Speech-Language Therapy "Toolkit"

   
     Are you sitting there with all of your undergraduate coursework, wondering what's important to have once you start conducting therapy sessions? You're not alone. Here's a suggested list of what you should keep from coursework, as well as other items you might consider putting together to create a therapy "toolkit." Some of the items listed are more suited for on=campus clinics, but the majority are for all therapy settings. 

 

Therapy "Toolkit"

1. Binder with important resources to be able to just quickly look at, at-a-glance. Some suggested resources to have: IPA chart and phonetic transcription list, language development milestones, brief notes on calculating MLU and analyzing a language sample, Piaget's stages, Brown's morphemes, phonological processes, ages for  sound acquisition chart, brief list of fluency techniques, Cranial nerves and their functions (specifically the ones for speech CN V, VII, IX, X, XI, XII), articulation vs phonological disorder handout, developmental milestones, narrative stages, blank data sheets.

2. Penlight. (You'll be doing a lot of oral-mechanism examinations, whether that's practicing on your fellow classmates and/or in real-time with the clients you'll be evaluating).

3. Storage clipboard. (You're going to be running around and taking data and doing a lot of assessments etc. so having a clipboard that you can easily tuck away documents that you're not using for your current session will make things ALOT easier than if you had a regular clipboard and were constantly shuffling through papers, or if your papers were within reach of your young clients, which could cause chaos during your session).

4. Stickers and/or self-inking stamps. (You can use the stickers/stamps on a reinforcement chart, or as a reward to your client at the end of the therapy session. Self-inking stamps are recommended since it's less mess and quicker to give to a client, than getting an inkpad out to stamp their hand.)

5. Hand sanitizer/sanitizing wipes* (If you can get any....)

6. Playdoh. (The mini sizes are easier to transport around and easier for little hands).

7. Bubbles. (No explanation needed on this one.)

8. Small white board (Use it as a low-tech communication board, or draw a makeshift visual schedule, a "first-then" board, etc.

9. Dry erase markers.

10. Portable phone charger (You might not always find an outlet around especially in between therapy sessions, so having a portable one is a great thing to have).

11. Laptop charger.

12. Lots of pens. (They will disappear, one way or another, so have a lot of them in your bag).

13. Laminating sheets

14. Accordion file folder

15. USB stick

16. Granola bar/energy bars, string cheese, bag of nuts, etc. (High-energy, protein-filled snacks that you can quickly eat in between sessions).

17. Travel toothbrush and toothpaste* (If you're like me, and you prefer to have a clean mouth post-lunch, and you know you'll be doing a lot of artic or modeling how to go through an oral-mech exam, then better to be safe than sorry, right?).

18. Painter's tape*. (Alternative way of taking data. Not something commonly recommended, but a supervisor suggested this once. Stick a bit of painters tape on your pants leg, and if you're working with a client who is very active and runs around a lot it's a bit easier to take data on that painter's tape, than trying to run around with your clipboard. You can transfer the data to your actual data sheet later, just find a system that works for you on how to create quick abbreviations for what data you'll be tallying for and such.)



What else would you suggest graduate SLP students keep in their "toolkit?" Comment below.