Speech therapy discharge summary template and example
A speech therapy discharge summary format with an outcomes-by-goal table, clear return criteria, and example entries throughout.
✓Start-to-discharge outcome for every goal
✓Clear signs for when to return
✓Ready for a future therapist
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What's inside
Reason for Discharge
Episode of Care
Communication Outcomes by Goal
How Communication Looks Now
Strengths and Ongoing Needs
Recommendations After Discharge
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Copies Shared With
+ 1 more sections
Preview · 9 sections
Speech Therapy Discharge Summary
Patient
Patient ID
Date of birth
Discharge date
Therapist
Episode of care (start to end)
Sessions attended
Discharge type (planned / transfer / early / other)
Reason for Discharge
Reason for discharge
Episode of Care
Referral and starting concernsWhy therapy began, with the date of the first assessment.
Therapy providedFrequency, setting, approaches, languages used, and who took part.
Communication Outcomes by Goal
Goal
At start
At discharge
Outcome
Evidence
How Communication Looks Now
Current communication in daily lifeWhat the person does now at home, school or work, with examples.
Strengths and Ongoing Needs
Strengths
Ongoing needs
Recommendations After Discharge
Home, school or work strategies
Onward referrals or services
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Signs that should prompt a re-referral
Copies Shared With
Recipients and date shared
Therapist Sign-off
Therapist
Designation
Registration
Date
How to fill it in
1
Reason for Discharge
State plainly why therapy is ending, neutrally if it ended early.
More guidance
State the reason plainly: goals achieved, a planned break, transfer, relocation, the family's decision, or repeated non-attendance. If therapy ended early, record that neutrally along with any advice you gave. The reason changes how a future therapist reads everything below it.
2
Episode of Care
The referral, first assessment date, and the therapy provided, in brief.
More guidance
Give the referral, the date of the first assessment, and the therapy provided: number of sessions, frequency, setting, approaches, languages used and who took part. Keep it brief. A reader who needs more can request the assessment and progress reports.
3
Communication Outcomes by Goal
Every goal's start and final data, outcome and evidence, including goals not met.
More guidance
List every goal from the treatment plan, including goals that changed or closed early. Compare the starting data with the final data using the same measure, record the outcome, and give the evidence. Goals that were not achieved belong here too, each with a short reason.
4
How Communication Looks Now
Daily communication at discharge, with examples the family will recognise.
More guidance
Describe the person's communication in daily life at discharge: who understands them and where, what they can do now that they could not before, and what still takes effort. Use examples the family will recognise. This paragraph is often the most read part of the whole document.
5
Strengths and Ongoing Needs
Short, observable strengths, and the things to watch or support.
More guidance
Fill both columns. Strengths might include clear speech in familiar settings, confidence answering in class, or a family who now models language well. Ongoing needs are things to watch or support and are not necessarily reasons for more therapy. Keep each item short and observable.
6
Recommendations After Discharge
Specific home and school strategies and referrals, naming who acts on each.
More guidance
Give specific strategies for home and school, and any referral with its reason, such as a hearing review or a reading assessment. Name who should act on each point. If you suggest a check-in at a certain time, give the month rather than "later".
7
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Specific signs that should prompt the family to get in touch.
More guidance
List specific signs that should prompt the family to get in touch: new difficulty being understood, stuttering that returns and bothers the child, or concerns raised by the school. Clear return criteria help families act early without worrying over every small slip.
8
Copies Shared With
Who received the summary, how and when, with the family's agreement.
More guidance
Record who received the summary, how and when, with the family's agreement for anyone outside the clinic. This protects the family's privacy and saves time when a future therapist or school asks what was shared. If the family asked you not to send a copy to someone, note that too.
Speech therapy discharge summary template and example: filled sample
Fictional entries, initials only, showing the level of detail to aim for. Impression and summary sections are left for the treating clinician.
