Issue

Each month, the monthly Advocacy Briefs newsletter will include a featured advocacy “issue of the month” section that addresses: Why does this issue matter? What does this mean for a variety of practice settings? and How can our members act? 

The featured advocacy issue in this month’s Advocacy Newsletter is school vouchers. Did you know that if political analysts are correct, recent elections have been won by enough pro-voucher supporters to almost guarantee passage of voucher legislation in the 89th Legislative Session in 2025? Learn more about school vouchers and what they might mean for you.

Communication professionals across the state of Texas are all too aware of the issues faced by those of us working in the field of education. Caseload size, growing workloads, and salary issues are all part of the everyday landscape. Given these challenges, it is imperative to use every tool at our disposal in advocating for our profession and our students.

On Wednesday, January 24, ASHA held a Town Hall Series highlighting how unions can support SLPs and AuDs in their advocacy efforts with critical issues in education. This might be an unusual avenue for Texans because we know that Texas is a “Right To Work” state where collective bargaining is expressly prohibited; however, there were still some great takeaways from the panelists regarding the pairing of educational advocacy and local and national unions.

As the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) Vice President for Member Engagement, I am working hard to keep TSHA members, non-members, other professionals, students, and the public at large updated on all important information regarding speech-language pathology and audiology. 

Save the date for the TSHA 2025 Convention in San Antonio!

Look out for fun content this May as we celebrate our speech-language pathology and audiology community during National-Speech-Language-Hearing Month.

The Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) 68^th Annual Convention and Exhibition ran from February 22-24, 2024, and featured an incredible experience for students, professionals, and everyone in between. For students, the TSHA Convention offered opportunities to network, participate in school spirit activities, learn from experienced clinicians and researchers, and test their knowledge at the Praxis Bowl. The keynote speakers covered important, thought-provoking topics that also pertained to students, making the student experience at this year’s Convention one of a kind. Students who attended for the first time this year likely were in awe of the resources and knowledge dispersed, and students who attended again this year likely gained a similar amount of knowledge as the session topics and exhibit hall spanned a wide range of topics and employers.

The mission of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (TSHF) is to improve the lives of people with communication disorders by supporting research, education, and service endeavors on their behalf. The TSHF was established in 1985, and it has grown significantly since then. Scholarships are awarded to graduate students in audiology and speech-language pathology from almost every program in Texas. 

The 2023 Annual Report of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) is a summary of the tremendous work that volunteers across Texas have dedicated their time and efforts to in order to ensure that TSHA continues to strive to be the leading organization that supports speech-language pathologists (SLPs), audiologists, and their consumers in Texas. 

Cafe TSHA is an initiative of the TSHA Publications Board. Levity Lounge is a walk on the lighter side. Tips for Tx offers clever hacks to up your therapy game. Tech Bytes covers new and noteworthy technology finds. Student Swap provides student-focused ideas and inspiration. Wellness Corner emphasizes self-care for service providers. We encourage you to submit your ideas to publications@txsha.org for consideration for publication in future issues. 

Our year is off to a moving start with so many plans and talented volunteers in place to make it all happen!