A Day in the Life of an SLPA: SLPA Daily Routine & Responsibilities

Posted on February 12th, 2025

Being a school-based Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) means having a structured yet fast-paced schedule filled with therapy sessions, documentation, and collaboration with teachers. If you’re considering becoming an SLPA or are new to the field, you may be wondering—what does a typical day look like? Here’s a breakdown of a day in my life as a school-based SLPA.

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Morning Routine: Getting Ready for the Day

My day starts at 8:00 AM when I arrive at my office and settle in for the morning. Before my first session, I take this time to:

✔️ Check and respond to emails from my supervising SLP, teachers, and parents.

✔️ Review my daily schedule and prepare for upcoming sessions.

✔️ Set out student folders organized by therapy groups.

✔️ Fill my therapy basket with the materials I’ll need for the day.

✔️ Set up Medi-Cal billing by entering student names, dates, and session times.

✔️ Open my digital therapy logs, so they are ready to fill in as I see students.

Having everything prepped before the first student walks in helps me stay organized, especially since my schedule is back-to-back!

Back-to-Back Therapy Sessions

At 9:00 AM, my therapy sessions begin. I see students in groups of 2-3 for 30-minute sessions throughout the day, with short breaks in between. Most days, I see 7-8 groups total.

My students walk themselves to my office. I simply call the teachers, and they send the students over. When I create my speech schedule, I give each teacher a copy so they know when to send their students. Most teachers remember the schedule and send them over on time.

With back-to-back sessions, I need to be extremely organized. I keep all my therapy materials prepped and ready in a basket or bin so I can quickly swap them out between sessions. As one group finishes, I put away their materials and take out the next set while the new group settles in.

During sessions, I keep students engaged by:

🎲 Using a game of the week or story of the week, which I adapt to different speech goals.

⭐ Having a star chart—students earn stars for following speech room rules, which helps with motivation.

🎨 Running art week once a month—students create and decorate pictures related to their speech goals, and I display their artwork on my wall.

🖍 Giving coloring sheets to keep students busy while waiting for their turn to practice articulation or answer questions.

This structure keeps students engaged and makes speech sessions feel fun and interactive!

Keeping Up with Documentation & Billing

One of the most important (but often overwhelming) parts of being an SLPA is documentation and billing. To stay on top of it, I complete my logs between sessions and after school.

I aim to finish all my documentation before the end of my contract hours because it can snowball quickly if I fall behind. I log my sessions in order, starting from my morning groups and working through my afternoon groups.

By prioritizing daily documentation, I avoid the stress of a backlog and maintain a healthy work-life balance—I never bring work home!

End-of-Day Wrap-Up

Once my last session ends, my work isn’t quite done yet! I take time to:

🧼 Sanitize tables, chairs, and therapy materials using Clorox wipes.

📂 Set up folders and my daily schedule for the next day.

📦 Put away therapy materials and reset the room so it's ready for the next day.

📝 Finish up documentation and billing—anything I don’t finish, I save for the next day.

By keeping my workspace clean, organized, and prepped for the following day, I ensure a smooth start every morning.

Final Thoughts

A day in the life of a school-based SLPA is fast-paced, structured, and rewarding. From prepping in the morning to back-to-back sessions and keeping up with documentation, organization is key to staying on top of everything. But despite the busy schedule, working with students and seeing their progress makes every moment worth it!

If you’re a new or aspiring SLPA, I hope this post gives you a better idea of what to expect in this role.

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About the Author

Hi! I’m Kim, and I’ve been a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) for nearly a decade. I have a B.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and have worked in elementary, middle, and high schools, providing services to students in general education and special day classes. I created this blog to share my experiences as an SLPA and help others navigate their school-based speech therapy journey.