2012 ASHA Schools Conference is coming to Wisconsin!

This conference is all about speech-language pathology in schools!  This year the ASHA Schools Conference will be held July 27-29 at the Frontier Airlines Convention Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.    Visit the ASHA website at http://www.asha.org/events/schools/ to learn more. 

Governor Proclaims May as Better Hearing and Speech Month

Since 1927, audiologists and speech-language pathologists have made a special effort during the month of May to inform and educate people about hearing and speech disorders. Statistics show that 1 in 10 families in Wisconsin are affected by a communication disorder.  As a result, Governor Walker has recognized the need raise awareness about this critical issue by proclaiming May as Better Hearing and Speech Month.  For a copy of the proclamation, click here.

DPI: Proposed Model for a Continuum Framework of Speech and Language Service Providers

DPI is moving forward with a proposal for a tiered level of licensure for speech and language service providers.  The proposal can be viewed here: http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/slpsahtf.html.  WSHA has been proactive by communicating and meeting with DPI to express the importance of having WSHA at the table during this process, in particular the importance of including WSHA on work related to developing minimum credentials, clinical experience, supervision and scope of practice.  WSHA is committed to protecting the interests of children with communicative disorders by ensuring that the highest qualified providers are providing service in school programs while balancing the workload of school-based SLPs. WSHA is opposed to simply lowering standards as a method to address demand.

To view a copy of the letter WSHA sent to DPI Superintendent Tony Evers, click here.

WSHA Advocacy Webinar

Advocacy is very important for our professions and the people we serve.  WSHA's lobbyist and student representative provided a webinar presenation on Friday, February 10^th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.  This presentation covered:

• Information on the legislative process,
• How to advocate for our professions
• Information on legislative issues including hearing aid distribution and the need to support Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists' work with Birth to 3, school-age, and adult populations when making decisions about health and education budgets. 

To view a recording of the webinar, go to the recording URL and enter the recording id.

Recording URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/badgerbay/view
Recording ID: DDK8MG

The WSHA Awards and Honors Committee is pleased to announce the 2012 award winners!

WSHA Lifetime Achievement Award

Janette German

Kleffner Award

Joanne Robbins

WSHA Salutes Outstanding Service

Michelle Quinn

Honors of the Association

Patricia Casey

SLP of the Year

Emily Houk

Audiologist of the Year

Ryan Gregg

Student Leadership Award

UW-Madison NSSLHA Chapter

These individuals have made an indelible mark on so many lives with their service and dedication to the profession.  On behalf of the entire association thank you for inspiring excellence in our profession and congratulations on the well-deserving honor.

The WSHA Honors and Awards Committee hopes that you will join all the awardees Friday, February 24th for the President’s Reception from 6:45-9:00 pm at the WSHA Convention in Milwaukee, WI.

Sherri Zelazny, WSHA President

Caryn Easterling, WSHA Award and Honors Committee Chair

WSHA Foundation Scholarship Winners

The WSHA Foundation is pleased to announce the following scholarship recipients:

Jack Kile Scholarship

Kim Falkenstein

UW-Madison

Friends of WSHA Scholarship

Taylor Brock

UW-Milwaukee

Gladys McKinley Scholarship

Abigail Ann Cary

UW-Stevens Point

Stanley Ewanowski Scholarship

Marie Jette

UW-Madison

Judith Kulpa Scholarship

Phoebe Natzke

UW-Madison

Nancy McKinley Scholarship             

Jacy Reader

UW-Stevens Point

Nancy McKinley Scholarship

Amanda Anne Thompson

UW-Milwaukee

Vicki Lord Larson and James R. Research Grant

Suzanne King

UW-Madison

Judith and David Ward Scholarship

Nancy Castignetti

UW-Madison

Risa Mari Otto Scholarship

Megan DeMarb

Marquette University

Congratulations to all scholarship winners on their achievements! 

Ad Hoc Task Force to Address shortage of Personnel in Speech and Language Pathology

The critical shortage of personnel in speech and language pathology has created significant challenges for local school districts trying to fill speech and language pathology vacancies and their ability to provide speech and language services to students with disabilities. The staffing shortage of speech and language pathologists (SLPs) has become a state-wide issue in Wisconsin public schools. While the state has seven universities that offer a masters degree in communicative disorders, the data collected reveals access to these programs is severely restricted. 

For more information visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction at www.dpi.state.wi.us/sped/slpsahtf.htm.

