How to Set Short-Term Therapy Goals for Practice Outside the Therapy Room – and Make It a Positive Experience

Many speech therapists are familiar with the challenge of practicing outside the therapy room. We invest significant time in defining therapy goals and making progress with the child during sessions, but when it comes to practicing at home or in preschool, parents or staff often struggle to implement the tasks. The result? The child's progress slows down, and sometimes additional time is needed to revisit exercises that were not reinforced.

This is where SymbolStory comes in – a smart platform for creating personalized stories that helps therapists engage parents and staff in implementing practice in a simple, accessible, and enjoyable way for the child.

A young girl sits in a cozy room, focused on practicing her speech as part of a lesson in saying the "L" sound, surrounded by study materials and the warm light streaming through the window.

Step 1: Defining a Short-Term Therapy Goal

Let’s say a child's therapy goal is acquiring the /L/ sound in spontaneous speech.To achieve this, we break the process into smaller, more manageable goals:

🔹 Short-Term Goal (for practice in the clinic and at home):"The child will produce the /L/ sound at the beginning of a word in 80% of opportunities when presented with target words."

In simple terms – we want the child to practice words that start with /L/ in various contexts.

Step 2: Integrating Practice into the Child’s Daily Life

To ensure that the child practices outside of therapy sessions, it is important to incorporate the goal into fun and accessible everyday situations.

🔹 How do we choose suitable activities?

✔️ Through reading: A customized story incorporating words with the

✔️ Through a favorite game: Integrating the target words into descriptions of actions within the child's preferred games – this can be included in the practice plan.

✔️ Through daily conversations: Emphasizing the use of relevant words and phrases during everyday activities.

💡 Example of a Social Story with SymbolStory: "I Pick Lemons from the Tree"

This story presents the child as part of an engaging activity—picking lemons from a tree. The story can include target words and phrases that encourage the child to use the /L/ sound, such as:

• Nouns: Lemon, basket.

• Relevant verbs: Pick, lift, put in.

• Useful phrases: "I want a lemon," "I put it in the basket," "The lemon smells nice."

While reading the story, the child practices producing the /L/ sound naturally and enjoyably.

Step 3: Creating a Practice Story

With SymbolStory, therapists can create a personalized story tailored to the short-term goal.

📌 What are the benefits?

✅ The child enjoys the story and the activities surrounding it.

✅ Parents and staff receive a clear, structured, and accessible tool for practice – without complex assignments.

✅ The therapist saves time, as there is no need to chase parents or staff – everything is provided in a structured format.

Step 4: Strengthening Collaboration – Easily!

In the app, you can send the story with a single click to parents and preschool staff. Instead of sending messages like "Don't forget to practice!", parents and staff receive a ready-to-use story, easy to understand and inviting for practice.

👩‍🏫 Why does this work better than written assignments?

📌 Reduces resistance – the story feels like a game, not "homework."

📌 Encourages natural repetition – the child enjoys reading it repeatedly, reinforcing learning.

📌 Fits any setting – preschool, home, or even a visit to grandparents.

So What Does SymbolStory Offer You as a Speech Therapist?

✔️ Enhances collaboration with parents and staff – no need to chase them.

✔️ Allows for creating personalized stories that bridge therapy sessions and the child’s environment.

✔️ Encourages enjoyable and positive practice, accelerating the child's progress.

✔️ Saves time and optimizes workflow – allowing therapists to focus on therapy, not on tracking practice assignments.

🟢 Want to see how SymbolStory can help you? Try it now and discover how home practice can become an enjoyable and effective experience!