New Years Speech Resolutions A SLP Needs to Follow
It's a brand new year so you've already thought of all the resolutions you're going to make. Maybe it's to drink more water throughout the day, or do your billing weekly, prep monthly themed therapy, etc. That’s all fine and dandy but sometimes by making all these New Years resolutions, we put even more stress on ourselves. Here's some resolutions you SHOULD be making:
Ditch overplanning.
Ditch therapist guilt.
Ditch Pinterest-worthy sessions.
Ditch over-printing and over-prepping
All you need is your love and dedication to your job, a few go-to materials, and your SLP brain in order to have a successful session.
Here's what I like to do:
Planning- Look at your day (or week). Jot down or make a mental note of the goals that will be addressed. Then pick a few open-ended materials/games to address all (that's where your SLP brain comes into play;]).
Therapist Guilt- One thing I’ve learned is that if I haven't fully taken care of myself, I'm not being the best therapist to my clients. Take the sick day (no need to pass the germs further along), don't take work home, eat lunch with coworkers, and just take a moment during the day and remember to breathe.
Session materials- A few quick tips... Laminate your materials or put in pocket protectors. This way, you can use dry erase or manipulatives and you don't need to print each session. Don't over do themed therapy. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE themes for different holidays/seasons. But I don't go crazy with it. I might use a book and craft and make it last for multiple sessions. Plan something easy and open-ended. Again, keep it simple! Don't have 50 activities you’re trying to accomplish each session. Pick a few materials and make them last the entire time. Keep materials open ended or pair with a game/craft to extend the activity.
My top 2 material recommendations this year:
1. Speech Therapy Activities Drill Cards Growing Bundle-Prep once to grab-n-go throughout the entire year! Language, articulation, phonological processes, fluency, pragmatic language, seasonal, and more. Add manipulatives to make it fun and use dry erase to make in interactive. Perfectly compact to de-clutter your workspace!
2. Interactive Speech Notebooks- Save paper, time, and energy with these fun notebooks! Your students will love how individualized they are and all of the games and activities that are included. These are also perfect for communicating with parents and sending fun, easy homework for carryover. I have created these notebooks for articulation and phonological processes thus far. Language is coming soon!
That's all! I hope these few quick tips will shift your mindset for the start of the year. Your goal should be to make work for yourself, not more!
Happy Speeching!