ASHA - advocacy ( state licensure) - Article Example

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Advocacy: New York Licensure The essay aims to address a two-fold objective to wit: (1) to select one item of interest in advocacy New York state licensure; and (2) to look for some facts that one is not familiar with.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Advocacy: New York State Licensure Every profession maintains its credibility and competency through setting-up guidelines or criteria that will uplift the standards and advocacy of the profession.

The New York state Speech-Language-Hearing Association Licensure is one specific example of a professional organization responsible for regulating the professions of Speech-Language Pathology and/or Audiology. In order to become a speech-language pathologist or audiologist, one must meet first all the initial licensure requirements. These includes a master’s degree or higher or an equivalent, three hundred hour supervised practicum, nine months supervised full-time experience or equivalent part-time, and passage of a Praxis exam (ASHA, 1997-2011, n.p.).

A person having a strong advocacy to be a licensed speech-language pathologist or audiologist might be confused with the term “equivalent” and “Praxis” exam. In the initial licensure requirements, equivalent corresponds to an educational graduate degree program from an acceptable college to the department and includes a practicum and 60 semester hours of specified courses but not less than to 30 semester hours (ASHA, 1997-2011, n.p.). On the other hand, Praxis exams are competency tests designed to assess the beginning practitioners’ understanding of speech-language pathology and audiology content and practices.

In addition to the aforementioned initial licensure requirements for an audiology license, applicants after January 1, 2009 completing accredited doctoral program shall not be required to meet the supervised experience requirement (ASHA, 1997-2011, n.p.). The advocacy of the ASHA New York State in preserving the competency of their future speech-language pathologist and audiologist is reflected in the initial licensure requirements.ReferenceASHA. (1997-2011). New York State Characteristics of Licensure Law.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.p. Retrieved on September 13, 2011 from http://www.asha.org/advocacy/state/info/NY/licensure.htm