American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) in Rockville, MD is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 150,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. Support personnel in audiology and speech-language pathology are also affiliated with ASHA. The organization's vision is to make effective communication a human right, accessible and achievable for all. ASH's mission is to empower and support speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists by: (1) advocating on behalf of persons with communication and related disorders; (2) advancing communication science; and (3) promoting effective human communication. During a recent interview, Greg Weimann, Public Relations Manager, and other ASHA staff answered the following questions . . .

1. What prompted the development of your organization?

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) rich history began in 1925 at an informal meeting of the National Association of Teachers of Speech (NATS) in Iowa City, IA. NATS was an organization made up of people working in the areas of rhetoric, debate and theater. Its members were becoming increasingly interested in speech correction and wanted to establish an organization to promote "scientific, organized work in the field of speech correction." Accordingly, in December of that year, the American Academy of Speech Correction, ASHA's original predecessor, was born. ASHA has grown exponentially since its inception from 25 members in 1925 to 150,000 members in 2012.

2. What are key issues that are being addressed currently by the organization?

They are speech, language and hearing issues related to children and adults. Also, the Association's Listen To Your Buds campaign is a public education campaign that is aimed at preventing noise-induced hearing loss by helping parents teach their children how to use personal audio technology safely. Learn more at www.listentoyourbuds.org.

3. How might a family caregiver or helping professional use your programs or services?

Speech-language Pathology Issues: Family members, other caregivers and professionals are essential partners with speech-language pathologists in helping a patient to apply strategies for communication and swallowing in daily activities—because these interactions happen all day long, not just when the speech-language pathologist is present. By observing a patient, the speech-language pathologist, caregivers and professionals can better understand an individual's limitations in understanding speech, expressing thoughts and needs; they can then provide cues to help the individual be more successful. ASHA's website features a section "For the Public" that describes speech, language, and swallowing problems in children and adults and provides resources for caregivers and helping professionals. ASHA also provides brochures and other materials that provide more detailed information about these issues.

Audiology Issues: When infants are diagnosed with permanent hearing loss, it is very important that families/caregivers be comfortable in adjusting to the identification of hearing loss in babies and that they are part of the process. They need to know about hearing loss, how to advocate for issues [such as reimbursement or Individualized Education Program (IEP)] for their child, and they need to understand technology and best practices/certification/ licensure of professionals. We provide general, plain language information on our website and provide individualized and continuing professional consultation to assist in family engagement.

For adults with untreated hearing loss, the ASHA website's section on hearing loss is helpful. When providing clinical services, it is important to involve family members, since the patient has a hearing loss and may miss critical information. ASHA has many web-based, patient education handouts and our catalog has useful teaching tools for members to use such as the patient education audiogram, and practical forms and brochures. Audiologists can counsel families and others on the impact of hearing loss, realistic expectations with amplification, auditory rehabilitation and strategies for improving communications, and hearing and hearing loss. We can provide this information in small groups as well.

4. Are there any future plans for the organization and/or any of its programs?

We plan to prepare members to meet the needs of consumers with communication disorders in healthcare, educational settings and private practices; to be an advocate for our members and consumers that they serve; to strengthen strategic partnerships to achieve goals; and to increase access and utility of information and research.

5. Is there anything else you would like people to know?

Many people are unaware that swallowing problems often occur after a stroke, a brain injury, or in a chronic condition like Parkinson's disease. Untreated swallowing problems can result in choking or poor food intake, which affects overall health and energy. Speech-language pathologists are experts in diagnosing and treating swallowing disorders in collaboration with other professionals. Caregivers are important partners in ensuring that patients receive the kind of food they can eat safely, and that they use strategies to help prevent coughing and choking.

It is important for the public and other professionals to know that audiologic professional services can improve outcomes for people with hearing loss considering amplification. It is not all about the device. Success with technology can be improved with the assistance of counseling, audiologic rehabilitation (speech reading, auditory training, programming of devices, and understanding hearing loss). Because of their training, certification and licensure, audiologists are the professional best suited to helping individuals and families with non-medical hearing loss. Audiologists entering the profession now must have a post-baccalaureate clinical doctorate (AuD).

