Look at What We've Accomplished Together 2011–2012

ASHA...Working With You

Advocacy

Theresa H. Rodgers, CCC-SLP, ASHA's Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy, visited the Medicare and Medicaid offices in Washington, DC, during the summer of 2012.

• Developed advocacy tools including issue briefs on Idea Part C, how paperwork stifles services to children with disabilities [PDF], the importance of including SLPs and audiologists in literacy programs [PDF], and several other high-profile topics in education
• Launched a nationwide advocacy effort—as part of the Speak Out, Be Heard federal advocacy program—to educate lawmakers on how sequestration will affect services under IDEA
• Led a collaborative effort to reverse a Medicare policy that required in-room physician supervision for videostroboscopy and nasopharyngoscopy

Improving Coverage and Reimbursement

• Successfully advocated—with help from nearly 8,000 messages from ASHA members to members of Congress—for an extension of the Medicare therapy cap exceptions process through 2012 and prevention of a 27% reduction in Medicare fee schedule rates
• Developed advocacy tools including issue briefs on Medicare coverage of rehabilitative audiology services [PDF], the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit [PDF], and other important health care issues
• Successfully submitted new or revised Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes related to otoacoustic emissions screening and testing, and non-speech-generating device evaluation

For the Professions

Strengthening the Professions

Giffords' SLPs often end intensive treatment sessions with a group sing-along to videos on YouTube.

• Launched the Associates Program
• Initiated the first audiology Leadership Development Program for audiology members who would like to develop their leadership skills and give back to the profession through volunteering
• Provided research career mentoring for 150 students and more than 100 early stage scientists in CSD
• Developed resources related to cultural competence in the discipline, including a theme issue of The ASHA Leader and two practice policy documents (Cultural Competence in Professional Service Delivery Position Statement and Professional Issues Statement)
• Redesigned and launched EdFind to make finding education programs in CSD easier
• Conducted the 2011 Higher Education System CSD Education Survey to help track trends in the CSD pipeline and make informed decisions about the future supply of CSD personnel
• Conducted surveys on workload/caseload, such as the 2012 Schools Survey, to continually monitor trends and provide data for advocacy efforts

Raising Awareness About the Professions

• Landed an exclusive interview with the SLP overseeing treatment for Gabby Giffords.


Pam Mason, ASHA's director of audiology professional practices, and Nicole Duritz, AARP's vice president of education

• Conducted the ASHA and AARP Hearing Health Poll and coordinated 37 interviews reaching nearly 1 million people through broadcast media

Sample interviews:

KRIV Houston (FOX) Clip
(Windows Media-18MB)

WZVN Ft. Myers (ABC) Clip
(Windows Media-14MB)

KUVS Sacramento (UNI) Clip
(Windows Media-16MB)

• Highlighting the results of the ASHA-AARP hearing health poll, launched the Speak Up About Hearing Loss campaign-featuring the following public service announcements (PSAs):
• 00:30 Television PSA (English)
• 00:30 Television PSA (Spanish)
• 00:30 Radio PSA (English) MP3, right click to download
• 00:30 Radio PSA (Spanish) MP3, right click to download
• Recognized Vivian Sisskin, CCC-SLP, and Janice Trent, AuD, CCC-A, as the first annual Media Outreach Champion Award winners for their efforts in fostering media relations that benefit the professions
• Staged more than 10 Listen to Your Buds concerts, entertaining thousands of elementary school students in Washington, DC, San Diego, and New York and educating them about the need to use personal audio technology safely
• Joined Es el Momento (The Moment Is Now)—a project of Univision focusing on fostering academic success in the Hispanic community—to help raise the profile of bilingual ASHA members, who will contribute to stories on a range of topics
• Added several new columns to The ASHA Leader, including "State to State," which showcases issues affecting audiologists and speech-language pathologists at the state level; "SIGnatures," featuring insights and expertise of Special Interest Group affiliates; and "App-titude," which highlights how technology is influencing professional practice

