10 Tips for Conquering the Dreaded Speech Therapy Schedule

Are you making your beginning of the year speech therapy schedule?

 Did I hear a deep collective SLP sigh on that one? It’s a task many of us dread. I cringe a bit thinking about getting started on it. Ok, a lot. I would rather find a million other things to do.  

Speech therapy scheduling can feel like a frustrating game of Tetris.

Trying to fit all those students of different sizes and configurations in just the right place to suit their needs, their teacher’s needs, and your availability can drive you nutty.

You may need a lot of caffeine and will probably get plenty of steps in while you are running around campus trying to work out all the kinks. It can be a crazy process. How can you make it a little easier? 

Here are 10 SLP tips on how to conquer that crazy therapy schedule:

SLPs have all kinds of different methods, so ultimately, do what works best for you. The following is the exact method that I’ve found works great.

 1. Check with your principal (or principals) before you get started.

Let your principal know how many children you will be scheduling, and any restrictions on your availability. Ask if they have any parameters you need to work with. For instance, are there certain times or classes they don’t want you pulling from for pull-out services? For in-class services, are they good with you going in during language arts or social studies?

It really helps to have your principal’s support as you discuss scheduling with teachers. That way, if you find a teacher reluctant to let you schedule his or her student at a particular time, you can say…. “The principal said…”

2. Make a master list spreadsheet with all your speech students. 

This is a must! I list them alphabetically. I have columns for:

• Name
• Grade
• Teacher
• Service times
• Goals (A (artic), F (fluency), etc
• Eligibility code
• IEP due dates
• Re-eval due dates
• Medicaid eligibility

Add anything else you may need to keep up with. Now you can easily sort your spreadsheet to see when IEPs or evals are due or group children by grade.

Once you know who you have, you’re ready to start scheduling.

 3. Get a copy of your school’s master schedule.

You’ll need to know the times different subjects are taught, especially if there are no-pull restrictions on certain subject blocks. Try to avoid pulling students from English Language Arts or Math as those may already be the areas some of our students struggle with the most.

You’ll also want to know when grade-level specials are (if you are pulling from there), and any other pertinent building information. Fill in the times for grade-level specials in your draft speech therapy schedule.

4. Don’t forget to include time for your other duties on your speech therapy schedule.

You will need to schedule time for assessments, consult, Medicaid billing, writing IEPs and reports plus any other duties you may have. Block off any time you’re not available.

Do not compromise on this, you must have dedicated time for these duties that are integral to your job. Trying to do paperwork before or after hours is the fast track to burnout. I block off a full day each week for these duties, and see students four times a week.

You may also want to look into using a 3:1 speech therapy schedule, seeing students for 3 weeks, and reserving the fourth week for other duties. It’s a popular alternative that many SLPs love.

 5. Color-code your students.

Many SLPs like using self-stick notes, and write each student’s name on a note. These can go up on a wall or board as you work on the schedule, or draw a blank schedule on a file folder so you can carry it with you.

You can color code your students by grade or by goals if that is how you are grouping. It’s much easier to see how to group the children this way and easy to swap them around. 

Be forwarned…Trying to group solely by goals can become a nightmare. Start with availability (grade and student schedules), then adjust by goals if you need to. Mixed groups are okay, I promise.

6. Use a spreadsheet to make your schedule.

I often start with sticky notes with each student’s name printed on a note I can move, but then I like having a printed schedule I can carry around or even carry my laptop as I go to talk with teachers and work out the kinks.

I use a spreadsheet to list my time slots and then enter each student’s name (color-coded with a highlight). It’s easy to move these around in a spreadsheet. 

7. Schedule students with the most conflicts first.

These may be the students with multiple services, those in inclusion, or those who leave for outside therapies. Consult with their special education teachers and other providers. It’s no fun when you finally think you have the perfect spot for a student and then find out OT or PT has also scheduled at that time.

8. Schedule with your least flexible teachers next.

Many SLPs give teachers a list of their students and ask for 2-3 best times and one worst time to schedule their students. 

Personally, I find it mind-boggling to sort that out for 60-70 children. I don’t ask for preferences ahead of time. I think it is simpler to go ahead and schedule students during their grade level specials or subjects I am allowed to pull from, hand out the “provisional” schedule to teachers, and then make adjustments as needed. 

9. Try something new… a speech therapy scheduling party!

I haven’t personally tried this myself, but it’s an intriguing idea that’s a different method altogether. Make a blank schedule on large paper, then fill in any non-negotiable items. (Yes, you DO deserve lunch.)

Set whatever “rules” you need… only so many per time slot, perhaps all articulation students on one day, language students on another, no students in a group more than 2 grades apart, etc. I would also let teachers know that you will likely have to make a few changes if a group doesn’t work out.

Put out a few snacks or water bottles with vocal hygiene tips for teachers in the workroom. Hang your big schedule and a pencil. Post the rules. You may want to let teachers sign up for two possible slots for each student so you can revise as necessary. Now invite your teachers to come down, first come, first serve.

10.  Run your new schedule for a week or so before finalizing and sending it to teachers.

This will give you time to make those inevitable changes when things come up.  I put a “revised” date at the top of my schedule so I can tell at a glance if I’m looking at the latest version. You need to do that because your carefully crafted speech therapy schedule will change many, many times throughout the year as students come and go, IEPs are updated and needs change. That’s a promise.

You may want to check out these speech room organization posts too:

How to Do This Pretty, Organized, File Cabinet Makeover

How to Organize for Grab and Go Articulation Therapy

17 Genius Ideas to Organize Your Speech Therapy Room

I hope these tips help make organizing at the beginning of the school year and creating your speech therapy schedule seem a little less daunting now.  I’m wishing you a stress-free back to school, my friends.

Want more great SLP tips to make your work life easier and more fun?

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