ASHA's Special Interest Groups

20 SIGS. At least one's right for you! What's your interest?

SIG 1: Language Learning and Education

Learn from and share with professionals whose mission is to support children and adults with developmental language disorders and their families.

Provide clinicians and researchers with resources related to language development, disorders, and education
Promote excellence in evidence-based clinical practice with children and adults who have developmental language disorders and their families
Promote the development and dissemination of basic and applied research in language development and disorders
Advocate for professionals specializing in language-related clinical practice and research

SIG 2: Neurogenic Communication Disorders

Become part of a professional community dedicated to serving individuals with neurogenic communication disorders.

Join your colleagues and help

Improve clinical service delivery
Increase awareness and availability of evidence-based practice guidelines in neurogenic communication disorders
Advocate for the profession and individuals with neurogenic communication disorders
Address issues that affect service delivery to those with neurogenic communication disorders
Increase integration of best practices within the constraints of the clinical employment environment

Tap into the knowledge and expertise of the only group within ASHA focused on neurophysiology and neurogenic communication disorders!

SIG 3: Voice and Upper Airway Disorders

Network and learn from those concerned with the interdisciplinary study of the human voice and its manifestations across the life span, drawing on the richness of the body of knowledge existing both within and outside the field of Speech-Language Pathology.

Provide leadership and advocacy for issues in voice
Help ensure that delivery of service is provided by qualified individuals
Acquaint clinicians and consumers with new developments
Address issues, trends, and advances from four perspectives (professional, clinical, educational, and scientific), covering the entire spectrum of voice perception and production, including vocal development and life span changes, and the continuum of voice production from disordered through superior performance

SIG 4: Fluency and Fluency Disorders

Join professionals committed to furthering education and research in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of people with fluency disorders, including stuttering and cluttering.

Provide resources and education to a) facilitate understanding of fluency disorders; b) provide comprehensive assessments of fluency disorders; and c) promote effective treatment for people with fluency disorders
Participate in advocacy and public education activities to improve the quality of life for people with fluency disorders
Support new and ongoing research on the nature, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of fluency disorders

SIG 5: Craniofacial and Velopharyngeal Disorders

Belong to a professional community that promotes, interprets, and disseminates information relevant to the:

Interdisciplinary study, research, and practice of congenital or acquired craniofacial and velopharyngeal disorders, and to
Serve as a conduit for the exchange of information and ideas among SIG affiliates

SIG 6: Hearing and Balance Sciences: Research and Clinical Applications

Participate in a community of peers who are interested in a wide range of issues involving the auditory and vestibular systems.

Serve as a forum for collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and students to translate research into evidence-based practice related to hearing and balance sciences.
Promote continuing education opportunities for affiliates.
Provide input concerning education and training of hearing scientists, audiologists, and other professions studying auditory and vestibular systems.
Provide communication and networking opportunities for affiliates.

SIG 7: Auditory Rehabilitation

Work with fellow professionals to facilitate the ability to minimize or prevent, across the life span, the limitations and restrictions that auditory dysfunctions can impose on well-being, and on communicative, interpersonal, psychosocial, educational, and vocational functioning.

Provide a forum for professionals who have an interest in auditory rehabilitation to exchange and discuss current research and practice information
Make available professional development opportunities to enhance knowledge and skills
Promote practices and policies related to the provision of effective interventions and use of hearing aids, cochlear implants, implantable devices, and other hearing assistive technologies
Promote research related to auditory rehabilitation

SIG 8: Public Health Audiology

Belong to a professional community dedicated to promoting, improving, and maintaining all aspects of public health audiology across the lifespan. The primary prevention of hearing and balance disorders as well as the promotion of access to identification and intervention to mitigate consequences of hearing and balance disorders. Join colleagues to:

Facilitate greater visibility of public health within audiology and in allied fields
Raise awareness and promote prevention of hearing and balance disorders to reduce individual and societal impact
Promote the inclusion of audiologists on interprofessional teams to support patient-centered care and improve outcomes
Support health advocacy groups (e.g., American Diabetes Association) in their endeavors to include hearing and balance considerations in standards of care for other specialties
Disseminate timely information concerning research, clinical activities, meetings, and educational opportunities related to audiology public health

SIG 9: Pediatric Hearing and Hearing Disorders

Join fellow professionals who are passionate about issues surrounding hearing and hearing disorders in children and their families.

