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How SLPs Plan IEP-Aligned Sessions With Less Stress

You know that feeling when you sit down to run a therapy group and realize you have five goals, no clear lesson plan, and 30 minutes to cover it all and make progress? Been there. As school-based SLPs, we’ve all had those days when we’re running on fumes — just trying to make it from session to session without completely losing track of what each student needs.
By Lisa Kathman, M.S. CCC-SLP

You know that feeling when you sit down to run a therapy group and realize you have five goals, no clear lesson plan, and 30 minutes to cover it all and make progress? Been there. As school-based SLPs, we’ve all had those days when we’re running on fumes — just trying to make it from session to session without completely losing track of what each student needs.

And let’s be real: planning good instruction takes time — time we rarely have. But the alternative (winging it with a sticky note and crossed fingers) doesn’t exactly leave us feeling confident.

That’s where Kit for Teams comes in.

What SLP Lesson Planning Usually Looks Like

If you’re anything like I was, your “system” for session planning might have included:

    • A tab explosion in Google Chrome
    • One binder per school (if you’re lucky)
    • Sticky notes stuck to other sticky notes
    • That one magical Google Doc with 47 versions of activity ideas

Sound familiar? It’s functional-ish… until it isn’t. Especially when you:

    • See the students only once a week
    • Are covering multiple buildings
    • Forgot what cues they needed last time

Kit Makes Planning SLP Instruction Simpler

Kit makes it easier to walk into a session with a plan — without juggling three open browser tabs, a binder with multiple paper data sheets, and a sticky note with half a goal written on it.

Here’s what you can do with Kit:

    • Link an activity directly to your session with a URL
    • Add notes like activity ideas or reminders for cues and supports
    • Auto-populate IEP goals and objectives from your caseload
    • Choose which goals to target and how to track progress (including custom data types)
    • Review your previous session’s notes and data before jumping in

It’s not a library of premade lessons — it’s your real plan for your real students, built session by session, in a workflow that makes sense.

“Creating plans for my therapy sessions is so simple and easy. I also love that there’s a built-in to-do list so I can stay on top of things better than ever before!” — Megan, SLPA

What It Looks Like In Practice

Imagine opening your Kit dashboard and seeing:

    • Your students’ goals
    • A running record of your plans and cues
    • Materials linked and ready to go

No digging. No guessing. No clicking through 12 folders to find that one articulation game you bookmarked three months ago.

Planning = Progress

When you have a system that lets you plan smarter (not just more), everything changes:

    • Sessions are more focused
    • Data collection becomes easier
    • You feel less behind

Kit doesn’t give you more hours in the day — but it helps you use the ones you do have better.

Want to Make Sure Your Plans Align With Best Practices?

Kit makes it easy to plan and document services in a way that aligns with ASHA’s recommendations for documentation in the school setting. That includes linking your session activities to IEP goals, tracking what you targeted, and recording how your students performed — all in one place.

👉 See ASHA’s guidance on documentation in schools

Want to Try It?

Kit is built by school-based SLPs who know what this job really takes. Start your free 14-day trial — no credit card required — and see what it feels like to walk into your sessions actually prepared.

👉 Start my free trial


More from This Series

This blog is part of our Kit Feature Deep Dive series for school-based SLPs. Explore other posts in the series:

Lisa Kathman, M.S. CCC-SLP
Lisa Kathman is a veteran school-based SLP and the co-founder of SLP Toolkit, the parent company of Kit for Teams, and also co-founder of Bright Ideas Media, an inclusive, educator-led continuing education company. After two decades in the field — including serving as lead SLP in Arizona’s largest school district — Lisa is on a mission to simplify the day-to-day work of special education providers. She nerds out over data, documentation, and anything that helps special education teams feel more confident and less overwhelmed.

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