---
{"title": "How to draft SLP client progress reports in 2026", "description": "A plain guide for speech language pathologists to draft client progress reports, with steps, tools and mistakes to avoid.", "url": "https://xpdaily.com/how-to-draft-client-progress-reports-for-speech-language-pathologists/", "date": "2026-10-21"}
---
A plain guide for speech language pathologists to draft client progress reports, with steps, tools and mistakes to avoid.

Collect the client's goals and session notes, write progress against each goal in plain language, stick to what the notes support, and close with next steps. A dictation tool can type the report as you speak.

| Option | What it does | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Word processor | You write the report from your notes by hand | Depends on what you already own |
| A dictation tool on your device | Types what you say as you speak | Not published here; check the tool's own page |
| QuickDictate | Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using [^1] | Free for personal and noncommercial use [^1]; commercial use needs a separate licence [^1] |

## What you need before you start

Drafting a client progress report takes a few things ready before you write.

- **The client's current goals.** A progress report measures progress against the goals in the treatment plan, so have those goals in front of you as you write.
- **Session notes.** Notes from each session give the evidence for the progress you report, so pull them together before you start.
- **Baseline and recent data.** Targets and scores show where the client started and where they are now, which is what a progress report records.
- **A report format.** Many practices require a set layout for progress reports, such as a summary, goal-by-goal progress and next steps. Follow the format your practice uses.
- **A quiet place to dictate.** If you plan to dictate the report, background noise makes the speech harder to turn into text, so choose a quiet spot.
- **A place for the final text.** You need to know where the finished report goes, whether that is a records system, a document file or a paper printout.

## Step by step

These steps work with any tool, including writing by hand.

1. **Open the client's goals and session notes.** Put the treatment plan and the notes for the period side by side before you write.
2. **Write the header first.** Client name, date of the report, reporting period and who is writing it. This keeps the report complete from the start.
3. **Summarise the period in a few lines.** A short opening paragraph says what the client worked on and the overall picture.
4. **Report each goal in turn.** For every goal, say what the client is working toward and what the notes show since the last report.
5. **Stick to what the notes support.** Only write progress that the session notes and data back up. If the notes are thin on a goal, say so.
6. **State progress in plain language.** Write sentences a family member or another professional can follow, and explain clinical terms the first time they appear.
7. **Add next steps.** End with what the client will work on next and any changes to the plan.
8. **Read the report back.** Check it against the notes once for accuracy and once for wording, then correct anything that does not match.
9. **Save and file it.** Put the finished report where your practice keeps records, and note the date it was completed.

## Tools that can do it

You do not need special software for this. Here are options to consider.

**A word processor.** You write the report from your notes by hand. Nothing is published here about price or limits because it depends on what you already own.

**A note app or template your practice already uses.** If your practice works from a report template, you fill it in each time. Facts about specific apps are not provided here, so check their own pages for limits and cost.

**A dictation tool your device already has.** Speech-to-text built into your computer or phone can type what you say. Its words appear as you speak, and you correct them as you go. Check its own page for what it charges and what it needs set up first.

**QuickDictate.** QuickDictate is made by the team that publishes this site. QuickDictate is a Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using. [^1] You hold a key while you talk, or press it once to start and once to stop, and you can change both keys. [^1] It types into whichever window has focus, such as an editor, chat box, terminal or web form. [^1] With some cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking. [^1] You can use ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope or Google, and that provider bills you directly. [^1] You can list words and phrases that are sent to the provider to help it recognise them, and a list that corrects spellings fixes errors such as "Chat GPT" to "ChatGPT". [^1] Choose the Local setting and install a speech model, such as Whisper Large v3 Turbo, to dictate without an internet connection or API key. [^1] While you are dictating, other apps' audio is muted or turned down, and it goes back to its old level when you stop. [^1] It runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, with no Mac or Linux version. [^1] It is delivered as an .exe file on GitHub, with a built-in updater that works silently. [^1] QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. [^1] Commercial use, which client progress reports for a practice count as, needs a separate licence. [^1]

## Common mistakes to avoid

**Reporting more than the notes show.** A progress report that claims progress the session notes do not support is the most common error. Write only what the notes and data back up.

**Repeating the goals instead of showing progress.** Saying the goal over again is not a report. Say what changed since the last report.

**Skipping a goal.** If a goal has no progress to report, say so plainly rather than leaving it out, so the reader knows it was not forgotten.

**Leaving clinical terms unexplained.** A report a family cannot follow is hard to use. Explain any term the first time it appears.

**Saving without a read-back.** Drafting and finishing in one pass lets mistakes through. Read the report against the notes once before it is filed.

**Forgetting the next steps.** A progress report that ends at the last session leaves the reader without a plan. Close with what comes next.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can QuickDictate type a client progress report into a records window?

QuickDictate types what you say into whichever window has focus, such as an editor, chat box, terminal or web form. [^1] That can be a document file or another window where you are working. What you say is typed into that window as text you can then correct, so the report ends up where you are working.

### Is QuickDictate free for speech language pathologists?

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. [^1] Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. [^1] Client progress reports for a practice count as commercial use, which needs a separate licence. [^1]

### Does QuickDictate need an internet connection to dictate?

It depends on the speech model you choose. With a cloud provider, dictation uses that provider's service. [^1] Choose the Local setting and install a speech model, such as Whisper Large v3 Turbo, to dictate without an internet connection or API key. [^1]

### Can QuickDictate recognise clinical terms a speech language pathologist uses?

QuickDictate lets you list words and phrases that are sent to the provider to help it recognise them, and a list that corrects spellings fixes errors such as "Chat GPT" to "ChatGPT". [^1] This can help clinical terms appear as intended and correct spellings that dictation gets wrong.

### Does QuickDictate need a quiet room to avoid mishearing?

A quieter place helps speech turn into text, whatever tool you use. QuickDictate can also lower or mute other apps' audio while you dictate, restoring its previous level when you stop. [^1] That keeps playback from other apps from running over your dictation.

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. [^1] - [Visit QuickDictate](/go/start)

## Sources

[^1]: QuickDictate's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/start)