Do the symptoms of language disorder align with treatment goals? An exploratory study of primary-grade students’ IEPs

•We investigated the alignment between children's symptoms and IEP goals across four areas of language.•Using a cut point analysis (multilevel logistic regression), no alignment was found between symptoms and IEP goals.•Using hierarchical linear modeling, there was alignment between vocabulary symptoms and vocabulary goals.•No alignment was found for grammar, listening comprehension, or literacy when analyzing the scores continuously.

Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are legal documents that guide the treatment of students with language disorder (LD). This exploratory study investigated the extent to which students’ symptoms of LD align with goals on their IEPs.A total of 99 kindergarten and first-grade students receiving treatment for LD in the public schools participated. IEPs were collected and coded for each student and norm-referenced measures were used to assess students’ grammar, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and literacy skills in the fall of the academic year.Results showed there to be alignment between students’ symptoms and IEP goals only in the area of vocabulary, such that students who had an IEP goal for vocabulary had lower scores on a vocabulary assessment than those without a goal.In general, there is limited alignment between observed symptoms of LD and treated symptoms as identified on students’ IEPs. The limited alignment found in this study suggests more investigation is needed to understand the extent to which IEP goals, as potential indicators of treatment foci, should map on to students’ symptoms.Learning outcomes: Readers will be able to: (1) explain the theoretical and practical relevance of treatment goals aligning to symptoms for children with language impairment; (2) identify three analytic methods used to investigate alignment between treatment goals and symptoms; and (3) describe the extent to which IEP goals align to children's symptoms in a sample of children receiving services in the public schools.