Beyond the Basics: 200+ Life Skills Goals!

Step into the next level of functional, affirming care with Beyond the Basics, a comprehensive 220-goal bank designed for older learners, teens, and transition-age individuals. This goal bank goes far beyond traditional academic goals, offering concrete, neurodivergent-affirming objectives across all major domains of independent and adult life.

Perfect for BCBAs, special educators, therapists, and parents, this tool is your go-to resource for creating personalized, inclusive programs that prioritize autonomy, identity, and real-world readiness. Each goal is developmentally appropriate, written in natural environment language, and designed to promote functional independence, dignity, and choice-making, whether you're building an IEP, ABA program, or transition plan.

🌟 Why You'll Love It:

• Designed specifically for learners aged 12 through adulthood, including teens and transition-age youth

• Each section includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced/complex goals to support individualized scaffolding and skill development

• Perfect for ABA programs, school teams, IEP/504 planning, transition services, and therapeutic support

• Written by a practicing BCBA with extensive experience supporting older, complex learners across settings

• Helps you make goal writing faster, more intentional, and more reflective of real-life outcomes

Includes All 11 Sections (Each with 20 Goals):

1. Autonomy & Self-Advocacy – Communication of needs, wants, boundaries, and accommodations

2. Daily Self-Care & Routines – Dressing, hygiene, scheduling, and independence in daily tasks

3. Independent Living Skills – Money use, cooking, household tasks, digital safety

4. Social Relationships & Boundaries – Friendship, consent, red flags in dating and friendship

5. Health, Sexuality & Menstruation – Body awareness, sexual safety, and menstruation education

6. School Skills & Academic Independence – Flexible task completion, organization, asking for help

7. College Readiness: Self-Advocacy and Preparation – 504 planning, professor communication, scheduling

8. Vocational & Work-Readiness Skills – Job exploration, workplace routines, requesting support

9. Community Participation & Safety – Public transit, emergency responses, navigating public spaces

10. Self-Esteem & Reflection – Coping strategies, self-reflection, identifying needs

11. Leisure, Play, and Identity Development – Expressive interests, joyful downtime, authentic self-expression

    Sample Goals:

• Self-advocacy: Client will participate in a planning meeting (e.g., IEP, therapy, job prep) and communicate at least 2 priorities or preferences.

• Self-care routines: Client will use a calendar or reminder system to plan for irregular hygiene needs (e.g., haircut, dentist, skincare) with 90% independence.

• Independent Living: Client will identify a problem in their living environment (e.g., full trash, broken light, empty fridge) and take appropriate action (fix or report) with 90% independence.

• Social Relationships & Boundaries: Client will explain the concept of consent in the context of personal space, social interaction, and physical contact across 3 environments.

• Health: Client will identify and advocate for accommodations or supports needed during menstruation, illness, or physical discomfort in real-life or simulated settings across 3 different environments.

• College Readiness: Client will prepare a folder or digital file containing all necessary documents for disability-related college meetings.

• Vocational Readiness: Client will research and identify 2–3 job or volunteer options aligned with personal strengths, preferences, or sensory needs.

• Self-esteem & Reflection: Client will identify and reframe one self-critical thought using a strength-based or neutral alternative (e.g., “I messed up” → “I’m learning”) in 80% of role-play or journaling sessions.
  

Disclaimer: The goals included in this resource are sample goals created by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and are intended to serve as inspiration and a starting point for developing individualized objectives. They are not intended to be copied and pasted directly into treatment plans, IEPs, or clinical documents without careful consideration of the unique needs, preferences, developmental level, and cultural background of the learner. For a comprehensive approach, it is highly encouraged to collaborate with other professionals, such as counselors, psychologists, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), occupational therapists (OTs), educators, and, most importantly, the learner and their family when crafting individualized goals. Always align your programming with ethical guidelines, professional standards, and informed consent!