Pediatric Therapy Productivity Benchmarks
Pediatric targets run lower than any other health care setting in the data. ASHA’s 2025 survey found a median productivity requirement of 70% for SLPs in pediatric hospitals, compared with 80% across all settings. But requirements are common: 83% of pediatric hospital SLPs report having one.
By the Best Therapy Productivity Calculator team · Last updated October 2026
Pediatric benchmarks at a glance
70%
Median SLP productivity requirement, pediatric hospital
ASHA 2025
83%
of pediatric hospital SLPs have a requirement
ASHA 2025
65% → 70%
Change in the median from 2015 to 2025
ASHA
Pediatric benchmarks
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median SLP productivity requirement, pediatric hospital | 70% (2025), 69% (2023), 65% (2015) | ASHA |
| Pediatric hospital SLPs with any requirement | 83% | ASHA 2025 |
What we couldn’t find: a public national survey of productivity targets for pediatric outpatient clinics, early intervention, or pediatric PT and OT. We don’t fill that gap with estimates.
Why pediatric targets are lower
- Caregiver involvement: parent coaching and home program training are core to pediatric care and take time around each session
- Scheduling around school: after-school slots fill fast, leaving mornings harder to book
- Illness and cancellations: children get sick often, and a cancelled session is hard to fill
- Longer documentation: developmental assessments and progress reports for families, schools and insurers
- Behavior and engagement: sessions sometimes need warm-up, breaks and transitions
What 70% looks like in a pediatric day
| Paid day | Billable minutes at 70% | At 75% | Non-billable at 70% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 hours (420 min) | 294 | 315 | 126 |
| 8 hours (480 min) | 336 | 360 | 144 |
Example: A pediatric outpatient OT starts at 9:00 AM with 294 billable minutes and a 70% target. 294 ÷ 0.70 = 420 paid minutes (7 hours), so the clock-out is 4:00 PM, with 126 minutes for caregiver training, notes and setup.
Try your schedule in the therapy productivity calculator.
Questions to ask a pediatric employer
- What’s the productivity target, and is it different for evaluations?
- Does caregiver education time count as productive?
- How are cancellations and no-shows handled?
- Is there a waitlist to fill gaps?
- Are after-school hours expected?
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal productivity target for pediatric therapists?
For SLPs in pediatric hospitals, ASHA’s 2025 median is 70%. Other pediatric settings aren’t covered by national surveys.
Why is pediatric productivity lower than adult settings?
Common reasons include caregiver training, frequent cancellations, school-hour scheduling and detailed documentation, all of which take non-billable time.
Do school-based therapists have productivity targets?
Schools usually manage caseload or workload rather than a productivity percentage. See school-based therapy workload.
More benchmarks: All settings · School-based workload