Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama

Advancing the disciplines of speech-language pathology and audiology,
especially here in Alabama.

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Continuing Education

Events in AL offering ASHA CEUs* through SHAA:

9th Annual AL Autism Conference
Friday, February 26, 2010
Bryant Conference Center, Tuscaloosa, AL
Contact Amanda Al-Betar
(205) 348-9966

SHAA 2010 Convention
Th-Sat, March 11-13, 2010
Wynfrey Hotel, Birmingham AL
As little as $195 for up to 16 CE hours
More info

Contact Ms. Judy Cutchen jcutchen@homewood.k12.al.us

GSHA 2010 Convention
Fri-Sun, March 19-21, 2010
Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place, Duluth, GA
More info on the GSHA website
Contact execdir@gsha.org
, 561-477-8100


* ASHA CEUs indicate that the program has met the strict requirements of the ASHA CE Board (CEB) in planning, promoting, implementing, evaluating, and reporting the activity. ASHA's requirements are modeled after criteria and requirements of the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).




Other CE Opportunities:

Aquatic Therapy University (ATU)
May 14-15, 2010
A 2-day Minneapolis, MN class just for SLPs is called Aquatic Therapy for the Speech Therapist.
(Note: SHAA recommends seeking pre-approval through ABESPA. We are told, "The instructor (Susan Nachimson) taught this course in California before and was approved by the state board.")

Feeding The Whole Child: A Mealtime Approach
March 26-31, 2011
This is a 5-night seminar on a cruise leaving Tampa FL.
Must pay by 10/10/2010. See Flyer.

Remember CELL!

Also, you can search for events or list your event at SLPcalendar.com. (Link Disclaimer)

Current Rules: (Updated January 2007; still applicable January 2010)

ASHA: Audiologists and SLPs must participate in continuing education in order to maintain their ASHA Cs. (30 contact hours over a 3-year period.)

ABESPA Licensees: ABESPA requires 12 hours (720 minutes) of continuing education per year for maintaining licensure.

Notes about ABESPA CE Credit:

Interested in offering ASHA CEUs for your activity?

Re: The Process
1. Apply with SHAA using the Application Form (updated August 2009):

(ASHA CEU Application, .doc; ASHA CEU Application, .pdf)

Send it to me, Gary Copeland, the ASHA CE Administrator for SHAA
The preliminary paperwork can be handled via email, fax, and/or mail.

garycopeland@knology.net
Phone/Fax (256) 325 - 8885
126 Iron Horse Trail, Harvest AL 35749

I will review all aspects of the event with you, helping you plan as needed.

2. You will receive a box of materials from me for use at the event.
Make sure that the participants complete the paperwork.

3. Send the box back to me within 2 weeks following the event.

Re: Rights and Options for ASHA CEUs
SHAA reserves the right as an ASHA Continuing Education Provider to decline requests for offering ASHA CEUs. In such a case, you can contact ASHA to explore other options. If you wish to conduct your event in cooperation with SHAA (as one method for offering ASHA CEUs), you must abide by all of SHAA's requirements.

Re: Deadlines
Allow 6-8 weeks prior to the event for processing. (I must submit pertinent materials to ASHA regarding your event 30 days before the event, and I need time to review the activity, prepare several documents, and mail the materials.) After the event, return all CE materials within two weeks. (I must fill out another couple of forms and send to ASHA on a deadline after the event, too!)

Re: Fees and Penalties
SHAA requires payment of a $75 administrative fee for each event that will provide ASHA CEUs, in addition to any fees required by ASHA. If participants can register for any part of your event separately, then each of the separate parts is considered a separate activity, and both the ASHA fees and SHAA fees must be paid for each.

(Example: Day 1 is a preconference with separate registration fees; Days 2 & 3 are the main conference, with a separate registration fee. Even if someone may get a discount for registering for both the preconference and the conference together, these are still considered to be two activities. ASHA fees would be $250 for each, and SHAA fees would be $75 for each, for a total of $650.)

If you miss an ASHA deadline, you will be responsible for any late fees that ASHA may impose. Currently, there is a $50 penalty for the first offense (within one calendar year), and a $200 penalty for the second offense. Note that ASHA considers SHAA to be the CE provider. Therefore, even though it may be your first time to be late with the paperwork, it may be SHAA's second time (e.g., because another entity was late earlier in the year), meaning that the penalty to you would be $200.

Bottom line? Meet the deadlines, and there will be no penalties at all (and a whole lot fewer headaches for all of us)!

Re: Rescheduling
If you reschedule an activity after SHAA's CE Administrator has registered it with ASHA, SHAA's $75 Cosponsor fee may be charged again to cover additional copying and mailing expenses. ASHA's fee only has to be paid once in such cases.

ASHA CEUs in Perspective    

ASHA CEUs....

  1. Give the attendee confidence in knowing that ASHA has accepted the course
  2. Give the attendee convenience because ASHA will keep track of their CE hours, and issue a CE transcript on request
  3. Give the attendee potential for receiving the ACE award from ASHA
Note, however, some other facts -- and the third one is not widely understood:
  1. Although many state regulatory agencies and boards of education accept ASHA CEUs for purposes of licensure renewal and board of education recertification, ASHA CEUs do not guarantee ABESPA approval. (ABESPA pre-approval can be requested by using forms from the ABESPA web site, www.ABESPA.org/ce.htm.)
  2. Attendees may always track their own time, even if attending an event offered for ASHA CEUs.
  3. "ASHA CEUs" is a special term with a narrow definition. As such, "ASHA CEUs" are NOT the only way to gain professional development for maintaining certification through ASHA (the CCC). Alternatively, a person may ...
    • attend IACET-approved courses, or
    • take applicable semester course-work at accredited institutions, or
    • attend ... employer-sponsored in-service; or ... other professional organizations' continuing education activities that contribute to professional development.  (From ASHA's web site. See link below.)

In other words, assuming the content is appropriate, an employer or organization can simply plan and conduct an event and give an attendance certificate at the end, and participants can still get credit toward ABESPA licensure and ASHA certification by tracking their own time.

For more info, see http://www.asha.org/certification/FactDef.htm. (Link updated 01/23/10)

-- Gary Copeland, ASHA CE Administrator for SHAA


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