American Speech–Language–Hearing Association

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Formation	December 1925 (1925-12) (as American Academy of Speech Correction) Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
Headquarters	2200 Research Boulevard Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Chief Executive Officer	Vicki R. Deal-Williams
Website	ASHA.org

The American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA) is a professional association for speech–language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. It has more than 218,000 members and affiliates.

The association's national office is located at 2200 Research Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland. The organization also has an office on Capitol Hill.

Vicki R. Deal-Williams is currently serving as the association's chief executive officer.

History

ASHA was founded in 1925 as the American Academy of Speech Correction in the home of Lee Edward Travis in Iowa City, Iowa.

The charter members were Margaret Gray Blanton, Smiley Blanton, Richard Carmen Borden, Frederick Warner Brown, Mary A Brownell, Alvin Clayton Busse, Pauline Beatrice Camp, Jane Dorsey (Zimmerman), Eudora Porter Estabrook, Mabel Farrington Gifford, Max Aaron Goldstein, Ruth Green, Laura Heilman, Elmer Lawton Kenyon, Mabel V Lacey, Elizabeth Dickinson McDowell, Thyrza Nichols, Samuel Dowse Robbins, Sara Mae Stinchfield (Hawk), Jane Bliss Taylor, Charles Kenneth Thomas, Lee Edward Travis, Lavilla Amelia Ward, Sina Fladeland Waterhouse, and Robert William West.

In 1927, they changed their name to American Society for the Study of Disorders of Speech, in 1934 to the American Speech Correction Association, in 1947 to the American Speech and Hearing Association. The current name was adopted in 1978.

Council for Academic Accreditation

The Council for Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech–Language Pathology (CAA) is the accreditation unit of the ASHA. Founded over 100 years ago by American universities and secondary schools, CAA established standards for graduate program accreditation that meet entry-level preparation in the speech and hearing field. Accreditation is available for graduate programs with a master's degree in Speech–Language Pathology or clinical doctoral program in audiology.

ASHA membership benefits

Professionals of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) can become members of ASHA. These professionals include audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech-language-hearing scientists. As of December 31, 2021, there are more than 218,000 members and affiliates of ASHA. Members, however, report that they are forced into membership, paying higher than other comparable professions to maintain licensure. This is after participating in 400 hours of unpaid labor for clinical experience.

Opportunities ASHA membership brings include access to publications associated with ASHA, to continuing education programs through ASHA, to a platform to network with other CSD professionals, to career-building tools, and to money-saving programs.

Special interest groups

ASHA sponsors special interest groups (SIGs) within the organization as a means of promoting community and learning in more specialized topics. As of 2016, ASHA has 19 established Special Interest Groups. These have been added through the years. ASHA members can be a SIG Affiliate of any number of SIGs, with each affiliation requiring astronomical yearly dues.