ASHA Strategic Plan

Issue D

First Quarter Progress Report (January-March, 2006)

ISSUE D: Rapid increase in the knowledge and skill sets needed to provide quality professional services in a culturally competent manner across various practice settings will lead to specialization areas of clinical practice related to communication sciences and disorders.

1^st Quarter Highlights

• The following activities related to culturally and linguistically diverse students have been initiated/scheduled for the 2006 Schools Conference in Phoenix: a 3-hour concurrent session on bilingual children and families, poster sessions and roundtables on cultural diversity issues, all presenters have been asked to include information on cultural issues in their presentation, an opening ceremony by an American Indian representative, an American Indian ASHFoundation event, and a closing plenary with an American Indian theme.
• Secured a subject matter expert to develop a continuing education video on treatment issues with bilingual populations.
• Met to discuss program planning for 2007 professional development activities related to cultural and linguistic diversity and recommended ways to infuse multicultural issues into other proposed professional development programs.
• The following documents included diversity issues, as appropriate, and were approved at the Spring LC meeting: "Guidelines for Speech-Language Pathologists in Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across the Life Span;" "Knowledge and Skills Needed by Speech-Language Pathologists for Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across the Life Span;" "Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists in Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across the Life Span;" "Roles, Knowledge, and Skills: Audiologists Providing Clinical Services to Infants and Young Children Birth to 5 Years of Age."
• Information on Dynamic Assessment and Multicultural Infusion in communication sciences and disorders curricula is included in curriculum resources packets available on the ASHA Web site.
• Working group members have been identified to develop knowledge and skill statements in the area of providing counseling to families of children who are newly identified with hearing loss.
• Audiology Connections was mailed to all CCC-A and to the LC/EB and is available on the ASHA Audiology and Audiologists Web site.
• The Council on Clinical Specialty Recognition (CCSR) has developed an action plan to evaluate the current grassroots model of Clinical Specialty Recognition.

There are 12 Strategies in the work plan for Issue D.  Following is the status for the 1^st quarter.