Firstly, I recommend a planner to organize your life. You can get generic planners from many office supply stores and rummaging through the back to school sections. There are also websites online where you can get more personalized (and more expensive) planners to fit your life. One such company is the Erin Condren Life Planner. Make sure to write down all your important meetings and dates.
As a CF, it is important to keep track of all your therapy hours, evaluations, and indirect and direct supervisory meetings. To find out all the information you need for your CF, visit ASHA's website here. The speech department at your university will have likely provided you all the information for licensure in that state, but if you're like me, you'll need information for other states. For ASHA's licensure requirements by state, click here.
So once you've got your paperwork, meetings, and dates organized, you will want to organize everything you'll need for therapy! This includes client/student information, reports and/or plans, and your materials. To get you started, I have a great FREE product on Teachers Pay Teachers to help you organize important client/student information without having to dig through their file each time. You can find it HERE. I find it helpful to have all my client's goals in one place without having to find the most current plan in their file each time! As a CF, you may not have a bank of therapy materials and your new job may not have provided you with any or with very few. If that's the case, here are some tips for getting cheap therapy materials. The Dollar Store and the $1 section of Target can be your best friend! From therapy room decorations, to stickers, to sensory toys, you can find a lot! If you are looking for games to use during therapy, Goodwill is a GREAT place to look. I have found memory games, shape games, board games, and so much more in their toy section. You would be surprised how little "used" some of these items can be! It's also a great place to find children's books! Magazines can also be great for getting pictures for various articulation or language activities! Cheap crafts are always fun to do in therapy too and kids usually love it! Lastly, Teachers Pay Teachers is a great website to find cheap (and free!) therapy materials that you can print off. These products usually require some printing and laminating but you won't be spending tons of money on one therapy activity! And your in luck...there is a MAJOR Back to School Sale happening soon over on Teachers Pay Teachers! Up to 28% off when you use the code BTS13. There was never a better time to get great therapy materials made by other SLP's. The Queen's Speech has a great list of all the SLP bloggers who are participating, CLICK HERE to check it out!
As a CF, we are already stressed out about learning the ropes, being on our own for the first time, making sure we are compliant with all regulations, working with parents and caregivers...and the list goes on! You don't want to be stressing about a piece of paper you can't find on top of that!
Don't forget to reach out to your colleagues and CF mentor during this time. They are also a wealth of knowledge. I have only just started and have learned so much just from them! Ask questions, ask for explanations, ask for clarification, ask for opinions...that is what they are there for!
And don't forget to have some fun! You will be so much less stressed if you take some time for yourself and forget about work (if only for a little while!).
Adventure Awaits!
