More Opportunities to Connect

Schools Connect | Health Care Connect | Private Practice Connect
July 8–20, 2020 | Three Specialized SLP Conferences | One Online Space

Connect With Exhibitors 

Learn about products and services directly related to your job, and participate in contests and giveaways from our virtual exhibitors. (These activities are not for CE credit.) 

Connect With ASHA

"Meet" ASHA staff, learn about their work, ask questions, and get valuable resources. The following staff teams have staff areas, or "virtual tables," inside the Connect conferences site. (These activities are not for CE credit.) 

Advocacy and Public Policy: Connect with ASHA’s Advocacy and Public Policy staff members to learn about advocacy initiatives in health care, schools, and areas of professional practice and workforce! Find out how to become actively engaged on advocacy issues and make a difference! 

ASHA Continuing Education (CE): Visit ASHA Continuing Education (CE) to learn more about the CE Registry, how to access your transcript, how to earn ASHA Continuing Education Units (ASHA CEUs), and more. If you plan on earning ASHA CEUs at Connect and haven’t already paid your 2020 CE Registry fee ($28 ASHA members/$38 nonmembers), we can show you how to pay online using your credit card. The ASHA CE Registry is at your service to help you achieve your professional development goals! 

ASHFoundation: Visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) in our online space, where you will learn about our work to ignite innovation, access resources, meet our innovators, and more. Not only will you have an opportunity to help change people’s lives for the better when you make a donation, you will be able sign up for our FIRST ever virtual 5K WalkRun happening in August. Get on the move with us—“see” you at Connect!

Certification: Visit the ASHA Certification team to learn about CFCC COVID-19 accommodations for graduate students and Clinical Fellows, and brush up on the 2020 SLP Certification Standards and the 2020 Clinical Fellowship Skills Inventory. You can also learn the latest updates on the ASHA Assistants Certification programs—Eligibility Pathways, Standards for Certification, and Code of Conduct!

Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology: Connect with the Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Team, which provides leadership on behalf of ASHA on issues of importance to SLPs serving individuals with communication disorders across the life span. Learn about the team's work to promote, support, and enhance SLPs in clinical practice by providing information and offering professional consultation. The team tracks trends, collaborates in the development of resources, and serves as content coordinators for professional development programs, products, and ASHA publications. The team brings SLP perspectives to ASHA National Office staff and informs staff of contemporary and emerging SLP-related issues.

Evidence-Based Practice and ASHA’s Evidence Maps: Visit the Evidence-Based Practice and ASHA’s Evidence Maps staff area to learn about ASHA’s free evidence-based practice (EBP) resources, including a new EBP Toolkit and ASHA’s Evidence Maps. Engage with staff to ask questions and share your experiences implementing EBP. Plus, help us improve ASHA's Evidence Maps with a 5-minute survey. Give us your feedback to enter our sweepstakes to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

Heath Care Services: We know it’s been a rough year in health care and private practice as you’ve learned new skills to maximize patient outcomes in the midst of evolving reimbursement models and changing practice trends resulting from the pandemic. We are here to help. Stop by the ASHA Heath Care Services staff area to connect with us and check out resources to enhance your clinical practice in your unique health care setting—including private practice.

Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA): Vist the OMA staff area to learn about our team, which is made up of speech-language pathologists and an audiologist who have practiced across multiple settings. Our practice unit functions similarly to our SLP and Audiology practice units with a focused attention toward cultural and linguistic variables that influence service delivery. We also support membership efforts for recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations in the field. We hope that you enjoy your Connect experience and look forward to connecting with you in our virtual area.

School Services: The ASHA School Services Team responds to school-based speech-language pathologists’ requests for technical assistance, designs professional development resources, develops the Schools Connect conference program, and much more. Stop by our staff area and let us know about your conference experience.

Special Interest Groups: Whether you’re working in health care, private practice, or the schools, you’ll go further in an ASHA Special Interest Group. Stop by the SIGs’ virtual staff area to learn about ASHA’s 19 SIGs or if you have questions about tapping into your SIG benefits. And we’re giving away 34 SIG affiliations! “See” you there!  

Connect With Yourself

Multicultural Awareness and Mental Health Resources: The COVID-19 outbreak has altered life, including the landscape of work, in many ways. The isolation experienced from quarantining and physical distancing and the economic crises have profoundly impacted our personal and professional lives. In key respects, this public health crisis has disproportionately affected Black and Latino Americans. This is a challenging time to manage emotions and deal with uncertainty. We want to help ASHA members by connecting you with resources to support adaptability and strengthen resilience. We have suggested resources related to feelings of being overwhelmed, lonely and isolated, experiencing moral distress/ethical challenges, historical trauma, financial stress, grief and loss, and other contributing factors to mental health and well-being. (These activities are not for CE credit.) 

On-Demand Yoga: Lisa Feder, MBA, RYT-500, E-RYT-200, certified yoga instructor and author of the book A Year of Mindful Wellness, will offer four recorded yoga and mindfulness sessions that you can take at your convenience—and as many times as you want!—during the conference. (These activities are not for CE credit.)

1. Relax and Renew Gentle Yoga (1 hour): This relaxing and renewing Hatha Yoga session is the perfect way to start or end the day. We will tune into the breath and get centered, and then move through a series of postures that will stretch and strengthen your muscles, and cultivate calm in the body and the mind. This class is a great way to gently wake up to the day or wind down after a long day. Perfect for everyone, from new to experienced yoga practitioners. Recommended props: yoga mat, blanket, and two blocks or books.   
2. Energizing Hatha Flow (45 minutes): This Hatha Flow class will energize the body and mind as you use the breath to support movements that flow together to strengthen and enliven the body and mind. We will begin by centering with the breath and end with a short relaxation so that you can integrate the practice and move into the rest of your day with focus and balance. This class is a great way to start the day or re-energize and rebalance during the day. Recommended props: yoga mat, blanket, and two blocks or books.
3. Express Yoga Stretch Break (15 minutes): This express yoga session will clear tension from the neck, shoulders, back, and hips. It can be done anytime, anywhere, to relieve stress that builds up in the body. No prior yoga experience is necessary, and no props are needed. Just give yourself a 15-minute pause to find stress relief in the body and the mind. You will feel refreshed and renewed!   
4. Mindful Moment (15 minutes): This guided meditation will focus on the breath to help you become more present. Deep breathing calms the nervous system, lowers blood pressure, promotes blood flow, and promotes feelings of well-being and pain reduction. This practice can be done anytime, to help rebalance, refocus, and relieve stress and burnout. No prior meditation experience necessary.