Quick reference

As a newly minted CF (and now a CCC-SLP), I discovered that I really enjoy having a quick reference chart near my desk. It makes things so much easier when I am writing goals or working on billing Medicaid. This past school year, I hung about a million sheets of paper at my desk to use as references. It did the trick whenever I needed to give teachers a quick bit of information without having to think through all of my training on the spot. It also made me wonder what parents must think when they came into my room for meetings. A wall full of paper with all kinds of weird stuff on it? Yeah, that's a great first impression....NOT.

My solution to this problem came at the very end of the year. All of my reference papers were laminated and could easily be stored in a notebook, but I didn't want another bulky binder on my bookcase. It is literally the pit of despair for materials as I often forget that I have all this stuff there to use. I needed something that could stay on my desk and not take up too much space. Desperate times called for a desperate measure....the book-binding machine.  If you have never seen one of these lovely contraptions, consider yourself fortunate as they often arise a great sense of confusion and frustration. It took me until the end of the year to find someone who actually knew how to use the darn thing and was willing to teach me without laughing at me. The result? A beautifully bound pack of information that I use on a frequent basis. It has a list of intervention techniques, developmental charts, IEP writing tips, etc...and it barely takes up any room.

To make your own:
1. Print/copy information that you frequently use/look up
2. Laminate the papers
3. Go to a book binding machine and insert the papers to make the holes
4. Get an appropriately sized binder and insert it into the holes using the machine.

Here are some of the key components to my reference book:


IEP information


Present Level of Academic Performance

Annual Goal

Short-term Goal

Intervention Techniques  (given to me by my school placement supervisor during grad. school)