period, written down where? | “in at least 70% of logged opportunities in each of 3 consecutive weeks (at least 8 a week), as measured by the teacher’s opportunity log” |
| (no baseline; no mode; no prompt level; no time limit) | What did the student do before, how will they ask, and how soon? | “(baseline: asked in 2 of 11 opportunities over 5 days)”; “using the mode the IEP names”; “within 2 minutes”; “with no adult prompt” |
The rewritten goal in full:
By [date], during independent work in math and ELA, when [Student] has made no progress for 60 seconds with the materials out, still has an error after a second try, or hasn’t started a direction 30 seconds after it was given because [Student] doesn’t know what it asks, [Student] will ask a teacher or peer for help within 2 minutes, using the mode the IEP names (for example, saying “I need help with ___”, raising the help flag, or the HELP key on [Student]’s AAC device), with no adult prompt, in at least 70% of logged opportunities in each of 3 consecutive weeks (at least 8 a week), as measured by the teacher’s opportunity log (baseline: asked in 2 of 11 opportunities over 5 days; head down or erasing in the rest).
When asking for help replaces a problem behavior
Some students tear up work or leave the room when a task gets hard. Where the student has a functional behavior assessment (FBA) and a behavior intervention plan (BIP), the FBA names what the behavior gets the student, and the replacement request follows from that finding. When the behavior shows up on hard tasks but not easy ones, a help request is often the match, because help removes what makes the task hard to bear. When it shows up whatever the difficulty, the function may be escape from the task itself, which points to a break request, or something else, such as adult attention. Many plans teach more than one request.
That is functional communication training (FCT): work out what the behavior communicates, then teach a more acceptable way to communicate the same thing, starting with a form that takes little effort (AFIRM, Functional Communication Training). If the behavior includes leaving the room or aggression, the BIP’s safety procedures come first; the request is taught alongside them, never in place of them.
Three documents have to line up:
- The FBA names the function and the moments it happens in. Check your state’s rule on whether an individual FBA counts as an evaluation that needs parental consent.
- The BIP sets how fast adults answer the request, the prompt order, and how they respond to the old behavior.
- The IEP goal measures the student’s request, using the same definition of “request” and the same opportunity as the FBA and the BIP.
IDEA requires the team to consider positive behavioral interventions and supports when behavior impedes the student’s learning or that of others (34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(i)).
A help-request log you can keep while teaching
Log opportunities as well as requests: six requests mean one thing if the student was stuck 7 times and another if it was 30.
Keep the same log every day the goal is active, filled in just after the moment; a row takes under a minute. Time requests with a wrist timer or a silent count, or write “≤30” and “>30” where exact seconds aren’t practical. Here is one week of example data for model goal A, in the printable’s columns.
Count of: requests for help (HELP key or card) within 30 s, ≤ gesture prompt · An opportunity is: can’t open, reach or finish a step
| Date | Setting | Opportunities | Count (met the goal’s terms) | Mode | Prompts | Time, each one | What happened just before |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Centers | 3 | 2 | AAC, AAC, AAC | 0, G, P | 20 s, 25 s, 70 s | glue lid stuck; paper ran out; marker cap |
| Tue | Table task | 2 | 1 | card, card | 0, V | 15 s, 45 s | scissors out of reach; zip bag |
| Wed | Centers | 3 | 2 | AAC, card, AAC | G, 0, 0 | 10 s, 28 s, 50 s | paint jar; tape; puzzle piece missing |
| Thu | Table task | 3 | 2 | AAC, AAC, AAC | 0, 0, P | 12 s, 18 s, 40 s | box lid; glue stick; cried, then P at 40 s |
| Fri | Centers | 2 | 2 | AAC, card | G, 0 | 9 s, 22 s | marker cap; paper |
| Week | 13 | 9 | counted: AAC 6, card 3 | all 13 requests: G 3, V 1, P 2 | median 18 s (counted requests) |
Key: G = gesture, V = verbal, P = physical, 0 = no prompt. Each entry in Mode, Prompts and Time lines up with one request. Not counted: Monday’s third request (70 s, physical prompt), Tuesday’s second (45 s, verbal prompt), Wednesday’s third (50 s) and Thursday’s third (40 s, physical prompt).
Two fidelity checks go at the foot of each day: device or card in reach (yes/no), and every request answered within about 10 seconds (yes/no).
The week is 9 of 13 (69%), against a baseline of 0 of 14 and a criterion of 80%.
Print a blank copy (one page, no sign-up): Download the frequency and latency data sheet (PDF, one page)
Graph each week’s percentage (counted requests ÷ opportunities) against an aim line from 0% at baseline to 80% at the goal date.