Call for Nominations

The Board Elections Committee is calling for nominations for the following Board positions:

• President
• Vice President-Communications
• Vice President-Education
• Vice President-Governmental Affairs
• Vice President-Membership

All voting WSHA members are encouraged to share their leadership skills with the members and Executive Board of WSHA!  A thriving state professional association needs your skills and new ideas.

The term for all positions will begin July 1, 2012 and end June 30, 2014.  Nominations will close on January 20, 2012. Click here for the position descriptions.

Please submit the following documents electronically to the Board Elections Committee by emailing wsha@wisha.org.

Resume

Candidate Position Statement

Please prepare a statement of approximately 250 words to include:

1. Summary of speech-language pathology, audiology and/or speech-language-hearing science experience, including work place(s)
2. Brief summary of relevant experience you will bring to the WSHA Executive Board
3. Summary of WSHA experience
4. Vision or goals for WSHA

WSHA is pleased to announce the following ASHA and ASHA Foundation award winners from Wisconsin:

ASHA Fellows

Fellowship in ASHA is one of the association’s highest honors.  The following individuals have made outstanding contributions to the discipline of communication sciences and disorders:

Paula Rhyner (Milwaukee)

Susan Thibeault (Madison)

ASHA Journal Editor’s Award

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (Speech)

“Developmental Sexual Dimorphism of the Oral and Pharyngeal Portions of the

Vocal Tract: An Imaging Study” (August 2011)

Houri K. Vorperian, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Shubing Wang, University of Wisconsin-Madison; E. Michael Schimek, Reid B. Durtschi, and Ray D. Kent, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Lindell R. Gentry, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison; Moo K. Chung, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

ASHA Foundation Award Winners

New Century Scholars Program Doctoral Scholarship 2011

This scholarship supports students enrolled in a research/teaching doctoral program (PhD or equivalent) who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to a teacher-investigator career in the field of communication sciences and disorders.

Rebecca S. Bartlett
PhD Candidate
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Area of Study: Voice and Swallowing

Graduate Student Scholarship

This scholarship recognizes masters or doctoral students in communication sciences and disorders who demonstrate academic achievement and promise. Three scholarships give special priority to minority, disability, and international students.

Allison J. Schaser
PhD Candidate
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Program: Speech-Language Pathology

State Clinical Achievement Awards 2011

Through the Foundation's clinical achievement program, state speech-language-hearing associations are invited each year to honor one individual from their respective states.

John Heilmann
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

New Century Scholars Research Grant Recipients 2011

This grant encourages innovative scientific studies and talented investigators who will advance the field's research priorities.

Jeffrey J. Berry
Assistant Professor, Marquette University
Proposal: Speech Adaptation in Dysarthria: Effects of Real Time Articulatory Resynthesis

Changes in Audiology Praxis Exam Scoring

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) recently developed a new Praxis exam for Audiology (0341) based on the ASHA 2012 audiology certification standards. Unlike the previous exam that required applicants to achieve a passing score based on a 250-900 scale, the new exam will be scored on a 100-200 scale. ETS will soon be revising the Speech-Language Pathology Praxis exam based on the 100-200 scoring scale as well.

ASHA has worked closely with ETS to ensure that licensing boards and other entities interested in the exam have adequate time to change rules, regulations, and statutes to reflect the new scoring system. To that end, ETS agreed to continue to report scores on the old scale until January 2013. A letter was sent to all state licensing boards informing them of the change.

We believe that this will give licensing boards and others time to make necessary changes to their requirements for practice. For questions or additional information, please contact Janet Deppe, ASHA's director of state advocacy, at jdeppe@asha.org or by phone at 301-296-5668.

REMINDER

A recent change to Wisconsin Administrative Code has modified the Continuing Education (CE) requirement for your profession.  The change, which took effect September 1, 2011, will require you to obtain two (2) hours of CE in Ethics as part of the overall biennial requirement of 20 CE hours. 

You must meet the new CE requirement prior to your next license renewal in January 2013.  Please note that the overall number of required CE hours has not changed.  The new requirement simply states that two (2) of the 20 hours of CE must be in Ethics.  The remaining CE hours may be obtained from any other course approved by the Hearing and Speech Examining Board.

The DSPS site has  a link to a list of Board approved CE courses for the current biennium which runs from 2/1/2011 through 1/31/2013 and it can be found on the web at http://drl.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=730&locid=0. This list will be updated as new courses are approved.  

