Training Goal Writing: A Practical and Systematic Approach

Purpose Goal writing is a practice that happens every day across all settings of the field. However, it presents a challenge for all clinical educators, for many supervisors of clinical fellows, and for some professionals transitioning to new work settings. Whereas some settings have developed templates or goal banks for common goals, most speech-language pathologists find themselves engaged in the practice of goal development on a regular basis. The purpose of this endeavor was to develop a functional, concrete, visual tool to support writing goals that are customized for each person, place, and pathology and that adhere to the theories of behavioral change. Method A flowchart was initially developed from practice-based evidence. Modifications were made based on review of the literature, discussion with colleagues, and trials with students in clinic. Conclusion This flowchart is considered an evolving tool and is not being presented as evidence based. This tutorial will describe how supervisors can use the flowchart to train goal writing.