If you know me, you know that I love “FREE” and “affordable”. Life is expensive so saving money WHERE you can and WHEN you can is important. This is especially true for Speech Language Pathologists who get little to no spending budgets on their jobs.
Fortunately for Speech Language Pathologists, the nature of our job allows us to use a variety of FREE or low cost materials. We just must be open-minded and intentional about selecting items that add value in our therapy sessions. I’ve been able to find free (or almost free) materials at several places in my neighborhood. This includes:
FREE newsletters at the post office
FREE grocery store ads at the grocery store
FREE event flyers at the library
FREE menus in at restaurants
FREE brochures in lobbies/waiting rooms
FREE maps and directories at the airport
FREE maps and directories at the shopping mall
FREE maps at tourism centers or Welcome Centers
FREE playbills at theatres
FREE business cards at various establishments
Besides materials found in the community, you can also use 1.) item from the patient’s home 2.) items from your own home 3.) items already in the patient’s room 4.) FREE online materials.
So, throw those generic flashcards and workbooks away and opt for materials in the patient’s community or home instead. They are more realistic/functionally relevant, more familiar to the patient, and they are usually FREE!
Do you agree that you can have great therapy materials with $0 budget? Let me know in the comments, and as always, have some amazing therapy sessions!
-Dana (The Neuro SLP)
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