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In the Sept. 5, 2006, issue of The ASHA Leader, which focused on reimbursement, there were several articles that I found greatly disturbing and lead me to a comment—that's right—one comment for all the articles. Readers may see the "why" of the comment if they know something about me.
I am from the class of 1956, which will give you some idea of my age. I had a major in what was then called "forensic speech"—that is, public speaking, debate, parliamentary procedure, and discussion. The market for that sort of thing was limited, so I spent two more years getting an MS in speech pathology and audiology. For the traditional 30 years, I worked in many areas: schools, hospitals, rehabilitation center, in private practice, and on faculties, telling younger people what I thought I knew.
In those days the work was quite simple. Someone came in with a speech or hearing problem and I did what I could to fix it. I did it well and enjoyed every minute.
Now my "comment." Had I needed to deal with all the stuff I read about in the Sept. 5 issue, I would have majored in music. I always gave reports to the referring source and I always got paid. It was as simple as that. I was not happy to be retired until I read the "stuff" in the articles.
L. Judson Farmer
Jackson, Mississippi
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