Provide a unified voice and advocacy for childhood hearing issues within ASHA
Serve as a forum for demonstrating and sharing new technologies, research, clinical developments, and treatment outcomes
Offer input into education and training issues related to hearing in childhood

SIG 10: Issues in Higher Education

Become part of a professional community committed to developing the ever-expanding knowledge of teaching, learning, and curriculum design and implementation across both clinical and theoretical contexts to provide the underpinnings of education and skills for practice of the profession.

Foster collaboration among academic programs, faculty, students, research laboratories, and administration so that common concerns are addressed and resolved in the best interests of our academic members

SIG 11: Administration and Supervision

Take part in a community of peers working to advance best practices in administration, leadership, and supervision by offering educational activities, providing networking opportunities, and supporting research and scholarly initiatives. Topics include:

Career Ladders
Conflict Resolution
Continuity of Care
Critical Paths
Documentation

SIG 12: Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Participate in a community of peers dedicated to improving the quality and availability of AAC services to consumers throughout the life span, to promoting clinically relevant research, educate and mentor current and future professionals, and to identifying and addressing the needs of service providers in the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology.

Promote continuing education for ASHA members at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels
Advocate for ASHA membership regarding clinical service needs
Advocate for preservice and in-service personnel preparation in the area of augmentative and alternative communication

SIG 13: Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia)

Take part in a professional community committed to providing leadership and advocacy for issues in swallowing and swallowing disorders.

Serve affiliates who evaluate and manage individuals with swallowing and feeding disorders across the lifespan by supporting professional development, research, education, and communication necessary for delivery of the highest quality services

SIG 14: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Learn from and participate in a professional community that serves as a leading resource for advancing knowledge of the influence and importance of cultural and linguistic diversity on human communication and the infusion of this knowledge into research and clinical practice.

Provide leadership and advocacy for best practices relating to audiology and speech-language pathology services for culturally and linguistically diverse populations
Promote research
Provide networking, collaboration, education, and mentoring opportunities for affiliates, students, and their service providers

SIG 15: Gerontology

Join the professional community dedicated to improving the lives of older individuals through

clinical practice
research
education
advocacy

Collaborate with others and learn more about:

Normal aging changes in hearing, speech, language, cognition, and swallowing
Identification and intervention for mild cognitive disorders
Best practices for working with older adults with communication and swallowing disorders
Improving interdisciplinary team work
Working with older adults in all health care settings
Self-advocacy strategies
Medicare changes and how they impact practice

SIG 16: School-Based Issues

Become active in a community providing leadership and advocacy for all speech-language pathologists and audiologists with interests in school-based issues, including clinicians and researchers from schools, universities, and all other settings.

Promote the highest quality services within early childhood programs and schools by addressing clinical, educational, administrative and legislative/regulatory concerns at local, state, and federal levels

SIG 17: Global Issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders

Join fellow professionals working to provide leadership related to global issues in audiology and speech-language pathology services by promoting research, networking, collaboration, education, and mentoring for its affiliates, students, and other service providers in the global marketplace.

Foster global cooperation and collaboration among speech-language pathologists, audiologists, speech/language and hearing scientists who are interested in communication and related disorders around the world.
Foster creation and sharing of information across countries and the U.S. Territories.
Provide a platform for global networking among professionals around the world.

SIG 18: Telepractice

Affiliate with a professional community dedicated to providing education, leadership, and advocacy for issues in telepractice, telespeech, and teleaudiology.

Provide resources and education related to telespeech and teleaudiology
Promote excellence in evidence-based clinical practice in telespeech and teleaudiology
Foster the development and dissemination of research in telespeech and teleaudiology

SIG 19: Speech Science

Be part of a community of members who are interested in the scholarship, application, and teaching of speech science. Collaborate and learn about

speech biophysics,
comparative communication science,
technology,
theories and modeling,
learning, and so much more.

Because science informs practice!

SIG 20: Counseling

Be part of a community dedicated to promoting counseling education, research, and practice for clinicians, researchers, assistants, and students to optimize treatment outcomes and equip clinicians with knowledge and skills to support clients/patients/students and their families.

Build an active community of ASHA Members, International Affiliates, Assistants, and national NSSLHA Members with an interest in and commitment to incorporating counseling into clinical practice and promoting collaboration with other organizations
Advocate for the role of clinicians in providing counseling services as outlined within the scope of practice for audiology and speech-language pathology.
Establish a pedagogical network to improve educational experiences.
Promote research on counseling in CSD.
Address the connection between counseling practices and serving diverse populations in clinical and academic contexts.
Encourage interprofessional education and practice with other professions.
Advocate for the use and reimbursement of counseling services in speech-language pathology and audiology practice.