Understanding Your Child's Therapy Goals: A Guide for Parents

If your child is in therapy, you will probably hear the word ‘goals’ often. Goals are the heart of a therapy plan. They describe what the therapist and your family are working towards and give everyone a shared way to see progress. This guide explains what therapy goals are, how they are written and how you can take part.

A therapy goal is a specific, observable skill or change. It describes what your child will do, under what conditions and how well. For example, a goal might be that your child asks for a preferred item using a two-word phrase during snack time, with a prompt, on four out of five opportunities. Goals like this are easier to understand and easier to measure than general aims such as ‘improve communication’.

Clear goals help the therapist choose activities, help families know what to practise and help everyone recognise progress. They also protect against vague sessions where lots of activity happens but little changes. When goals are written with the family’s priorities in mind, therapy is more likely to fit into daily life.

Many clinicians use a structure that includes the skill, the context or setting, the level of support needed and the criterion for success. Some also set a timeframe for review. The exact format varies between services, but the principle is the same: a goal should be clear enough that two different people would agree on whether it has been met.

Long-term goals describe broader outcomes, such as participating in class discussions or managing self-care more independently. Short-term goals break these down into smaller steps that can be reached in weeks. Your child may have goals in several areas at once, and the team should explain how they connect.

Goals are not promises, and progress rarely follows a straight line. A child may master a skill in therapy and lose it briefly during a stressful week. Plateaus, illness and changes at school all affect progress. A good plan allows for these ups and downs and includes regular, honest reviews.

Write goals on a single sheet and keep it where you can see it. Choose everyday moments to practise, such as shopping, dressing or play. Celebrate small wins, and share them with your therapist, since they help the team adjust the plan.

A therapy goal is a clear, measurable step towards something that matters to your child and family. Take part in setting it, ask how it will be measured, practise in daily life and review it together regularly.