Reason for Discharge
Discharged after the goals in the July treatment plan were achieved and parents agreed that therapy could end. Final session 28 March.
Episode of Care
Referred by the paediatrician in June for unclear speech. 44 sessions over nine months, twice weekly in clinic, in Telugu and English. Grandmother attended most sessions; mother joined online once a month.
Communication Outcomes by Goal
Say /k/ and /g/ in conversation | 2 of 10 in single words with a model | 9 of 10 in a five-minute conversation, independent | Achieved | Data from the final two sessions and parent report
How Communication Looks Now
A. now talks with relatives on video calls and is understood without his mother repeating for him. He still sometimes drops sounds when speaking quickly in a noisy classroom.
Recommendations After Discharge
Keep reading picture books together daily and talking about the pictures. Class teacher to allow a little extra time for spoken answers. Hearing re-check in June, as the audiologist advised.
When to Contact the Clinic Again
Please contact us if teachers report that A. is hard to understand, or if he starts avoiding talking in class.
Copies Shared With
Parents (PDF by email, 2 April); class teacher (printed copy handed over by parents, with their agreement).
Discharge summary vs final progress report
Discharge summary
Final progress report
Marks
The end of the episode of care
The end of a reporting period
Looks back over
All of therapy, from the first assessment
The last few weeks or months
Looks ahead to
Life after therapy and when to return
Goals for the next period
Goal table
Start against discharge, with an outcome
Baseline against current, with a status
Typical readers
Family, a future therapist and the referrer
Family and school
Tips and mistakes to avoid
Do
Write for a therapist who might meet this person in five years' time.
Name the strategies that worked in plain words; families often hand this to a new school.
When a family stops early over fees or travel, write it anyway and add a short home plan.
Record the languages used in therapy for a future therapist who may work in another language.
In healhab, correcting a published document creates a new version, so the record shows what was shared and when.
Avoid
Listing only the goals that were achieved.
Discharging without return criteria, so the family is unsure when to come back.
Copying the last progress report and changing the title.
Recommendations that depend on the therapist acting after therapy has ended.
About this discharge summary
A speech therapy discharge summary records why therapy is ending, what was worked on, the outcome for each goal, how the person communicates now, and what should happen next. This template includes an outcomes table, home and school strategies, onward referrals, and the signs that should prompt the family to contact the clinic again.
Goals are met and therapy ends as planned
The family is moving or taking a long break
Transfer to another therapist or service
Therapy stops early at the family's request
Read more
Every episode of therapy should end with a written record, whether goals were met, the family moved or therapy paused for board exams. It is often the first document a future therapist asks for.
Write it at the last session from the treatment plan, progress reports and final data. Hospitals may call it a speech and language discharge report. Give recommendations and return criteria as much room as outcomes.
Questions
What should a speech therapy discharge summary include?+
The reason for discharge, the episode of care, each goal with its starting data, final data and outcome, how the person communicates now, strengths and ongoing needs, recommendations, when to return, and who received copies.
What is the discharge summary format for speech therapy in India?+
Formats vary between hospitals and clinics. Most follow the order used here: identifying details, reason for discharge, therapy provided, outcomes, recommendations and sign-off. Add your letterhead and the therapist's registration details.
Is there a filled sample of this discharge summary?+
Yes. Most sections show a fictional sample entry, using initials only, such as an outcomes row and a return-criteria line. The outcome for each goal is your judgement from your own data, so write it yourself.
Do I need a discharge summary if the family just stopped coming?+
Yes. Write it from what you have, record the last session date and your attempts to contact the family, and include the recommendations you would have given. It keeps continuity if they return.
Can a discharge summary be shared with a school?+
With the family's agreement. Record who received it and when. Some families prefer to give the school a shorter letter containing only the recommendations.
How is a discharge summary different from a transfer letter?+
A transfer letter introduces the client to a new therapist or service. The discharge summary is the full record of the episode. When transferring a client, many therapists send both.