For a Better Tomorrow

Providing Tools You Need to Succeed

• Made available online viewing of course transcripts for participants in the CE Registry
• Created patient education website resources such as the Audiology Information Series [PDF]
• Held cutting-edge conferences—Health Care/Business Institute, Schools, ASHA Audiology online conference, and ASHA Convention—for a record number of members
• Awarded $50,000 to fund projects on multicultural activities, including the development of a graduate level online bilingual literacy module and materials for use with Latino, Chinese, Korean, and Arab-American populations
• Launched the ASHA Learning Center to provide convenient access to CE course content as well as on-demand access to certificates of completion for all ASHA Professional Development courses
• Conferred the Award for Continuing Education (ACE) to 5,084 individuals
• Recorded more than 24,500 course completions for continuing education courses.
• Developed PACE (Performance Assessment of Contributions and Effectiveness of Speech-Language Pathologists) as an alternative way to evaluate school-based SLPs
• Hosted online professional development conferences on topics such as fluency and AAC
• Published important resources such as RTI in Action: Oral Language Activities for K–2 Classrooms
• Revised and updated many brochures and booklets, such as SLPs in Schools and How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?, for greater health literacy and improved usability for your patients and clients

Helping You Stay Connected

• Handled more than 122,000 calls and 34,000 e-mails (actioncenter@asha.org) to the Action Center
• Provided an e-mail the Action Center link on the Contact Us page of the ASHA website to give members the ability to categorize the type of assistance they needed, resulting in faster responses
• Launched a dedicated dues renewal line—888-321-ASHA (2742)—to provide quick and easy access to dues/fees payments and account updates
• Produced six ASHA Access Audiology e-newsletters and the annual ASHA Audiology Connections [PDF] magazine
• More than 50,000 members have logged into the new ASHA Community since it launched in October 2011, with more than 13,000 messages posted by our members. ASHA members, Tatyana Elleseff, Shelley Lloyd, Denise Rogers, Terri Spencer, Pamela Rowe, James Coyle, and Nola Radford have all been big contributors to its success.
• Continued to grow ASHA's social media channels. Our Facebook page is liked by more than 38,000 people, we have more than 11,000 Twitter followers, and our newly launched Pinterest page has more than 1,700 followers. ASHA members continue to use #SLPeeps, #AUDPeeps, and #BHSM hashtags to connect with one another using Twitter.
• Since ASHA launched its member blog, ASHAsphere, over 180 blog posts have generated over 820 comments. ASHA members Sean Sweeney, Kim Lewis, Barbara Fernandes, and Kenn Staub have been top contributors.
• Provided Special Interest Group (SIG) affiliates free access to the exclusive content for all issues of Perspectives, the ability to browse freely across all 18 SIG topic areas, the opportunity to earn low cost CEUs through Perspectives self-study activities, and access to the exclusive new SIG online community.

"The best use of my membership dollars."

Lisa Chattler
Seal Beach, California
SIG 11, Administration and Supervision
SIG 16, School-Based Issues

"I have been a member of the Special Interest Groups for more than 15 years. I love the articles. They make me smarter. While working for the DOE, I belonged to 1 and 16. Now, as a clinical supervisor at NYU, I belong to 1 and 2. I tell everyone to join."

Regina Weiner

ASHA Makes a Difference

• Nationally recognized certification
• Access to the latest research
• A proven track record on critical legislative and regulatory issues at all levels of government
• Professional consultation with staff experts
• Latest knowledge and information from fellow CSD professionals
• A wealth of online resources
• Tools for marketing our professions to consumers
• Access to robust continuing education
• Unparalleled networking opportunities
• Participation in building the positive image of the professions
• Improved patient outcomes
• National standard for academic program accreditation
• Rigorous ethical standards
• Opportunity to impact the future of the professions through grants and scholarships
• A place to enhance leadership skills

Learn more—go to the Value of ASHA.

Get Involved and Make a Difference

• Be a lifelong member of ASHA...renew annually!
• Get involved-join a committee, Special Interest Group, or your state association.
• Support the ASHA-PAC and ASHFoundation.
• Become a mentor and encourage others to enter the professions.
• Network and become a lifelong learner.
• Promote yourself and the professions in your community.

Renew your membership online! For further information, or if you have any questions, please contact the Action Center at 800-498-2071.