Data Keeping

I have worked in variety settings as an SLP: Skilled Nursing, Long Term Care, Early Intervention, HomeHealth, and Schools.  I can safely say that no other setting has even close to the same amount of paperwork as the schools.  Medicaid, IEPs, SATs, Progress towards goals, Early Childhood Outcomes Data, Reports, REED's, etc.  And school SLP's have larger caseloads than  SLP's in other settings, so all of that paperwork is multiplied exponentially.  I am not complaining. The truth is I understand the need for most of it and do believe the bulk of it is for the benefit of the student.  A well written IEP protects my student and that makes it worth it for me.

But sometimes the paperwork can be a bit overwhelming, and it's easy to get behind.  I run at max efficiency, and still don't get everything done that I need to in my "duty day."  The hardest thing to keep up with is my daily logs.  As the name suggests, the best practice is to document daily.  But throw in three IEP's in a week (That never ever get started on time) and somehow my daily documentation time is out the window.    That might mean that I am documenting Tuesday kids on Friday.  Unfortunately, age has taken it's toll, and I have learned the hard way that I can't rely on memory. So I need clear ways of taking and keeping data.

This isn't as hard for my students that I see in the speech room.  It's usually a very small group and I can take data as I go.  The real challenge are our Developmental Preschool classrooms.  My school has 3 DD pre-schools classrooms, each with an AM and a PM class. The classes are typically 8 students  and I see them all at once.  So taking data as I go is a little difficult. 

That's why this weekend, I spent time working on this data sheet:

I haven't put it into use yet, but I'm hoping that with a few check marks, I will have a good picture of what each student did each day.  I haven't put it to use yet, but I think this will work better than using a notebook or sticky notes.  And if I get behind on notes, I won't have to rely on my memory to create documentation.

You can download this file for free at my Teacherspayteachers store.  If you do use it, be sure to let me know what you think. 

I have worked in variety settings as an SLP: Skilled Nursing, Long Term Care, Early Intervention, HomeHealth, and Schools.  I can safely say that no other setting has even close to the same amount of paperwork as the schools.  Medicaid, IEPs, SATs, Progress towards goals, Early Childhood Outcomes Data, Reports, REED's, etc.  And school SLP's have larger caseloads than  SLP's in other settings, so all of that paperwork is multiplied exponentially.  I am not complaining. The truth is I understand the need for most of it and do believe the bulk of it is for the benefit of the student.  A well written IEP protects my student and that makes it worth it for me.

But sometimes the paperwork can be a bit overwhelming, and it's easy to get behind.  I run at max efficiency, and still don't get everything done that I need to in my "duty day."  The hardest thing to keep up with is my daily logs.  As the name suggests, the best practice is to document daily.  But throw in three IEP's in a week (That never ever get started on time) and somehow my daily documentation time is out the window.    That might mean that I am documenting Tuesday kids on Friday.  Unfortunately, age has taken it's toll, and I have learned the hard way that I can't rely on memory. So I need clear ways of taking and keeping data.

This isn't as hard for my students that I see in the speech room.  It's usually a very small group and I can take data as I go.  The real challenge are our Developmental Preschool classrooms.  My school has 3 DD pre-schools classrooms, each with an AM and a PM class. The classes are typically 8 students  and I see them all at once.  So taking data as I go is a little difficult. 

That's why this weekend, I spent time working on this data sheet:

I haven't put it into use yet, but I'm hoping that with a few check marks, I will have a good picture of what each student did each day.  I haven't put it to use yet, but I think this will work better than using a notebook or sticky notes.  And if I get behind on notes, I won't have to rely on my memory to create documentation.

You can download this file for free at my Teacherspayteachers store.  If you do use it, be sure to let me know what you think.