The Essential Tools to Start in Speech Therapy
Assessment tests, rehabilitation materials, digital equipment: build your professional toolkit with the essential tools for effective practice.
Building your speech therapist toolkit represents a strategic investment for any recent graduate. Versatility is key: it is better to have a few tools mastered perfectly than a plethora of underutilized items. This guide will assist you in selecting essential equipment.
🎯 Understanding Equipment Logic
The equipment of an office meets multiple needs that evolve with experience. At the start, the goal is to have a versatile base that can accommodate the diversity of patients while reserving targeted investments for the future.
Assessment
Standardized tests to make a reliable diagnosis and justify your interventions
Rehabilitation
Games and materials for therapeutic sessions, suitable for all profiles
Digital
Management software, tablet, and applications to modernize your practice
📋 Essential Tests and Assessments
Assessment materials represent a significant but essential investment. Standardized tests allow for reliable diagnoses and justify your interventions to prescribers.
Child Oral Language Tests
EVALO 2-6 Essential
Comprehensive assessment of oral language in children aged 2 to 6. Explores phonology, vocabulary, morphosyntax, and pragmatics.
💰 450-500 €ELO Essential
Oral Language Assessment for ages 3-10. Quick and effective test covering vocabulary and comprehension.
💰 180-220 €N-EEL
New Tests for Language Examination. In-depth phonological analysis for ages 3-8.
💰 350-400 €EXALANG 3-6 / 5-8
Computerized batteries by age group. Quick administration and automated scoring.
💰 300-350 € / versionWritten Language Tests
ALOUETTE-R Essential
Reference reading test CP-High School. Assesses reading speed and accuracy on nonsensical text.
💰 80-100 €TIMÉ-3 Essential
Written Word Identification Test. Distinguishes assembly route and addressing route.
💰 90-120 €BELO
Complete battery for reading + spelling for CE1-CM2. Analyzes strategies used.
💰 150-180 €Chronodictées
Standardized spelling assessment CE1 to 3rd grade. Simple and quick to use.
💰 60-80 €💡 Starting Advice
For a generalist setup in pediatrics, the combination EVALO 2-6 + ELO + ALOUETTE-R + TIMÉ-3 effectively covers most situations. Budget: around 800-900 €. Other tests will gradually enrich your toolkit.
🎮 Rehabilitation Materials
Rehabilitation materials constitute your daily toolkit. Games, picture books, educational materials: diversity allows for varied approaches and maintains patient motivation.
🗣️ Oral Language - Phonology and Vocabulary
- Photographic Picture Books: Collections of images sorted by categories (40-100 €)
- Phonological Lottos: Discrimination and production of sounds (25-45 € per box)
- Classification Games: Semantic sorting, logical links, intruders (25-50 €)
- Sequential Stories: Images to be ordered chronologically (20-50 €)
✏️ Written Language
- Mobile Letters: Plastic, wooden, or magnetic alphabets (10-30 €)
- Syllables to Assemble: Cards to build words (15-35 €)
- Spelling Games: Materials for spelling rules (20-50 €)
- Flash Reading: Word cards for automation (15-30 €)
👄 Oro-Facial Materials
- Rehabilitation Mirror: Visual feedback of movements (30-100 €)
- Tongue Depressors and Gloves: Essential consumables (20-30 € / set)
- Breathing Materials: Straws, candles, feathers, windmills (20-50 €)
🎯 Enrich Your Toolkit with DYNSEO
DYNSEO applications perfectly complement your traditional materials with scientifically validated digital supports.
🧒 COCO for children • 👨 JOE for adults • 👵 EDITH for seniors
Discover the 69 tools →💻 Digital Tools
Computerization of the office has become essential for administrative management and the use of digital rehabilitation supports.
Computer
Recent PC or Mac, 8 GB RAM minimum, 256 GB SSD. Budget: 600-1200 €
Tablet
iPad or Android for rehabilitation applications. Budget: 400-900 €
Printer
Multifunction with scanner for reports. Budget: 150-350 €
⚠️ Essential Management Software
Office management software manages scheduling, billing, teletransmission, and patient files. Expect 30 to 80 € per month depending on features. Some publishers offer preferential rates for newly established professionals.
🎲 Adaptable Commercial Games
Many popular games prove to be excellent rehabilitation supports. Their strengths: quality design, accessible price, and immediate availability.
Dobble Must-Have
Visual attention, quick naming, vocabulary. Usable in multiple ways.
💰 15 €Guess Who? Must-Have
Description, question formulation, descriptive vocabulary of physical characteristics.
💰 20 €Time's Up
Definition, mime, evocation. Excellent for lexical work and paraphrasing.
💰 25 €Dixit
Figurative language, imagination, interpretation. Stimulating dreamlike illustrations.
💰 30 €Story Cubes
Illustrated dice to invent stories. Narrative, creativity, connectors.
💰 12 €Uno
Colors, numbers, simple rules, attention, inhibition. Timeless classic.
💰 10 €💡 Adaptation Tip
The same game can serve dozens of objectives! With Dobble: name the symbols, make sentences, categorize, describe, find the first sound, count syllables... Your creativity multiplies the value of each purchase.
💰 Projected Budget
| Category | Minimal Budget | Comfort Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Tests and Assessments (base) | 800 € | 1,500 € |
| Rehabilitation Materials | 500 € | 1,000 € |
| Computer Equipment | 800 € | 1,500 € |
| Tablet + Applications | 400 € | 800 € |
| Commercial Games | 100 € | 200 € |
| Various Small Equipment | 200 € | 400 € |
| TOTAL | 2,800 € | 5,400 € |
💡 Savings Strategies
✅ Tips for Saving
🎯 Conclusion
Building your equipment represents a thoughtful investment that will support your practice for many years. Start with the essentials that correspond to your target clientele, then gradually enrich according to the needs encountered.
Quality prevails over quantity: it is better to master a few well-chosen tools perfectly than to accumulate underutilized materials. Your ideal toolkit is one that corresponds to your practice and your patients.
Ready to build your toolkit?
DYNSEO supports you with innovative digital tools.
