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Home About Us Blog Helpdesk - Tracking Your Goals in 2020

Helpdesk - Tracking Your Goals in 2020

Posted on 12/13/19 in Transition to Adulthood by Milestones

Setting goals for the New Year is often much easier than sticking to them! The Milestones Helpdesk staff wants to provide you with a couple of tools you may use to track and reach the goals you have set. Whether you are a self-advocate working on your executive functioning skills, a family juggling a busy schedule, or a professional managing multiple responsibilities at the same time, we have some practical suggestions that may suit your needs!

For Families
Microsoft Word has templates for just about everything you could want, including goal-tracking. See how Milestones Program Director Beth Thompson customized this template for tracking daily chores on a checklist for monitoring a child's morning routine. If your family goal is to get your child to complete activities more independently, use these customizable forms to create a document specific to your goals.

For Self-Advocates
Electronic calendars and reminder systems - Many self-advocates have great success with using electronic calendars and reminders to keep them on track. For example, one Milestones self-advocate recently reported he doesn't take appointment reminder cards anymore but instead asks his providers to send him calendar invites so he is automatically reminded of his upcoming appointments. Consider setting up your reminder notifications to start one week out from your event or appointment, and then schedule for them to remind you more frequently as you approach the date - for example: one day until the event, one hour, then a 15-minute reminder.

Another self-advocate who has a goal of finding full-time employment in the New Year recommends using a job search log to help keep track of who she applies to and when, so that she knows which jobs she has already submitted to. This allows her to make a plan for when to call back and check on interviews. This also keeps the daunting task of job hunting more manageable and helps her be able to report to support staff what she has done to work toward her goal.

For Behaviorists and Teachers
Professionals who work with children and adults who have challenging behaviors often struggle to keep up-to-date records of their clients' or students' progress. Milestones ABA Professionals Group Co-Chair Rachel Torrance suggests using Behavior Tracker Pro to meet their documentation needs.

For BCBAs
Good data collection is essential for ABA programs to work well and help the individual succeed in reaching their behavioral goals, but data tracking can be timely and sometimes may not accurately reflect progress or regression. Catalyst from Datafinch was created by BCBAs for BCBAs and helps tackle some of the most challenging parts of running a successful ABA program. This program provides real time access to data based on the individual's plan and helps professionals reach their program goals.

Looking for more support in 2020? Contact the Milestones free autism Helpdesk at 216.464.4600 ext. 200.

ABOUT THE WRITER
On the forefront of transition and adult services, Beth Thompson is Milestones’ Program Director. Beth has a Master’s degree coupled with extensive hands-on experience working with high school students with autism. Whether students are college or career bound, Beth is instrumental in helping teens successfully transition to adulthood.

bthompson@milestones.org
(216) 464-7600 x 108

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