Set up a Folder System for Effortless Speech Therapy Sessions
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What does an effortless speech therapy session look like?
Close your eyes and imagine this. Or if you're driving a car, please don't close your eyes. Just imagine. Your students come into your therapy space and they know exactly what to do. They grab their speech folders from the bin by the door, they walk to the table, and they sit down. They open their folders and get out their practice page. They start practicing their skill quietly to themselves. While everyone is coming in and getting settled, you have a few minutes to walk around and make sure everyone is practicing correctly. You give a few redirections and corrections to help them get it right. Does it sound like a dream? Well, I am Carrie Clark, and in this episode of the Speech and Language Kids podcast, I'm going to show you how to set up your own speech folders so that you can enjoy effortless speech therapy sessions as well.
Okay, so I want to start this episode by telling you a story that I don't talk about a lot because honestly it's a little embarrassing. But this is my origin story. This is my my superhero origin story. So I, when I was fresh out of grad school, had only worked a couple years in the schools, I started my first speech therapy business. And this was called the therapy bag. Some of you may have been around uh and following me back then even to remember the therapy bag or been to the Asha convention where I had a booth. And the whole premise of this therapy bag business was that I was creating materials in my home and then shipping them to people. So my first products were these cutesy little um file folder games where I would have a file folder game for wear questions and one for when questions.
And I would print out the pictures and I would cut them and laminate them and put them together and put little Velcro dots on them. And then mail them to people's homes. And this was my first business. And the reason I say this is embarrassing is because as a business, it was a total fail. Uh turns out it's expensive to ship things and to create things and hard to make money that way. So I didn't make it too crazy far into that. I think I did that one for a couple years and then ended up thinking, okay, this isn't working. I'm losing money. Um, but the the main problem behind this business was that I was so bought into the idea of we need cutesy activities, we need a new activity that targets the specific skill for every session, it has to be fun, it has to be exciting.
And of course, I was a new therapist, so I was excited, and I was spending so much of my time creating these materials coming. up with a new activity for each and every session. And I was getting burnt out. And I was also doing this as a business, which made it even harder. Hey Tala, welcome. Um, for those of you who are listening to this recording after the fact, I am live inside the hub as I'm recording this. So I'll be able to take questions as we go along. So if anybody has any questions, pop those into the chat. Okay, so anyway. Let's fast forward. Uh the therapy bag didn't work out, but pretty much as soon as I closed the doors on the therapy bag, I started speech and language kids and I really focused on how I could streamline
The process a the processes not only for me but also for my followers. Because I was hearing I don't have time for this. I don't have time to put together these resources. I don't have time to come up with all these different things and keep them organized and have a different activity every session. And that's how I was feeling as well. So along with starting speech and language kids, I also was working full time in the schools and started a private practice um all the same month I got married. So you know, just a few things on my list. But it was really my private practice that started to help me refine this no-prep approach and the speech folders approach that I'm gonna explain to you today. And the idea was that instead of coming up with a new specific targeted activity for every session, for every kiddo.
How did Carrie’s “therapy bag” business lead to the speech‑folder system?
Could I come up with a way to make this less work for me, but still just as effective on the therapy side, if not more effective?
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What does an effortless speech therapy session look like?
0:00–4:06
2
How did Carrie’s “therapy bag” business lead to the speech‑folder system?
4:06–11:45
3
Why are speech folders more efficient than creating a new activity each session?
11:45–22:28
4
How can I set up a physical file‑box or cart for student speech folders?
22:28–22:51