Nov 11, 2026 · 11 min read

How to Write Speech Therapy Goals: A SMART Format With Examples

Documentation Progress notes

Good speech therapy goals do two jobs. They tell you what to work on and when it's done, and they show anyone reading the file (a payer, a funding body, a school, a parent) that therapy is working. Goal banks give you lists to copy, but a copied goal rarely fits the client in front of you. This guide shows you how to write the goal yourself: a four-part formula, rewrites of weak goals, worded examples across the main areas of practice, and how to carry each goal through your session notes.

It's written for speech-language pathologists (SLPs), speech pathologists and speech and language therapists, especially those setting up in private practice. It covers how to word a goal, not what to treat: the targets come from your own assessment and clinical judgment.

The speech therapy goal formula

Every measurable goal answers four questions. Write them in this order and you'll rarely end up with a vague goal:

Put together: Within 12 weeks, the client will produce /s/ in the initial position of words during structured picture naming, given a single verbal model, with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.

A few rules make the formula work:

• Start with the client, not yourself. "The client will…", not "The therapist will teach…". The goal describes what the client does.
• Use observable verbs. Produce, name, request, follow, answer, use, initiate, retell. Avoid "understand", "improve", "know" and "work on", which can't be counted.
• One skill per goal. If the behavior joins two different skills (say, phrase length and answering questions), it's two goals. A set of related targets, like /k/ and /g/, can share one goal.
• Start from a baseline. Record what the client can do now, under the same conditions the goal names. "Currently produces initial /s/ in 20% of words in picture naming" makes an 80% target meaningful to anyone who reads the file.

SMART goals in speech therapy: the final check

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) is the check the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) recommends for goals that will face payer or audit review. Once you've written a goal with the formula, run it through these questions, which follow ASHA's SMART goal guidance:

• Specific: Does it name the client and one skill?
• Measurable: Does it state accuracy, frequency or duration, plus the context and level of cueing?
• Achievable: Is it realistic from the baseline, in the time and sessions available?
• Relevant: Does it address a need documented in your assessment, matter in the client's daily life, school or work, and match their developmental or functional level?
• Timely: Does it have a real deadline? ASHA advises setting a clear deadline and avoiding "by discharge".

Weak vs strong goals: five rewrites

Most weak goals are missing one or two parts of the formula. Here's what that looks like and how to fix it.

1. No criterion or condition

• Weak: Client will improve articulation of /r/.
• Strong: Within 16 weeks, the client will produce vocalic /r/ in words within short phrases during structured activities, given visual cues, with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.
• What changed: "improve" became an observable behavior, with a level (phrases), support (visual cues), criterion and deadline.

2. A verb you can't count

• Weak: Client will understand spatial concepts.
• Strong: Within 10 weeks, the client will follow one-step directions containing the spatial concepts in, on and under during play-based tasks, with no more than one repetition, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
• What changed: "understand" became "follow directions", which you can observe and score.

3. Two skills in one goal

• Weak: Client will use 3-word phrases and answer wh- questions.
• Strong: two separate goals, each with its own criterion: Within 12 weeks, the client will use 3-word phrases to request during play, in at least 10 spontaneous instances per 20-minute session. and Within 12 weeks, the client will answer 'what' questions about a familiar picture book with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions. Now you can report that one is met and the other is still progressing.

4. "By discharge"

• Weak: By discharge, the client will speak fluently.
• Strong: Within 8 weeks, the client will use easy onset independently when ordering at a café or shop, in at least 3 of 4 real-world speaking opportunities, as recorded by the client and the clinician.
• What changed: a date replaced "discharge", and a specific strategy in a real situation replaced an all-or-nothing target.

5. Describes the therapy, not the client

• Weak: Therapist will provide modeling to increase vocabulary.
• Strong: Within 12 weeks, the client will spontaneously use 10 new action words to comment during shared book reading at home, as recorded by the parent on a weekly checklist.
• What changed: the goal now describes what the client does, and names who collects the data and where.

Long-term and short-term goals: how to split them

A long-term goal (LTG) is where the client should be at the end of the plan of care, often 6 to 12 months out, or the length of the authorization or school year. Short-term goals (STGs, or objectives) are the steps on the way there, usually set over 4 to 12 weeks so you can show progress at each review.

ASHA's documentation guidance expects a plan of care to include both short- and long-term measurable, functional goals. Payers and funding bodies set their own review intervals, so check what yours requires.

Build each STG by moving one or more of these a step closer to the LTG:

• Linguistic level: sound → syllable → word → phrase → sentence → conversation
• Support: maximal → moderate → minimal cues → independent
• Context: structured clinic task → play or conversation in clinic → home, school or community
• Criterion: a lower accuracy or fewer opportunities first, then the final target

Here's an articulation goal broken down that way:

• LTG (6 months): The client will produce /k/ and /g/ in all word positions in spontaneous conversation at home and in clinic, with 90% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.
• STG 1 (6 weeks): The client will produce /k/ in the final position of single words during picture naming, given a visual cue, with 80% accuracy across 2 consecutive sessions.
• STG 2 (12 weeks): The client will produce /k/ and /g/ in all positions of words in short phrases, with minimal cues, with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.
• STG 3 (18 weeks): The client will produce /k/ and /g/ in sentences during a retell task, independently, with 85% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.

Each STG is a goal in its own right, written with the full formula, so you can mark it met, ongoing or revised.

