Why I Went to ASHA ’ s Advocacy Day and Plan to Go Back

Do you remember those cellular commercials that bombarded us with the catchphrase, “Can you hear me now?” Guess what? Over time, it worked. A number of people switched their phone service to the company … maybe not because of the catchphrase itself, but possibly because of the totality of the message, repeated time and time again. A simple and efficient message changed minds and perspectives. And we can do the same when it comes to advocating for our professions of audiology and speech-language pathology. I’m an audiologist and not a minister, so I don’t need to preach to the choir regarding these issues, but please indulge me sharing my first experience participating in ASHA’s annual Capitol Hill Advocacy Day. In March, I partnered with dozens of other ASHA members heading to our nation’s capital to deliver important messages about issues affecting communications sciences and disorders, including comprehensive audiology/speech-language pathology insurance coverage, school-based billing needs and telepractice policy. After filling up on an overpriced caffeinated beverage, I headed to the Senate offices of Maryland senior senator Ben Cardin to meet up with a speech-language pathologist. My new SLP colleague (who had previously advocated with ASHA) and I chatted in the waiting room until an aide summoned us into a small office to listen to our stories about issues affecting us and the people we treat. We drew on talking points on topics researched by ASHA...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Advocacy Audiology Slider Schools speech-language pathology Telepractice Source Type: blogs