Indicators of the Need for Audiologists, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Speech, Language, and Hearing Scientists

• Dramatic increases in referrals of preschool and school-age children for speech, language and hearing services
• Changes in U.S. demographics - growing aging population
• Larger bilingual populations: It is estimated that more than 5 million individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have a speech, language, or hearing disability
• National public health policy agenda for early identification and diagnosis of hearing disorders in infants and toddlers
• Greater success in the use of life-saving measures at birth of children with potential for communication disorders
• Greater emphasis on rehabilitation priorities as a result of an increased number of young adults with closed-head injuries, blast injury survivors and the "graying of America"
• Passage of federal laws and regulations addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities
  • Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA)
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as Amended by the Rehabilitation Act of 1984
  • Health Professions Act - Title VII of the Public Health Service Act
  • Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act
  • Medicare and Medicaid