For Speech-Language Pathologists ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a reliable system for generating custom therapy materials — word lists, minimal pairs, practice passages, story stems, social scripts, and parent activity sheets — using ChatGPT. Instead of spending 30-60 minutes per session hunting through TpT or rebuilding the same types of materials from scratch, you'll generate exactly what you need in 2-3 minutes.
What you'll need
Go to chatgpt.com and click Sign up. Use your email or sign in with Google. The free plan gives you access to GPT-4o-mini, which handles material generation well.
What you should see: The ChatGPT conversation interface — a text input box and your conversation history on the left.
For each material-generation session, start with a brief context line. This prevents generic output:
I'm a speech-language pathologist creating therapy materials. All materials should be appropriate for [age range] and [setting: outpatient clinic / school / home practice]. I'll describe what I need and you'll generate the material.
Describe specifically what you need. The more specific, the better the output. Use the template prompts below as your starting point.
What you should see: The generated material appearing in the conversation — a word list, story, activity description, or handout text as requested. Troubleshooting: If the words aren't appropriate (too hard, too easy, wrong phoneme), add "revise — some of those words are too advanced for a 4-year-old" and ChatGPT will adjust.
Always scan the output before using it in therapy. Check:
Copy the output to a Word document, Google Doc, or paste directly into your session prep notes. For recurring materials (your standard /r/ word list, your most-used minimal pairs), save them in a folder organized by target.
Articulation word lists:
Generate [X] words with [phoneme] in [initial/medial/final] position for a [age]-year-old. Use common, concrete words. [Optional: organize by syllable count / avoid multisyllabic / include only nouns]
Minimal pairs:
Generate [X] minimal pairs contrasting [phoneme 1] vs [phoneme 2] in [initial/final] position. Both words in each pair must be real, common words a [age]-year-old would know.
Fluency reading passage:
Write a [X]-word reading passage for a [age]-year-old practicing [technique]. Topic: [patient interest]. Sentence length: [short/medium]. Include [X] vowel-initial words for Easy Onset practice.
Story stems for language:
Write 5 story stems (first sentence only) that a [age]-year-old can finish aloud. Each stem should set up a scenario requiring [narrative skill: a problem to solve / a sequence of events / emotional response]. Keep sentences simple enough for the child to complete.
Social scripts:
Write a scripted conversation for teaching [social communication skill: initiating conversation / asking for help / declining an invitation] to a [age]-year-old with [autism/pragmatic language disorder]. Include 2-3 model exchanges showing appropriate responses.