About ASHA
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 166,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students.
Members: 166,000+
President: Patricia A. Prelock
Chief Executive Officer: Arlene A. Pietranton
Headquarters: Rockville, Maryland
Founded: 1925
Designations: Honors, Fellow
Publications:
Annual Convention:
The annual ASHA Convention will take place in Chicago, Illinois, November 14-16, 2013.
Speech & Language Disorders
Speech disorders occur when a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with their voice. Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language) or sharing thoughts, ideas and feelings completely (expressive language).
Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems.
Quick Facts:
- 40 million Americans have communication disorders, costing the U.S. approximately $154-186 billion annually (source)
- By the first grade, roughly 5% of children have noticeable speech disorders (source)
- 3 million+ Americans stutter (source)
- 6-8 million Americans have some form of language impairment (source)
- Approximately 1 million Americans suffer from aphasia (source)
- The Centers for Disease Control estimate the lifetime costs for all people with hearing loss born in the year 2000 will total $2.1 billion. Most of these costs will come from lost wages due to inability or limited ability to work (source)
Hearing Loss & Disorders
Hearing loss is determined by three categories:
Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders, as well as providing audiologic treatment.
Quick Facts:
- Approximately 31.5 million Americans have hearing loss (source)
- According to an AARP/ASHA 2011 poll of AARP members, 47% of respondents reported having untreated hearing loss (source)
- 1 in 5 Americans have hearing loss in at least 1 ear (source)
- Approximately 26 million Americans, ages 20-69, have high frequency hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises (source)