Tips For Your First Day of Therapy as a School Speech Therapist

Whether you’re fresh out of grad school, transitioning from a different setting, or moving to a new school, I've got essential tips and strategies to help you navigate your first day of therapy with confidence.

Here are my tips and ideas for your first day of therapy!

Start Here

🔴 Introduce yourself

🔴 Show students how to locate your therapy room

🔴 Go over routine & expectations (Note: Some SLP's like to implement some type of reward system, but I highly recommend avoiding this! Focus on connecting with students, fostering intrinsic motivation, and making therpay sessions meaningful for students instead.)

Activity Ideas

🟠 Have students create goal cards

🟠 Introduce students to their folders/ workbooks if applicable

🟠 Play icebreaker games: Would You Rather, Two Truths & a Wish, Put a Finger Down If

🟠 "All About Me" activity (grab a free one here)

🟠 Read: Strictly No Elephants, Chrysanthemum, We Don't Eat Our Classmates, How to Catch a Class Pet

🟡 Use these YouTube read alouds

🟡 Here's a free book companion for The World Needs More Purple People

🟠 Play: HedBanz, cooperative games, popping games (e.g. Pop the Pig, Pop Up Pirate)

🟠 Just play! (:

Forget the Data

🟢 Focus on connection over compliance

🟢 Observe students in self contained classroom & ask their teacher/ aides about their likes, dislikes, habits, etc.

🟢 Take qualitative data rather than quantitative

I hope this has been helpful! 😊

You might also be interested in checklists for:

✔️ Your First Day of School

✔️ Organization & Planning

✔️ Planning Therapy for the Year