The meat of an IEP is the Present Levels of Performance which which explains where the individual is at right now in different areas- typically we look at academic performance, basic functional skills, communication, etc. Based on where they are at right now, we identify an area that needs work and develop a goal to address the needs. Ideally goals are also linked to state standards. However, state standards are broad and are not necessarily written in a way that is observable and measurable. The standard is what you are looking up to and hoping to attain, the goal is something specific that tells how you are getting there, or how you are going to measure that you are there.
So back to that side conversation from Relief Society about developing attributes. It's great to say that you want to be more charitable, more faithful, more virtuous, but how on earth do you measure that? The attributes are like the state standards, but if you want to measure your progress on it you need to think about what it looks like when you have that attribute and find something to measure. (James 2:17-18 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.) A great place to start to find measurable ways to track attributes is the Preach My Gospel attributes activity. However, I would break some of those down more to make them more measurable. Perhaps that will be the subject of a future blog post. However, you could make the goal to increase your score in a certain area and use the activity as your measurement tool. It's not a perfect science. And at the end of the day it's not going to matter so much what score you gave yourself but when you stand before God at judgment to be able to say that you tried your best.
I have chosen to focus my goals on the following "Personal Standards" areas (as opposed to state standards): Health, Spirituality, Personal Fulfillment. So without much further ado.....my Present Levels:
Health:
I am currently not as healthy as I would like to be. I am significantly overweight and lack the energy I desire to be able to accomplish everything I would like to do. I struggle with back and knee pain most likely due to a combination of being overweight and lacking the strength to adequately lift and carry an 18 lb baby (then try adding on a 10 lb car seat). I recently participated in a biggest lost challenge but did not see results anywhere near what I was wanting. I initially attempted to cut out all sweets altogether, however, I was not losing very much weight compared to how hard I was trying and then on a day when I was stuck in the office without access to health food I gained back all of the weight I had lost in two weeks in one day. The lack of loss and the ease of gaining was very discouraging which made it difficult to want to keep trying especially upon realizing there was no chance of winning a prize. Another problem with the challenge was that my success at the goal was not necessarily measurable as it depended upon other people failing. I can not qualify my suspicions with scientific data, however, based on these struggles, other symptoms, and family history, I believe there may be some underlying issues that are inhibiting me from losing weight. I have realized that a better goal for me at this time would not be centered around actual pounds lost (however I will still track that) but would be better to focus on what is in my immediate control.
I currently exercise on average 3 times per week for at least 20 minutes, sometimes up to an hour. This includes walking with friends while pushing the baby in the stroller, Zumba, Elipticising (the word I invented for what you do on an eliptical- it's not walking, running, or riding), or other work out videos. Getting up to 4 times a week will be a challenge without being too big of a step to reach.
As mentioned previously I attempted to remove all desserts from my diet- I failed. I also had hoped to track calories, however, I realized this was very time consuming when not eating processed foods that are already banked in a database for tracking. I did put a few recipes in the My Fitness Pal app, but it was taking too much time so I did not continue it. If someone has any great ideas for calorie tracking that does not take a ton of time I would be open to this type of goal in the future, but for now, it's not something I can commit to. I also LOVE dessert too much to give it up. It was really depressing to be making myself so miserable with not allowing myself desserts and not seeing any results. However, I do need to limit myself more than I do currently. I have fallen back into some old habits and eat dessert whenever it is readily available. I am pretty good about not buying myself desserts. Dessert includes but is not limited too- ice cream, brownies, cookies, donuts, cakes, pies, cinnamon rolls, etc. In order to fulfill sweet cravings items that will be allowed include- cottage cheese with fruit, homemade fruit sorbet, etc.
Health goals:
Given at least a 20 minutes exercise period, Stephanie will participate in an exercise activity at least 4 days in a week for at least 3/4 weeks per month over a 3 month period as measured by the goal calendar.
When presented with opportunities to eat dessert, Stephanie will eat dessert no more than 2 times a week for at least 3/4 weeks per month over a 3 month period as measured by the goal calendar.
Spiritual Present Levels:
Somethings I feel I am doing pretty well with currently- fulfilling my calling, attending church, participating in lessons, caring for others. There's always a million things that I want to work on Spiritually, but you just can't tackle everything at once. That sets up for failure. So two areas that I am feeling bad have been lacking recently. Gospel study- averaging about 4 times per week. Gospel study could include- anything from the scriptures, conference talks, or lesson manuals. Temple attendance- I think we went in Sept? Oct? It hasn't been good since being pregnant, growing out of my dress, then having a baby so you can't just go it has to be planned well in advance, oh and my dress still doesn't fit- but getting a new one with Christmas money.
Spiritual Goals:
As part of the daily routine, Stephanie will participate in gospel study at least 6 days per week for at least 3/4 weeks per month over a 3 month period as measured by the goal calendar.
Upon planning out the month, Stephanie will attend the temple at least once per month over a 3 month period as measured by the goal calendar.
Personal Fulfillment:
Having a full time job is difficult. Being a full time mom is difficult. For some crazy reason I do both, at the same time. Sometimes between the working and the taking care of the baby and pretending like I cook and do dishes it's hard to make sure that I take time to do things for myself. Currently I am looking around at the insanely messy apartment and just letting it go so I can finish this blog post because I intended to have it finished yesterday. I was going to make goals about having dishes done or keeping the house clean but decided that I need to focus on making sure I am taking care of myself first, and then I'll probably have more time and energy to take care of the house anyway. In my exhaustion at the end of the day, when I do have some free time, especially while I'm nursing the baby, I turn to the easiest thing to do- Facebook. Now let me make it clear that I am not anti-Facebook, clearly as you most likely found the link to my blog on Facebook. Facebook can be fun, enlightening, and relaxing. However, extended time on Facebook tends to become boring, idle, and frequently aggravating. Later I think about things I wish I had done but didn't because I got sucked into the never ending hole that is Facebook. I currently spend over an hour a day scrolling through the newsfeed. I am going to separate out reading news articles, blogs, etc that Facebook leads me to. I'm also really bad at writing in a journal. Perhaps future generations will read our Facebook posts as our journals??? But I don't post a lot of personal thoughts on Facebook for various reasons- it's not something I want to share with the world at large, or I'm worried about what type of debates it might start in the comments. My little brother bought me a beautiful planner/ journal combo for Christmas that has weekly prompts to guide journal writing. It would be very tragic if it did not get used.
Personal Goals:
Given options for down time, Stephanie will average no more than 45 minutes per day on Facebook over the course of a week for 3/4 weeks a month as tracked by a Facebook log sheet in Excel over a 3 month period with data transferred to the goal calendar weekly.
Given her planner/ journal combo, Stephanie will journal at least weekly for 3/4 weeks per month over a 3 month period as measured by the goal calendar.
Reward Schedule!
Typically a reward schedule isn't necessarily set out in an IEP, but it is an important principal that there are rewards for correct responses and good behavior. Positive reinforcement! We do the things we do because we get something we want from it. I.E.- I eat too much dessert because I get the instant gratification of the flavor and texture of the food. I Facebook because it lets my brain stop working for a while. A student might throw a tantrum because it gets them out of work or gives them access to something they want. The reward needs to be motivating enough to get passed the "natural man" rewards of what you are doing right now. So I am going to be setting myself a nice reward each month if I meet my goals. This month's reward will be a shopping trip with my Christmas gift cards.
I'll be checking in weekly to see how I am doing with my goals. At the end of the month I will determine if my goals were met and if I get my reward then set a new reward for the next month. At the end of the 3 months I will determine if the goals have been mastered and write new goals, continue goals, or tweak the goals.
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