Over the years, I’ve tried to figure out exactly why speech therapy workbooks are so popular. In the year 2025, speech therapy workbooks that were printed nearly 40 years ago are still selling off the shelf.
I see the Facebook marketplace posts listing workbooks with several bids to purchase.
I see the social media posts asking, “Anyone have XYZ workbook?”.
I even witness speech therapy workbooks being purchased as graduation gifts by clinical supervisors for student interns. Oh my!
But what makes SLPs still use (or want to use) such outdated, decontextualized workbooks when SLP research repeatedly recommends NOT using them? I gathered a few reasons why SLPs still use therapy workbooks down below, and I think you’ll be surprised by some of the top reasons.
5. Time- Some SLPs cite that workbooks save time. This is interesting because when I compare the time I spent using workbooks in therapy as a new clinician to the time it takes me now to plan therapy activities now (not using workbooks), I disagree. It takes time to copy worksheets. It takes time to figure out which pages in the workbooks a patient has done or not done. It takes time to figure out how to connect generic tasks in a workbook to a patient’s real life. It takes time to carry heavy workbooks all over a facility. So, when I hear “workbooks save time”, I am not so quick to believe that.
NOTE: If it's taking you hours to plan therapy activities for the week, see my blog post: "Are You Overplanning Your Therapy Sessions?"
4. Money- Some SLPs cite that workbooks are cost efficient. Are they? The last time I checked, some workbooks (even the ones from the 1980s) are selling for $60-$100. This initial price of workbook cost isn’t taking into consideration the costs associated with copying workbook pages or storing them. The reality is many of the therapy materials I use (that aren’t workbooks) are FREE because they are online, from a patient’s home, or from the community. (See examples in blog post HERE). If the therapy materials I use aren’t FREE, then they end up being very affordable as outlined by Instagram posts HERE.
3. Access to Materials/Resources- Some SLPs say therapy materials are hard to find, but with the invention of the internet and many functional materials available in our community, I honestly can’t believe this is still an excuse for using therapy workbooks. It’s hard to believe that with social media groups, online marketplaces, businesses like Therapy Insights and Honeycomb Speech, and Instagram communities like mine, finding therapy materials is difficult. Therapy materials are literally all around us. We just have to think functionally to recognize them.
2. Ease/Predictability- Some SLPs indicate that it’s easier to take data on workbook tasks or to document when using worksheets—moreso than with functional therapy tasks. Hmmmmm. Troubling statement. So, are we going for the easy way out and not what’s best for the patient? I would argue that taking data on more functional therapy tasks has actually been easier for me since I abandoned workbooks. Click HERE for my blog post on different ways to monitor progress.
1. Drumroll, please. One of the top reasons I have noticed SLPs turn to workbooks time and time again is “that’s what I was taught to do” or “that’s what I’ve always done”. I discuss this phenomenon of TRADITION in detail in my blog post “… But My Supervisor Uses Workbooks”. Until we address the role of tradition in perpetuating this generational workbook cycle, SLP clinical practices will never change for the better.
BONUS: I have a theory about another reason SLPs turn to therapy workbooks (lack of clear instruction on "how" to implement the EBP treatments research recommends). But, I will save that for another blog post 😊
Until then, remember that workbooks aren’t recommended. Functional and person-centered therapy tasks are the gold standard to improve patient outcomes. Let’s always do what’s best for our patients.
-Dana (The Neuro SLP)
Relevant Research:
Guideline Development Panel, Brown, J., Kaelin, D., Mattingly, E., Mello, C., Miller, E. S., Mitchell, G., Picon, L. M., Waldron-Perine, B., Wolf, T. J., Frymark, T., & Bowen, R. (2022). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Clinical Practice Guideline: Cognitive Rehabilitation for the Management of Cognitive Dysfunction Associated With Acquired Brain Injury. American journal of speech-language pathology, 31(6), 2455–2526. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_AJSLP-21-00361
Brown, J., Ackley, K., & Knollman-Porter, K. (2021). Collaborative Goal Setting: A Clinical Approach for Adults With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. American journal of speech-language pathology, 30(6), 2394–2413.
Diehm EA, Hall-Mills S. Like, Comment, and Share: Speech-Language Pathologists' Use of Social Media for Clinical Decision Making. Semin Speech Lang. 2023 Jun;44(3):139-154.
Morrow, E. L., Turkstra, L. S., & Duff, M. C. (2021). Confidence and Training of Speech-Language Pathologists in Cognitive-Communication Disorders: Time to Rethink Graduate Education Models?. American journal of speech-language pathology, 30(2S), 986–992.
Poulin, V., Jean, A., Lamontagne, M. È., Pellerin, M. A., Viau-Guay, A., & Ouellet, M. C. (2021). Identifying clinicians' priorities for the implementation of best practices in cognitive rehabilitation post-acquired brain injury. Disability and rehabilitation, 43(20), 2952–2962.
Riedeman, S., & Turkstra, L. (2018). Knowledge, Confidence, and Practice Patterns of Speech-Language Pathologists Working With Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury. American journal of speech-language pathology, 27(1), 181–191.
Sohlberg, M. M., & Turkstra, L. S. (2011). Optimizing cognitive rehabilitation: Effective instructional methods. The Guilford Press.
Turkstra, L. S., Norman, R., Whyte, J., Dijkers, M. P., & Hart, T. (2016). Knowing What We're Doing: Why Specification of Treatment Methods Is Critical for Evidence-Based Practice in Speech-Language Pathology. American journal of speech-language pathology, 25(2), 164–171.
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