You’d Hate to Work Here! Speech Rooms that Could Make You Cry Speech therapists in schools get offered some of the worst rooms ever! If a great therapy space is one of your priorities, private practice is probably the...
You’d Hate to Work Here! Speech Rooms that Could Make You Cry
Speech therapists in schools get offered some of the worst rooms ever! If a great therapy space is one of your priorities, private practice is probably the way to go, since school space is often crowded and administrators seem to prioritize by how often you are in the building and the number of students you work with. With our small groups and multiple schools, it seems that SLPs are often the last to get a space to work in a school (and often the worst!).
The WORST Speech Therapy ROOM EVER!
The Cage
“My Worst Room Ever was what we dubbed “the Cage.” It was in the basement of the building and was literally “cage” material that cut it off from the rest of the area. I shared it with the band/instrument instructor and was constantly having to move all the music stands out of the way on the two days I was there. There wasn’t anywhere to hang pictures or make it more comfortable and a friendly atmosphere for my students. Luckily I was only there for a semester when another room opened up for my use.” Stefanie
The Smell or The Noise?
“When I was student teaching, once/week we saw students in the custodian’s closet, complete with the mop in the rolling bucket or water….and the SMELL!! At another school, while I was student teaching, we saw students on the stage with the curtains closed but in the rest of the room, the BAND was practicing!!!” Beth
The Crowd or The Hall?
“More recently, I worked in an Early Learning Center. I could see students in a room with 8 SLP’s desks. Multiple therapy sessions went on at the same time, teachers came in and out of the room to talk with the SLPs, parents came in, administrators, etc. Or my other choice was to see students at a table in the hallway outside the bathroom and a classroom for early childhood autistic students.” Beth
The Bathroom
“I went to a new school where the principal hated speech paths. He took me to a boy’s bathroom that was IN USE! Really? When I said no thanks, he then led me to a dentist’s office where there was a dental chair and room to walk around it. Needless to say, I found my own space that year, which was on the floor of a stairway landing.” Linda
The Stage
“Worst room experience – when I had to work on the stage at the elementary school while PE was happening in the gym – the only thing separating us was the stage curtain. I had a very hard time trying to tell if my students were saying their sounds correctly :(“ Kim
A Tornado Proof Room!
“Worst room for me was a previous janitors closet at a middle school. Still had water fixtures exposed, no windows, barely fit 3 students. However, if there would have been a tornado, I would have been set!” Ashley
The Roach Motel
“I’ve been pretty lucky with rooms, but my first speech room consistently had roaches and roach poop in it :/” Annie
Just a Desk
“Worst room was an electrical closet that could only fit my desk and a file cabinet. I had to search the school to find an empty space for the actual therapy session.” Tatiana
Beer, Anyone?
“When working early intervention, I had two different families own liquor stores and had to do all my visits on top of crates of beer! Seriously!” Renee
SLPs have been offered some pretty terrible spaces to work in! What is your WORST SPEECH ROOM EVER story?
Please add your story in the comments- then we will feel like we are in good company!
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