Speech therapy discharge report: template and example

A speech therapy discharge report is the document that closes a course of therapy. It sums up why the patient came, what was worked on, where they stand at the end and why sessions are stopping. It is useful to the doctor who prescribed the therapy, to the patient's GP, to the patient or their family, and to you if the patient ever comes back.

Therapy can end for several reasons. Goals have been met. The patient or family wants to stop. You refer the patient to another professional. The patient moves away.

This page gives you a section-by-section structure, a completed example and the French rules you need to know. It is part of our clinical document templates.

What this document is for

A discharge report closes the file properly. It keeps a memory of the therapy for you, for a colleague who might take over, and for the doctor who coordinates care.

It also helps the patient. Someone who stops therapy leaves with a clear picture of their progress and of what they can keep doing on their own. For a child, the family knows what to watch for and when to come back.

Discharge report or reassessment

The two documents look alike, but they say different things. The reassessment report reviews progress to justify continuing therapy. The discharge report reviews progress because therapy is stopping. The first sets new goals. The second explains why therapy ends, names who takes over and says when to come back. If you are unsure which one you need, ask yourself one question. Will I see this patient next week?

The framework in France

Informing the prescribing doctor and the GP

In most cases, speech therapy follows a medical prescription. It is standard practice to inform the prescribing doctor that therapy has ended, and the GP if they are not the prescriber. The 2026 professional handbook of the FNO, the French speech therapists' federation, has a section on progress notes and end-of-care notes. The same handbook states that the speech therapist decides the number and type of sessions. So the decision to stop is also yours, made together with the patient.

Direct access

Direct access lets speech therapists treat patients without a prescription in certain settings. French Health Insurance circular CIR-19/2023 lists hospitals and clinics, medico-social facilities, primary care teams, health centres and multidisciplinary health practices, and CPTS networks when their health project provides for it. In this setting, the speech therapist sends an initial assessment and a report of the care provided to the patient's GP, and adds these documents to the patient's shared medical record (DMP). A discharge report does this job well.

Professional confidentiality

Professional confidentiality applies to the report (article L1110-4 of the French Public Health Code). Send each recipient only what they need.

Patient access and retention

Patients can ask to see their file (article L1111-7 of the French Public Health Code). According to service-public.fr, documents must be provided within 8 days of the request, or within 2 months if the information is more than 5 years old. For a minor, this right belongs to the holders of parental authority. Write sentences the patient can read without being hurt or confused.

The discharge report stays in the patient file, which must be kept after the last session.

The structure, section by section

1. Identification and period of therapy

Patient name, date of birth, your contact details. Give the date of the initial assessment, the dates of the first and last sessions, and the usual frequency. Note any long breaks.

2. Initial reason for referral and prescription

Restate the initial complaint in one or two sentences, the prescriber's name and the prescription date. In direct access, say so and name the setting. Add the speech therapy diagnosis from the initial assessment.

3. Course of therapy

List the goals set at the start and any added along the way. Describe the main areas of work and the materials used in a few lines. Mention any reassessments, and how the family or carers were involved.

4. Progress by area

Take each area you worked on and say where the patient stands. For example spoken language, written language, communication, voice, swallowing. Describe what the patient can do in daily life today, and what is still hard. One sentence per area is often enough.

5. Results of the final assessment, if you did one

A final assessment is not always done. If you did one, list the tests given and the results you scored, and compare them with the initial assessment. If you did not, say so plainly and rely on your session observations.

6. Reason for ending therapy

This is the most important section. Say clearly why therapy is ending. Goals met, the patient's or family's wish, referral to another professional, a move, repeated absences. Stay factual and neutral, especially if the patient chose to stop.

7. Advice and handover

Give advice the patient or family can actually use. For a child, what the family and the school can do. For an adult, the everyday situations to favour. If you refer, name the type of professional and what you expect from them.

8. Possibility of resuming

Say when a new appointment would be useful. For example if difficulties return, at a new stage of schooling, or if a problem comes back. Note that resuming usually starts with a new assessment and, outside direct access, a new prescription.

9. Signature

Date, name, title, professional number and signature. List the recipients and the date sent.

A completed example

Fictional patient. The content is deliberately brief and contains no scores.

Identification and period. Mrs Claire D., 58. Initial assessment in January 2026. Weekly sessions at the practice from January to September 2026, with a three-week break in the summer.

Initial reason and prescription. Mild aphasia after an ischaemic stroke in November 2025. Prescribed by Dr L., neurologist, at hospital discharge. Main complaint, word-finding difficulty that made phone calls and work conversations hard.

Course of therapy. Initial goals, reduce word-finding difficulty in conversation, read letters and work documents fluently again, regain confidence when speaking. Work on naming, fluency and discourse in real situations. Home exercises with her husband's help.

Progress by area. Expressive language, word-finding difficulty has become rare and Mrs D. uses effective rephrasing strategies. Comprehension, no difficulty reported or observed in conversation. Reading, Mrs D. reads her letters again without help. Writing, a few errors remain when she is tired. Communication, she uses the phone again. She works part-time and takes part in meetings.

Final assessment. A final assessment was done in September 2026. Results are attached and compared with the initial assessment.

Reason for ending. Goals met. Mrs D. and I decided together to end therapy.

Advice and handover. Keep up daily reading and phone conversations. Plan breaks during busy work days. The occupational physician can be contacted if fatigue makes a full-time return difficult.

Possibility of resuming. A new appointment will be useful if word-finding difficulty returns in a way that bothers her, or after any new neurological event. It will start with a new assessment.

Recipients. Dr L., prescribing neurologist. Dr M., GP. Copy given to Mrs D.

Common mistakes

• Writing nothing when the patient stops coming. A file that ends without a note is hard to pick up. Write a short report, even without a last session.
• Copying the reassessment report. The reader must see at once that therapy is ending and why.
• A vague reason for ending. "End of therapy" is not enough. Give the reason.
• Judging the patient. Write "Mrs D. chose to stop" rather than a comment on her motivation.
• Forgetting the handover. Without advice or referral, the report loses half its value.
• Too much detail for the school. Keep the medical report for doctors. Write a separate letter for the school.

Save time with Delta

Delta is the clinical assistant for mental health and allied health professionals. After each session, it generates the session report and updates the patient record, with a summary of the therapy and the goals being tracked. When therapy ends, you can draw on that summary to prepare the discharge report.

You take notes the way you prefer. During the session, Delta transcribes what is said. After the session, you dictate your observations. You can also add written notes. Delta then drafts letters and assessments adapted to speech therapy.

As our speech therapists page explains, Delta offers templates for assessments, therapy reports and letters to the prescribing doctor, and you can create your own templates. Delta does not calculate any score. Scoring, test choice and interpretation stay with you. Delta takes the results you scored and formats them. It does not handle scheduling or billing.

Data is hosted in France by an HDS-certified host and AI processing takes place in France. The patient's name and identifying details are pseudonymised before AI processing. No audio file is kept, and data is never used to train a model. Delta is a recent tool built by a small team. You can try it for 14 days without a credit card. To learn more, read what is Delta.

Further reading

• Speech therapy reassessment template
• Speech therapy letter to the prescribing doctor
• Speech therapy session notes template
• Aphasia assessment report template
• Best AI report software for speech therapists
• All our clinical document templates

Sources

• French Health Insurance, circular CIR-19/2023 on direct access (in French)
• Service-public.fr, access to medical records, F12210 (in French)
• FNO, 2026 professional handbook (in French)