Audiologists are involved in preservation of hearing through hearing conservation programs and public education; and they can make custom hearing protection and supervise OSHA programs for noisy work places. Audiologists are also involved in other related issues such as balance problems.

6. If readers have other questions, how can they obtain more information?

The ASHA Action Center welcomes questions and requests for information. People can call the Center at 1-800-638-TALK (8255) 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday. Written inquiries can be sent to: ASHA National Office, 2200 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850-3289. Also, visit ASHA online.

Early Results Give Hope for Drug to Stabilize Alzheimer's Disease

A dozen others on different doses or shorter treatment times did not fare as well. This study was far too small to prove the treatment works, but a more rigorous one involving 400 patients will give results within a year. Still, the findings from the small study encouraged doctors at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they were presented recently. More information >

New Data on ElderCare

. . . and starting last year, respondents were also asked about caregiving. Almost a third of respondents reported taking care of two or more older people, and 23% also had a minor child in their households. ?The results also suggest that men caregivers are growing in numbers. The average time spent providing care was three hours, though women spend about an hour more than men. More information >

More Caregivers Use Online Resources for Home Health Care

Eight in ten caregivers (79%) have access to the internet. Of those, 88% look online for health information, outpacing other internet users on every health topic included in our survey, from looking up certain treatments to hospital ratings to end-of-life decisions. "Caregivers use the internet to navigate the frontier of home health care," says Susannah Fox, an associate director of the Pew Internet Project and lead author of the study. "Caregivers not only care for their loved one's physical and emotional needs, but their information needs as well, and the internet is a key resource." This report is the result of collaboration between the Pew Internet Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.More information >

Resources for Family Caregivers: (Caregiver Relief? Fund, Eldercare Mediation & VA Caregiver Support Program)?

Caregivers fill out an application form, share their caregiving story and go through an interview process. CRF then selects and matches the available relief funds with the needs of the caregiver. More information >

Eldercare Mediation - As families begin to confront the decisions involved in how to best care for a loved one who no longer is able to live alone, who requires assistance with daily living, or who requires medical care, family relationships are becoming increasingly strained. Mediation is an informal, confidential process held in a private setting in which a neutral third party (mediator) helps people to better understand their individual interests and needs, and then develop and agree on a workable solution to their problem(s). For referrals to mediators in your area, visit: www.eldercaremediators.com/ or www.mediate.com.

VA Caregiver Support Program - Learn how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' trained professionals can help find the services and support that are right for veterans and their caregivers by calling the VA's Caregiver Support Line at 1(855)260-3274 (toll-free), Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 11:00 pm ET and Saturday 10:30 am - 6:00 pm ET or visit their website.

Lifespan Respite Grantees Hold Successful Summits

. . . Rique Robb, President of the Nevada Lifespan Respite Coalition and Director of Northern Nevada RAVE Family Foundation, provided opening remarks and a short history of the coalition. Also, welcoming summit participants were Mary Liveratti, Administrator of the Nevada Aging and Disability Service Division. During the event, representatives from state agencies documented the current status of respite services and funding in Nevada, family caregivers shared their compelling personal stories about the benefits of respite, and participants actively engaged in working groups to suggest goals for the program's future.

Summit presentations are available on the ARCH website. Together, they provide an excellent overview of respite needs and services in the state of Nevada:

• Mary Liveratti, Administrator of the Nevada Aging and Disability Service Division, provided background on Nevada's Lifespan Respite program and the respite services offered by this agency.
• Cheyenne Pasquale, the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Project Manager discussed Nevada's Care Connection, the state's ADRC, and its role in the State Lifespan Respite Program and in serving family caregivers. Nevada's ADRC serves all ages including children. View presentation
• Cheryl Dinnell, the Nevada Lifespan Respite Care Program Coordinator, shared preliminary data results from Nevada's Lifespan Respite Balancing Initiative. "What We Know About Caregivers" presentation (NV)
• Jane Gruner, Deputy Administrator, Nevada Mental Health & Developmental Services described her agency's provision of respite funding through the Regional Centers in a self-directed program. View presentation
• Betsy Aiello, Deputy Administrator, Nevada Division of Health Care Financing & Policy, provided an overview of Nevada's Medicaid waivers that pay for respite.

