5 Uses for Timers In Speech Therapy

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TIMERS!! They are such lovely little devices. Lately, I’ve been finding myself using them more and more during my sessions, but often for different reasons. So I thought I’d share how I use them.

First things first, you don’t need fancy ones. I know lots of people use the timer on their phones, but I rarely carry my phone with me during the day. I prefer ones that are magnetic because I can stick them on my file cabinet and have them close at hand.

Here’s how I use them:

1. Keep kids on task: Lately, for variety of reasons, I’ve had to crunch some students together in less than ideal groups (read: larger than I like). My solution to this is to break up the group. I have some students at the table and send some to the floor to work independently. The ones at the table are getting direct feedback and individualized support, while the others are working on independence and getting practice with skills. I actually love my Speech and Language Zoo rings for this, because I can send those easily and cards all stay together because they’re on rings. I set the timer for 5 minutes and the kids know to switch when it beeps.

2. Improve response time: I’m not saying this will work with all kids, but I have a couple kids who can take a very long time to answer questions. For some reason if I set the timer for 2 minutes (or whatever), response time improves.

3. Quick drill: Set a timer for 1 minute and see how many correct words your articulation kids can say. I promise the competition with themselves will improve motivation!

4. Break time: This one is obvious, but it can also work for activity time. It gives kids who need it a clear guideline for how long something will last.

5. Report writing/progress reports/paperwork: This one is for the SLP, not the kids! Set it for a specific time and do what you can, then take a break. You deserve it! 🙂

How do you use timers?!