Speech therapy goal examples by area

These examples show the wording pattern for each area. Swap in the targets, criteria and timeframes from your own assessment. They're examples of structure, not recommended targets.

Articulation and phonology

• Within 10 weeks, the client will produce two-syllable words without weak syllable deletion during picture naming, given a model, in 8 of 10 opportunities across 2 sessions.
• Within 12 weeks, the client will self-correct errors on /s/ blends in sentences when given a nonverbal cue, in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions.

Expressive language goals

• Within 12 weeks, the client will use 3-word phrases (agent + action + object) to comment during play with a parent, in at least 10 spontaneous instances per 20-minute observation.
• Within 10 weeks, the client will retell a familiar short story including character, setting, problem and ending, with a visual story map, in 4 of 5 retells.
• Adult example: Within 8 weeks, the client will name common household objects in a structured naming task, using a self-cueing strategy, with 70% accuracy across 3 sessions.

Receptive language

• Within 10 weeks, the client will answer "who" and "where" questions about a picture scene with 80% accuracy, given one repetition, across 3 consecutive sessions.
• Within 12 weeks, the client will follow two-step classroom directions without visual support in 4 of 5 opportunities, as observed by the teacher and the clinician.

Fluency goals for speech therapy

Many clinicians write fluency goals around strategy use, communication participation and the client's own goals, rather than a percentage of fluent speech. The stuttering example on ASHA's SMART goals page follows that pattern.

• Within 8 weeks, the client will use a chosen fluency strategy independently when answering the phone at work, in at least 3 of 4 calls per week, as recorded in a self-monitoring log.
• Within 12 weeks, the client will rate their speaking confidence at 3 or higher on a 1 to 5 scale agreed with the clinician after giving a classroom presentation of at least 2 minutes, in 2 of 3 presentations.
• Within 10 weeks, the client will identify moments of physical tension during a 5-minute conversation with the clinician, in 4 of 5 moments the clinician observes.

Pragmatics and social communication

Write these around what the client wants from interactions, in the settings where those interactions happen.

• Within 12 weeks, the client will start a conversation with a peer about a shared interest during lunch or free time, at least twice per week, as observed by staff.
• Within 10 weeks, the client will use a phrase to request a break or ask for help when needed during group sessions, with no more than one gestural prompt, in 4 of 5 opportunities.

AAC

• Within 12 weeks, the client will use their speech-generating device to request preferred items or activities during snack and play routines with a classroom aide, with no more than a gestural prompt, in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 sessions.
• Within 16 weeks, the client will combine two symbols (such as "more" + an item) on their communication board to request or comment with a familiar partner, in at least 5 spontaneous instances per session across 3 sessions.

Name who the communication partner is (clinician, parent, aide) in AAC goals, because performance often differs between partners.

Choosing the criterion and cueing level

The criterion is where most goals get challenged in a review, so make it deliberate:

• Accuracy (%) suits tasks with clear right and wrong responses, like sound production or answering questions. Always pair it with the number of trials or sessions, or the percentage means little.
• Opportunities ("in 4 of 5 opportunities") suits skills that come up naturally, such as requesting, initiating or using a strategy.
• Frequency ("10 instances per 20-minute sample") suits spontaneous behaviors like commenting or phrase use.
• A rating scale or rubric suits skills that aren't right or wrong, like narrative quality or speaking confidence. Attach the rubric to the plan so the score means the same thing at every review.
• Consistency ("across 3 consecutive sessions") shows the skill is stable, not a one-off good day.

Cueing terms like "minimal" and "moderate" mean different things to different clinicians. Define them once in your plan (for example, "minimal cues: one verbal or visual reminder per 5 responses") and use the same definitions in every note.

Tracking speech therapy goals in session notes

A goal only holds up if your notes show data against it. ASHA notes that treatment notes typically record progress toward functional goals, compared with prior sessions. In practice, that means each note:

1. Names the goal it addressed (STG 1, STG 2), so a reviewer can follow the thread.
2. Records data in the same terms as the goal: same task, same cueing level, same criterion type.
3. Compares it with the last session or baseline.
4. States the next step: continue, increase difficulty, fade cues or revise.

Example objective section from a session note:

STG 1: Final /k/ in single words, picture naming, visual cue: 17/20 (85%). Previous session 14/20 (70%). Baseline 4/20 (20%). STG 2: /k/ and /g/ in phrases, minimal cues: 9/20 (45%). Introduced this session. Plan: STG 1 at criterion in 1 of 2 required sessions; repeat with the visual cue next session, then start fading the cue once it's met. Continue STG 2.

At each progress report, give every goal a status (met, progressing, not progressing, revised or discontinued) with the data behind it. If a goal isn't moving after a fair trial, revise it and record why: a changed goal with a reason reads far better in a review than a goal left untouched.

If you use Caspen's progress notes, you can build a speech therapy note template with a table for each goal (target, cueing level, trials, accuracy), so every session captures data the same way. Caspen AI can draft the note from the session recording in that template for you to check and finalize.

Keep goals and notes in one place

Writing a good goal takes a few minutes once you have the formula. Keeping it visible in every session note is what makes it hold up later. Caspen for speech therapists keeps your notes, templates, client files and billing together, so your goals and the data behind them are always in one record.

Start a free trial of Caspen and set up your first goal-tracking note template.