District of Columbia:
The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) in the DC Office on Aging administers the District's Lifespan Respite grant. On July 18, 2012, the ADRC hosted a district-wide Lifespan Respite Summit. The Summit was opened with welcoming remarks from Chantelle Teasdell, PhD, Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and Kaseka Mukendi, Director, D.C. Caregiver's Institute, followed by a panel of family caregivers sharing their very moving and personal experiences of providing care across the lifespan. John Thompson, PhD, Executive Director, DC Office on Aging (DCOA), also addressed the summit. The status of respite in DC was addressed by these representatives from DC state government agencies:

• Linda Irizarry, Project Lead, DC Lifespan Respite Program and Chantelle Teasdell, PhD, DC Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) provided information on the activities to date of the DC Lifespan Respite Program. View presentation
• James Brannum, Medicaid, DC Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF), discussed Home and Community Based Waiver Services, including respite available under the DC Elderly and Persons with Physical Disabilities (EPD) waiver.
• Shasta Brown, Developmental Disabilities Administration, Department on Disability Services (DDS), provided an overview of DC's respite services as funded by the Medicaid HCBS Developmental Disabilities Waiver administered by DDS. View presentation

Lifespan Respite Grantees and Partners Invited to Administration for Community Living Learning Symposium

. . . state and program staff involved in ADRC, Options Counseling Standards, Evidence-Based Care Transitions, Systems Integration, Alzheimer's Disease Supportive Services Programs, and Lifespan Respite programs and their designated partners. There will be a 2.5 hour breakout for the Lifespan Respite grantees/partners (see link for agenda below) and others who are interested and a one hour Lifespan Respite meeting in the afternoon. A draft agenda for the Learning Symposium is now available. A more detailed agenda will be released in the near future. Even if you are attending only this one-day event, you must register and pay the registration fee for the full Home and Community-based Services Conference which is being held immediately following the Learning Symposium on September 11-13, 2012. Registration fees go up on August 3, 2012. The meeting will be held Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. Information | Registration (Note: fees increase August 3)

Lifespan Respite State Tools: Spotlight on Data Collection Tools

ACL/AoA will be seeking more input from Lifespan Respite grantees on data collection and use in the near future. In the meantime, a few new tools developed by State Lifespan Respite grantees and their partners related to data collection and performance measurement will be helping to inform this process and have been added to the Lifespan Respite Grantees Tool pages. New tools are posted on the Performance Measurement and the Service Delivery pages. Be sure to check out all the posted State Lifespan Respite Grantee Tools.

For additional Lifespan Respite tools and news, check out the other topics on Lifespan Respite Tools page. Many of the grantees and coalitions have generously shared tools and products that they have developed to date as part of their Lifespan Respite projects. ARCH has posted them on the Tools Page where you can see state examples of respite registries, caregiver surveys, service delivery tools and more. We will be periodically highlighting state Lifespan Respite tools, including training curricula, in the newsletter. If you have a tool or news to share, please send it to Jill Kagan at ARCH.

Upcoming Events

ARCH Webinar: Funding Sustainability for Lifespan Respite Programs, Part II: Examples from the States, on August 14, 2012, at 3-4:30 pm EDT

As federal, state, and even private funding sources remain extremely limited, state Lifespan Respite grantees and their partners will have to work creatively to maximize and more efficiently identify and use available resources to ensure the viability of their Lifespan Respite systems once their Lifespan Respite grants are expended. Meaningful and well-established partnerships are central to this effort. ARCH will hold the second webinar on Funding Sustainability on August 14, 2012, at 3-4:30 pm EDT. . . .

Representatives affiliated with State Lifespan Respite programs will provide examples of funding sustainability plans, public and private funding sources leveraged to help families pay for respite, and ways to support the ongoing infrastructure of Lifespan Respite systems. This webinar also will discuss highlights from the ARCH guide to Federal Funding and Support Opportunities for Respite—possible federal funding sources that can help support state funding for respite system infrastructure, training, services and family caregiver respite support and how to partner with the state agencies that administer these funds. This webinar will be most useful for Lifespan Respite grantees and their partners, but may be of interest to anyone concerned about funding sustainability for respite services. Participation is limited so please register early.