I’ve worked in both a private practice setting and a school setting and, in each setting, there are certain supplies that I have used consistently. Aside from cute décor, the following list contains the must-have supplies for your speech therapy office. I’ll explain a little more in-depth next to each item, but these are things I am using almost daily and ones that are worth the investment!
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If you plan on making any low-tech communication boards, flashcards, or anything similar, this is going to be your saving grace. This helps to level up your materials and helps to give them a longer lifespan. I didn’t have one of these at the beginning of my career and I soon realized that if I wanted the materials that I printed to last longer when using them with children, I needed them to be sturdier than just a piece of paper. This is the exact machine that I use, and I have never had any problems with it.
The laminator that I linked up above comes with some thermal sheets to help start your lamination journey. If you are needing additional sheets, these are some that are compatible with the machine above.
Scissors are great, but when you’re trying to cut multiple pieces of paper, whether it’s a low-tech communication board or flashcards, this comes in handy and takes way less time to cut them. I have used this more times than I can count, and it never takes more than a few minutes to get my cutting jobs done.
I’m big into taking notes by hand. When I go to conferences, or when I’m taking CEU courses, I like to have everything in the palm of my hands. These journals (which are designed by me!) are unique and geared towards speech-language pathologists. They are around the same price point as other journals, but they are small enough to throw into your purse or backpack to take with you anywhere.
I found out about erasable pens when I was completing one of my clinical rotations and they are a game-changer (especially for someone that does not like to make mistakes). You can take notes and erase any mistakes you make easily. They come in a few different colors, and you can even get ink replacement cartridges when each one runs out.
I started using binders early off in my career and they have helped me to stay organized. I can have all my materials labeled and easily accessible. They allow me to see what materials I have available to use and what materials I am still in search of.
Dividers are a must if you are going to be utilizing the binder idea above. It will help to keep all your materials organized in the categories you need, whether it is by goal area or type of therapy material. My favorite kind has pockets to keep extra materials you still need to laminate or copy. I have also used the divider folders to keep stickers, vocabulary cards, and other small items organized.
These sleeve inserts are also a great option to go into binders. If you are printing off materials that are an entire page, there isn’t a need to laminate it, you can just stick it inside of one of these and pull it out when you need it.
If you have a dry erase board or even a filing cabinet in your office, these sleeves will come in handy! You can put anything in them, including data sheets for an easy grab-and-show for parents or actual therapy worksheets for kids to use dry erase markers with.
These pouches are a must-have! I have used them to store everything from stickers to random small therapy toys that I am constantly using. They have a clear lining that allows you to see what each pouch holds and they are magnetic! This can be a great motivator when the kids see the stickers they can work for if you store stickers in them.
I always have stickers on hand because kids love them. They are a great motivator for kids to earn for doing their work and it always helps when you meet a new kid and you’re trying to build rapport. I linked a set of stickers above that I thinks is a great deal but you can always get some that match your style!
I hope that this list of my must-have speech therapy office supplies helps you in organizing and creating a great office space. I’d love to hear from you on what other items I may have left off. I am always looking for new ways to stay organized and I know other therapists have great systems they use, too. Let me know down in the comments below about your must-haves and if any of these items will now be on your list as well!