Judge the graph every 2 weeks, with a formal review at each progress report on the schedule the IEP states (34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)).
- Write the decision rule before the data comes in, for example 3 consecutive weekly points below the aim line. The National Center on Intensive Intervention describes the cycle: plan the tool, goal and review schedule, graph often, and intensify when progress is insufficient (NCII).
- When the rule triggers, check the two fidelity lines first. Then change the teaching (more planned opportunities, a shorter wait before the prompt) before the goal. After 3 weeks at or above the line, fade the prompt or add a setting.
- Watch the opportunity count. Under the goal’s weekly minimum (10 for model goal A), add planned opportunities. A day with none is recorded as “no opportunity”, not scored.
- Once a month, a second adult logs the same session on their own (compare the counts), and someone takes the same data in a second setting.
- Each progress report states the goal’s numbers (“9 of 13, 69%; goal 80%”), not only “progressing”. For N2 and N4, card–log agreement is itself a reportable number. The daily logs stay with the student’s records.
Tell families in plain words: “This week Ava asked for help with her talker or help card 9 of the 13 times she got stuck, within 30 seconds and with no more than a pointing cue. In September it was 0 of 14: she asked twice, both times with hand-over-hand help. Her goal is 80% for 3 weeks in a row.” Then one line for home: the same HELP button or phrase works best when adults at home answer it the same way.
Quick answers on asking for help goals
What is a good IEP goal for asking for help when needed?
A good one defines “when needed” so every adult counts the same moments, names how the student asks, and sets a criterion against a logged baseline. For example: during independent work, when [Student] has made no progress for 60 seconds, [Student] will ask for help within 2 minutes in the mode the IEP names, with no adult prompt, in at least 70% of logged opportunities in each of 3 consecutive weeks (baseline: 2 of 11).
How do you measure asking for help in an IEP goal?
Count the opportunities as well as the requests. Each time the student is stuck, log whether a request came, its mode, the prompt level and the seconds it took. Graph requests divided by opportunities each week against an aim line, judge the graph every 2 weeks, and give the goal’s numbers at each progress report.
Is asking for help a self-advocacy goal?
Yes, as one part of it: asking for help is the piece of self-advocacy a student uses many times a day, while broader self-advocacy goals also cover explaining needs and taking part in the IEP meeting. Those goals are covered in the self-advocacy IEP goals guide listed under the related resources below.
What are some IEP goals for self-help skills?
“Self-help” usually means daily living: dressing, eating, toileting and hygiene. Asking for help fits inside those routines wherever a step is still beyond the student, as in R2 (a zipper or backpack at arrival) and the lunch-package row in the grade-band table. For whole routines taught with task analysis and prompt fading, see Ori Learning’s guide to daily living skills IEP goals.
Planning who to ask: an Adult Transition (18+) lesson
The Adult Transition (18+) course in Ori Learning’s Transition Curriculum, written for adult learners, including students in 18–22 programs, has a Self-Determination lesson called “Where I Need Support”. Students learn two steps: “Recognize When You Need Support”, with moments like instructions that still don’t make sense after reading them a few times, and “Ask for Support”, with model scripts such as “I don’t understand this question. Can you explain it to me?”
The practice comes at three task levels, matched to the student. Task A sorts skills into strengths and challenges. Task B gives scenarios such as Liam, who doesn’t understand a test question and can wait or ask the teacher. Task C builds “My Support Plan”: a situation, a person or resource, and the exact words, with the instruction “Decide how you will ask for help and write it down. Use clear and polite language.” Students working on Task C leave with their own words for the asking step. Lessons include text-to-speech with adjustable speed, adjustable zoom and speech-to-text in open-response boxes.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education. 34 CFR 300.320, Definition of individualized education program: (a)(1) present levels, (a)(2)(i) measurable annual goals, (a)(3) how progress is measured and when it is reported, (b) postsecondary goals from age 16. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
- U.S. Department of Education. 34 CFR 300.324, Development, review, and revision of IEP: (a)(2)(i) positive behavioral interventions and supports; (a)(2)(iv) communication needs; (a)(2)(v) assistive technology. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.
- National Center on Intensive Intervention. Data-Based Individualization: Progress Monitoring. American Institutes for Research.
- Steinbrenner, J. R., Hume, K., Odom, S. L., Morin, K. L., Nowell, S. W., Tomaszewski, B., Szendrey, S., McIntyre, N. S., Yücesoy-Özkan, S., & Savage, M. N. (2020). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism. FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice Review Team.
- AFIRM Team. Functional Communication Training brief packet. FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Ryan, A. M., Pintrich, P. R., & Midgley, C. (2001). Avoiding seeking help in the classroom: Who and why? Educational Psychology Review, 13(2), 93–114.