To support WSHA convention attendees in meeting the new DSPS license Ethics requirement, the planning committee has included:  "Productivity in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology" as a general session during the upcoming convention.  For  more information about the convention, please visit the WSHA convention page. 

2011 Student Weekend

This year's Student Weekend, held October 14-15 at Marquette University, was a huge success.  Thank you to everyone who made the event a success.  Click here for a list of sponsors and volunteers.

For other conference material, please click on the links below:

Student Weekend Onsite Program

Student Weekend Speakers

October 7, 2011

A recent change to the Wisconsin Administrative Code has modified the Continuing Education (CE) requirement for professions regulated by the Hearing and Speech Examining Board. The change, which took effect September 1, 2011, will require the following licensees to obtain two (2) hours of CE in Ethics as part of their overall biennial requirement of 20 CE hours.
• Hearing Instrument Specialists
• Audiologists
• Speech-Language Pathologists

Licensees must meet the new CE requirement prior to their next license renewal in January 2013. Please note that the overall number of required CE hours has not changed. The new requirement simply states that two (2) of the 20 hours of CE must be in Ethics. The remaining CE hours may be obtained from any other course approved by the Hearing and Speech Examining Board.

A list of Board approved CE courses for the current biennium which runs from 2/1/2011 through 1/31/2013 can be found on the web at http://drl.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=730&locid=0. This list will be updated as new courses are approved.

October 4, 2011

October 4, 2011

The latest version of  ABN is available!

September 20, 2011: Extension of mandatory use date for REVISED ABN, FORM CMS-R-131, posted for download on May 16, 2011. Mandatory use date: January 1, 2012

The latest version of the ABN (with the release date of 3/2011 printed in the lower left hand corner) is now available for immediate use. In order for providers and suppliers to have time to transition to using the newly posted notice, mandatory use of this version begins on January, 1 2012. All ABNs with the release date of 3/2008 that are issued on or after January 1, 2012 will be considered invalid.

May 4, 2011

ASHA Award Nominations

2011 SPARC Award Now Accepting Applications through May 15, 2011

Students Preparing for Academic and  Research Careers (SPARC) Award: Developed to foster upper-class undergraduate, master’s CSD and audiology clinical doctoral (AuD) students’ interest in the pursuit of PhD education and careers in academia to address PhD Pipeline in higher education within CSD. Application Deadline: May 15, 2011; For more information, go to http://www.asha.org/students/SparcFAQs.htm

New Faculty in CSD Programs, Don’t miss out – Apply for the 2011 AARC Award

If you are a junior faculty interested in advancing your neew teaching and research career, consider applying for the Advancing Academic Research Careers (AARC) Award. This $5000 award can support activities such as:

- Mentoring students

- Conducting personal research

- Improving teaching knowledge and skills

To learn more about the AARC Award, go to http://www.asha.org/students/AARC-Award.htm

Attention Audiology Students: Apply for the Audiology/Hearing Science Research Travel Award (ARTA) by June 1.

The ARTA fosters student research interests in Audiology and Hearing Science through support for travel to attend the 2011 ASHA Convention in San Diego, CA. For complete information, visit: http://www.asha.org/students/ARTA-Award.htm.”

March 15, 2011

Modification to SS SB 11/AB11

Please click here for more information.

February 18, 2011

Governor Walker's Special Session Budget Repair Bill

Our association has been monitoring the events relating to Governor Walker's Special Session Budget Repair Bill (SS SB 11 and SS AB 11).  As an association, we are dedicated to supporting Wisconsin's audiologists and speech-language pathologists and the individuals we serve through advocacy, professional support and opportunities for professional growth.

The Budget Repair Bill proposes to require higher pension and health insurance premium contributions for WRS general participants,  allows the Department of Health Services to study and implement programmatic change to the Medicaid Program, changes public employee collective bargaining rights by prohibiting certain subjects of collective bargaining with the exception of wages, require annual certification of collective bargaining units, allow general employees from refraining from paying union dues, limit collective bargaining agreements to not more than one year, repeals collective bargaining for UW System Faculty and Academic Staff, repeals collective bargaining for certain child care providers . . . a complete analysis of the bill can be found here:  http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/2011-13Bills/2011_02_17WILEGISLATURE_Governor_JFC.pdf

The Senate and Assembly are scheduled to begin debate on the bill beginning today, Friday, February 18th.

For members wishing to contact their state senator and representative please call: 1-800-362-9472.

or via Email or snail mail: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx

Thank you and please do not hesitate to contact the WSHA office should you have additional questions.