The Teletherapy SLP Starter Kit: What to Know, What to Buy, and What to Grab for Free
- Perri Waisner
- 23 hours ago
- 5 min read
Starting out in teletherapy, or even just trying to get more organized in your virtual practice, can feel overwhelming. There's a lot of advice out there, but not always a lot of practical, SLP-specific guidance on what actually makes a difference.
This is my honest starter kit. The tech worth investing in early, the resources I'd buy first, the websites I keep coming back to, and a couple of free tools I use every single week.
Tech Worth Investing In
A Second Monitor
This is probably the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade for teletherapy. When you're screen sharing your materials on one monitor, your student's face gets pushed into a tiny corner. For articulation, that's a real problem. You need to see them.
With a second monitor, you can share your materials on one screen and keep your student large and visible on the other. It's also a game changer for assessments; stimulus images on one screen, your scoring form or the student on the other, both big enough to actually see.
A Wired Headset with a Mic
Skip the Bluetooth. When you're working full time from home, wireless connections can get glitchy and unreliable in a way that becomes really disruptive. A wired headset is more stable and the audio quality is generally better.
I personally use a HyperX headset. Yeah, it looks a little gamer-ish, but the background noise suppression is excellent. Families hear you clearly, and you're not picking up every little sound in your environment. Worth every penny.
Paid Resources Worth Buying Early
You don't need to build a huge library right away. That will take time and that's okay. Here are some of the most "bang for your buck" resources in my Pear Tree Speech catalog. These are what I'm pulling up in sessions most often.
The Articulation Hub
If you have any articulation kids on your caseload, this is my top recommendation. It's a reusable, all-in-one deck with visual supports, word lists, and engaging practice activities for every consonant sound. You use it with one student, then open it right back up for the next.
Grab it here → Articulation Hub on Boom Articulation Hub on TPT
Mixed Group Activity Decks
Mixed groups are some of the trickiest sessions to plan, and having the right materials makes them so much more manageable. My mixed group decks are built around sequential stories like cooking, cleaning processes, everyday tasks. Each one includes WH questions, yes/no questions, sequencing, story retell, describing, compare and contrast, verb practice, following directions, and articulation words all in one deck.
I have a bundle of 24 decks that covers seasonal themes and everyday topics. If you have a mixed caseload, these will get a lot of mileage.
Check out the bundle here → Mixed Group Bundle on Boom (or on TPT)
*These are also sold individually!
Build-a Activity Decks
If you have articulation kids who need something more engaging than straight drilling, these are great. Students build something, a robot, a car, a gingerbread house, etc., while practicing their target sound. I have 26 different themes available!
Check out the bundle here → Build A.. Bundle on Boom (or on TPT)
*These are also sold individually!
Core Words at the Pet Store (and other Core Word Decks)
If you're working with AAC users or early language kids, having a solid core vocabulary deck is essential. My pet store deck targets eight high-frequency core words through a fun guessing game format that keeps little ones engaged. I also have a few other themes that follow similar formatting.
Get the Pet Store Deck here → Core Words at the Pet Store on Boom
Check out the bundle here → Core Words w/ Sound Effects for AAC & Early Language
Describing & Following Directions Decks
Depending on your caseload, these are also worth having on hand early. If you have language kids like me, you'll need something targeting these areas often.
Check out the Describe & Define bundle here → Describe & Define Bundle on Boom
*These are also sold individually!
Check out the Following Directions bundle here → Following Temporal Directions Bundle on Boom (or on TPT)
*These are also sold individually or in bundles of individual themes!
Websites to Bookmark
Bamboozle
This is my personal favorite for a wide range of students. I've used it successfully with kindergarteners all the way through high school. The visuals are GIF-based and have movement to them, which makes them more engaging than static images. You can create your own question sets, browse what other people have made, and there are new games and activities being added constantly. There's a free version with limited features, but the paid subscription is well worth it and reasonably priced.
Check it out here → Baamboozle
Pink Cat Games
If you have very early language or younger students, Pink Cat Games may be a better fit. The activities are a little more accessible for that age and skill level. Like Bamboozle, you can create your own content and browse a library of existing sets. This is another great option that I've had a subscription to for years. I believe there is also a free version with limited features available, but the paid subscription is worth it to me and is also reasonably priced.
Check it out here → Pink Cat Games
Edpuzzle
Edpuzzle is free and incredibly useful if you work with students who have specific interests. It lets you take a YouTube video, strip out the ads, and insert your own questions or language prompts directly into it. So if you have a student who is really into a particular topic, you can find a video about it and build real language practice right into something they actually want to watch. I believe there is a paid version that lets you save more than 20 activities, however I have not needed it personally.
Check it out here → Edpuzzle
Free Resources (Including Two You Can Grab Below)
There is a lot of great free content out there, you just have to know where to look.
Free Boom Card decks - search by skill and filter by price. There are genuinely good free decks available.
Free Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) resources - same idea. Keep an eye on sales too, especially around back to school season. SLP creators often put on a sale around the 15th of the month. Keep and eye on SLP creator social media or your TPT inbox for the hashtag to use each month.
And here are two free templates I use in my own practice every week:
📋 Caseload Tracker Template (Google Sheet)
A simple, clean spreadsheet for laying out your full caseload. I use it to track IEP dates, service times, and scheduling info. I color-code upcoming IEP deadlines so nothing sneaks up on me. Once you have your caseload, this becomes your at-a-glance reference for the whole year.
🗓️ Weekly Session Planning Template (Google Doc)
Every week, I make a copy of this template and fill it in with plans for the week. Each student has a row with basic goal info; nothing elaborate, just something like "s at the phrase level" , and a space to paste in the link to whatever activity I'm planning to use. If I use the same resource every week with a student (like the Articulation Hub), I'll link it directly in the template so it's always there and I don't have to re-add it every week.
It sounds simple, but having this system means I'm never going into a session without a plan.
The Bottom Line
You don't need to have everything figured out on day one. Start with the tech (second monitor + wired headset), grab a couple of versatile resources that will work across your caseload, bookmark Bamboozle, Pink Cat Games, Edpuzzle, and use the free templates to stay organized.
Teletherapy has a learning curve, but once you find your rhythm, it's a really rewarding way to work. You've got this!
Have a teletherapy tool or tip that you swear by? Drop it in the comments! I'd love to hear what's working for other SLPs.
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