girl pointing to mouth while looking at therapist's face

Celebrating Speech-Language-Hearing Month: 100 Years of ASHA

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“Making effective communication, a human right, accessible and achievable for all.” 

–ASHA mission statement

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) was founded in 1925, just three years after the first “speech correction” PhD in the U.S. Initial membership comprised 25 speech teachers. In the century since, membership has grown to 241,000 audiologists, therapists, scientists, assistants, and students, serving clients in 86 languages.

Milestones, 1925—2025

ASHA has changed with the times in other ways, as the following timeline shows.

  • 1925: “American Academy of Speech Correction” is established to promote “scientific, organized work” in the field.
  • 1936: First issue of the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders. (In 1997, it would be renamed Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Disorders.)
  • 1946: The Academy establishes its American Speech & Hearing Foundation (now the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation).
  • 1950: The organization publishes its first book, Speech Problems of Children.
  • 1952: The ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence becomes a nationally recognized credential.
  • 1958: ASHA opens its first National Office building in Washington, DC. ASHA publishes its first Journal of Speech and Hearing Research.
  • 1959: Asha Magazine is launched. ASHA establishes the American Board of Examiners in Speech Pathology and Audiology, to accredit educational programs in the field.
  • 1969: Responding to the mid-twentieth-century push for civil rights and inclusiveness, ASHA establishes its Office of Urban and Ethnic Affairs (now the Office of Multicultural Affairs).
  • 1970: ASHA publishes the first issue of Speech and Hearing Services in Schools (now Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools). ASHA’s bylaws get their first “no discrimination” amendment.
  • 1972: The National Student Speech and Hearing Association (now the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association) is founded.
  • 1978: The organization officially adopts the name “American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.”
  • 1979: The ASHA Code of Ethics adds the statements, “[Members] must not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or sex in [their] professional relationships with [their] colleagues and clients” and “ASHA recognizes discrimination on the basis of ‘race, national origin, religion, age, sex, or handicapping condition’ to be inconsistent with its goals, purposes, and policies, and with the professional and ethical responsibilities of its members, boards, committees, and officers.”
  • 1983: The Committee on the Status of Racial Minorities (now the Multicultural Issues Board) is established.
  • 1986: ASHA-PAC (the ASHA Political Action Committee) is established.
  • 1989: ASHA’s National Association for Hearing and Speech Action begins “educating the public about communication health.”
  • 1991: American Journal of Audiology and American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology are launched.
  • 1996: ASHA goes online with its first website.
  • 1999: The Minority Student Leadership Program is launched.
  • 2000: ASHA presents its first live online workshop, which sells out at 55 participants, including 42 for whom online learning is a first-time experience.
  • 2007: ASHA moves its National Office to environmentally friendly headquarters in Rockville, becoming Maryland’s first Gold LEED-certified nonprofit. ASHA establishes its International Issues Board.
  • 2008: ASHA creates its first social-media accounts on Facebook and Twitter.
  • 2010: ASHA begins publishing digital journals. The Code of Ethics’ anti-discrimination policy adds “gender identity and gender expression” to its list of equally included demographics.
  • 2011: The ASHA Community goes live as an online member-interaction platform.
  • 2013: ASHAWire (the Association’s online-publications hub) is launched.
  • 2022: The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act becomes law.
  • 2023: “Better Hearing and Speech Month” (observed in May) becomes “National Speech-Language-Hearing Month.”
  • 2025: ASHA celebrates 100 years of service.

“2025 marks ASHA’s Centennial, a rare and significant opportunity to showcase the vast impact of the professions on society—and how the work of audiologists and speech-language pathologists has evolved over a century.”

–ASHA on its 100th anniversary

What Might Be Next?

ASHA’s evolution continues (its next major conference has the theme “Envisioning Possibilities for the Future,” as noted in the bulleted list below). But mission and values remain constant. What better way to close this article than with these words from ASHA’s own Communication Bill of Rights (3rd edition, 2024):

“People have a fundamental right to communicate in all parts of their lives. These communication rights promote full participation across the lifespan[, and] include …. The right to participate across settings as full communication partners. … The right to express preferences and feelings, make comments, and share opinions. … The right to individualized, working augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems and other assistive technology (AT) at all times.” 

See also:

Other speech-language-hearing organizations:

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