Everyone has different preferences for taking data in their speech therapy sessions. Some people use a binder; some people use sticky labels. The way I’ve always done it has been individual data folders for each student. (I tried using sticky labels for, like, a week, and that was an utter disaster.)
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My first must-have is a study folder with prongs and a divider. These are pricey but they’ve lasted me over ten years and through a cross-state move. They are GOOD! I like having one folder per student so, come IEP time, I can grab just that folder and bring it to the IEP meeting. Then I have everything I need to speak to progress, old goals, new goals, etc.
The first item I add for every student is an attendance calendar. The calendar is only one page and covers the whole school year. During a session, I write the appropriate code (e.g. “I” for individual session; “G” for group session; “SA” for when a student is absent, etc.). The attendance calendar can be found in my TpT store.
The next is data sheets. I make these in Word and they have all of the student’s goals. Each row is one therapy session. Having all of the goals visible and with a section for writing during a therapy session allows for taking notes on spontaneous productions that may occur. It also allows me to see what I’ve not targeted in a while.
The last essential piece is a progress chart. This is something the student completes at the end of every session. I quickly calculate their percentage and they graph it on their bar graph. I write the date and draw the top line/percentage and then they color in the bar with a highlighter. (For artic, if they target multiple word positions, each color is a different word position.)
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