WINTER IEP SERIES · PART 1 OF 3

Read Between

the Goals

What behavior analysts should look for in an IEP

Live webinar · Wednesday, November 4 · NOON ET
FREE · 1 BACB Learning CEU

Each session stands on its own. Join one, or all three.

FOR BEHAVIOR ANALYSTS WHO’VE BEEN THERE

Sound familiar?

A parent sends you their child’s IEP the night before the meeting and asks, “Does this look okay?”

The behavior goal says the student will “demonstrate appropriate behavior 80% of the time,” and you’re not sure where to start.

The present levels describe a student you barely recognize from the one you work with every day.

You already have the skills to answer these questions. This CEU shows you where to point them.

Families, schools, and clinical teams ask behavior analysts to weigh in on IEPs all the time. But most of us were never taught how to read the IEP document itself, or where our expertise fits inside it.

You already know how to look at data and judge whether a goal is meaningful. This CEU shows you how to apply those skills to IEP goals: comparing a student’s documented needs to the goals written for them, checking whether the available data actually support those goals, and turning what you notice into clear, data-informed questions for the IEP team.

We’ll walk through examples goal by goal, so you leave knowing exactly what to look for the next time an IEP lands in your inbox.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

Identify discrepancies between a student’s documented needs and the annual goals included in their IEP.
Evaluate IEP goals to determine whether they target meaningful skills and whether the available data support the proposed goals.
Formulate data-informed questions to address missing information, unsupported assumptions, or inconsistencies identified during an IEP goal review.

Free · 1 BACB Learning CEU

Coming next: Part 2 is a $9 ethics CEU in December, and everyone who joins it receives a code to attend Part 3 free.

Save My Seat

TRY IT

Spot the problem

Here’s a goal you might find in a real IEP:

“Jordan will demonstrate appropriate classroom behavior with 80% accuracy, as measured by teacher observation, by the end of the IEP year.”

What questions would you bring to the IEP team about this goal? Take a minute and see how many you can come up with.

We’ll work through this goal, and others like it, live on November 4 at NOON ET.

Save My Seat

ONE SERIES · THREE PARTS · ANY ORDER

The Winter IEP Series

Three live CEUs, each focused on a different part of the IEP. Every session stands on its own, so you can join one, two, or all three, in any order.

PART 1 · THE IEP DOCUMENT

Read Between the Goals

Wednesday, November 4 (You are here)
What behavior analysts should look for in IEP goals, and the data behind them.

PART 2 · THE IEP MEETING

Not the Enemy

Wednesday, December 9
Working with school teams as a behavior analyst at IEP meetings. Registration opens in November.

PART 3 · THE IEP PROCESS

When the IEP Goes Sideways

Wednesday, January 13
What behavior analysts can contribute, from evaluation to disagreement. Registration opens in December.

Part 1 is free. Join Part 2 and you’ll receive a code to attend Part 3 free.

Who Am I?

I’m Dr. Annie McLaughlin, a doctoral-level behavior analyst (BCBA-D) who is passionate about helping other behavior analysts learn about special education and IEP advocacy.

I've been a behavior analyst in the public schools, a special education school, and in clinics since 2010.

My PhD is in Special Education from the University of Washington. That is really where I fell in love with the intersection of behavior analysis and the public school system.

After becoming a mother of a medically complex child, I needed to navigate the public system for early intervention. Even with my background and training, I really felt lost and overwhelmed.

Around 2012, I decided to lean into a curiosity I had about IEP advocacy.

After a lot of trial and error, humbling mistakes, consultations outside of behavior analysis, and calling in all of the favors I could, I was able to start and grow a thriving private pay IEP advocacy business, training, and public speaking company!

As I attended numerous IEP meetings each week, I continued to hear things like, "You are the only BCBA who I've met who knows special education." and "Wow, can we have more behavior analysts who know about special education?"

It is truly what has led me to disseminate special education to behavior analysts in a way that allows them (YOU!) to understand and apply it.

Fourteen years later, I run an IEP advocacy business with three full-time IEP advocates, and I’ve trained more than 100 BCBAs in IEP advocacy. We are passionate about walking with families through the special education process and supporting behavior analysts in understanding special education.

I hope you join me to learn how to read an IEP with a behavior analyst’s eye.