Recognizing the quality of educational opportunities through ASHA, I recommended the Language and Literacy in Preschool Children online conference to several of my co-workers who are not ASHA members. To my extreme disappointment, I learned that one of my co-workers would not be able to participate in the conference, as ASHA does not provide closed-captioning for the event. Upon further investigation, I discovered that ASHA’s training DVDs also do not have a closed-captioning option. In addition to individuals with hearing loss, there are a number of individuals with a variety of special needs that would benefit from closed-captioning. Shame on ASHA for not allowing communication to be accessible for all individuals!

I am a graduate student in Texas. My school newspaper published an article about the upcoming Texas state legislative session, including information on HB 653. This bill may be of particular interest to Texas ASHA members as it offers to pay a sizable portion of student loans for qualifying members of this profession. The bill has a long way to go before it becomes a law and may benefit from letters to state representatives. Hoping Texans write their representatives.