Common difficulties when writing ISSPs
The process of writing ISSPs should be fairly straightforward when all of the information is available and is well organized. Difficulties may occur in writing ISSPs for some of the following reasons:
Example: Jason
Goal: Jason will develop age appropriate social skills
The problem:
It is very difficult to determine which of Jason's strengths relate to this particular goal since one cannot get a picture of exactly what Jason will be doing when he arrives at this goal.
Alternative goal: Jason will greet strangers verbally.
From here, we can see that related strengths might be:
Strengths: Jason ...
- readily smiles at strangers.
- expresses affection easily.
- likes to meet new people.
Jason's needs related to this goal, which easily translate into outcomes, might be:
Needs: Jason needs to...
- respect personal space when meeting new people.
- use one the following phrases when meeting new people:
Hello, my name is Jason.
It's nice to meet you.
How do you do?
Example: Sarah
Strength: Sarah is emerging as a reader.
The problem:
This statement can describe almost any child. In an attempt to be positive, the statement actually says very little which will help us teach Sarah.
Alternative strengths:
Sarah holds a book with the appropriate orientation.
Sarah recognizes 6 common environmental print symbols.
Sarah can remember short passages from familiar storybooks.
Sarah can read her name and recognizes 8 letters of the alphabet.
Example: Tom
Goal: Tom will read at a mid-grade 2 level.
The problem:
How does one define a "mid-grade 2" reading level? How will we know when Tom has arrived there? Reading is such a complex process that a statement this broad does not give one a picture of Tom's reading skills.
Alternative goal:
Tom will make use of syntactic cues when reading new passages.
Example: Colleen
Outcome: Colleen will improve her social skills
The problem:
How will one know when Colleen has improved her social skills?
What will she be doing when she has improved these skills?
This statement doesn't give a picture of Colleen and what she is working toward; it could be descriptive of almost any child.
Alternative outcomes:
Colleen will attend teen dances with her circle of friends.
Colleen will maintain eye contact during a 5 minute conversation with a friend.
Example: Shannon
Outcome: Shannon will improve her fine motor skills.
The problem:
This is so broad for an outcome that one cannot get a sense of Shannon's skills or what she needs to develop in the fine motor area. How will we know, at the end of the review period, whether she has achieved this outcome?
Alternative outcome:
Shannon will print her full name independently, using a pencil grip.
Example: Joey
Need: Joey, a 4 year old, needs a book read to him.
The problem:
Individual support services plans should reflect what the child needs to be able to do. The need should be active, and use a verb to show what the child needs to learn. Joey is blind and is in the process of learning braille. In the mean time his parents are anxious for him to keep up with his peers.
Alternative
Need:
Joey needs to tactually follow braille as a book is read to him.
Supports/services:
Joey requires books on audio tape
Joey's parents must schedule time to read to him at home.
Joey must access services of the CNIB and the itinerant teacher for the visually impaired.
Joey's family must be provided with twin vision (braille and print) books.
Example: Henry
Outcome: Henry will complete thirty 2-digit addition equations with 90% accuracy.
The problem:
While addition is an important aspect of some childrens' programs and while it is an important skill, it is important only insofar as it enables one to solve real world problems. Henry is fourteen and has been struggling with mathematics for several years. It might be more authentic and relevant for Henry if he were to learn addition because it enabled him to find the answer to a problem which he wanted to solve. The real outcome for Henry is problem solving.
Alternative outcome:
Henry will use a calculator to solve addition problems involving the amount of lumber needed to construct a project.
Example: Craig
Outcome: Craig will identify potentially frustrating situations, mentally repeat his problem solving steps when in such situations, and inform an adult if he needs a place to cool down.
The problem:
There are at least three things that Craig has to do here. If Craig actually needs to work on each of these components and if they will be evaluated separately, then each one should be a separate outcome. This will help Craig feel a sense of accomplishment and will help his parents and caregivers to focus their efforts on one aspect of Craig's strategy at a time. The three components may be sequential and may indeed be taught in a unified way, but should be identified as separate outcomes for the ISSP.
Alternative outcomes:
Craig will identify potentially frustrating situations.
Craig will mentally repeat his problem solving steps when in a frustrating situation.
Craig will inform an adult if he needs a place to cool down.
Example: Terry
Outcome: Using a 10 cm foam ball tossed at him from a distance of 3 meters, increasing to a distance of 7 meters, Terry will catch the ball by grasping it using two hands, with 90% success.
The problem:
Sometimes a high degree of specificity and accuracy is important, especially if the skill involves potential danger or risk to oneself or another. While there are situations where being very prescriptive is important, there are many situations where being overly prescriptive in the outcome can restrict the practitioner and can cause the instruction/intervention to become very rigid and meaningless. Care needs to be taken that the degree of prescription is not over-done wherever possible and that the creativity of the teacher/practitioner is not stymied unnecessarily.
Alternative outcome:
Terry will catch a ball with two hands thrown to him from increasing distances.