Interview with Kate Gottfred, Ph.D., President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Share:
Linda Schreiber:I'm speaking this morning with Kate Gottfred, the 2008 ASHA President. I'm happy to be visiting with you this morning, Kate. Kate Gottfred:Good morning. Linda:First let me say, congratulations on your presidency. Kate: Thank you.Linda:You've only been in office a short time but since
Linda Schreiber:I'm speaking this morning with Kate Gottfred, the 2008 ASHA President. I'm happy to be visiting with you this morning, Kate. Kate Gottfred:Good morning.
Linda:First let me say, congratulations on your presidency.
Kate: Thank you.
Linda:You've only been in office a short time but since you've been president, what do you see as the burning issues our professions face?
Kate:Our ongoing issues concern the shortage of speech-language pathologists and reimbursement for audiology and speech-language pathology services. Also, in a global sense, we as audiologists and speech-language pathologists have to start thinking of our professions and our professional colleagues around the world. In becoming global, we have to expand our concept of what being an audiologist or a speech-language pathologist means in a multilingual society. On a nearer horizon, the shortage of speech-language pathologists and how we deal with assistants or aides, and how we deal with encroachment also looms before us.
LindaA lot of our readers are experiencing first-hand what the shortage means in their school districts. And there's a shortage of students going on to doctoral programs too, correct?
Kate:I think it's broader than that. The shortage reaches into every aspect of audiology and speech-language pathology and it's going to affect us on all levels. Certainly, the PhD shortage for research and teaching at the university level needs to be addressed because if we don't address that shortage, it'll be hard to serve our consumers. If we don't do our own teaching and research we will lose our identity. And the personnel shortage is in medical settings and in school settings. There's a dire shortage of multilingual speech-language pathologists, especially bilingual and bicultural Hispanic/Latino speech-language pathologists.
Linda:So, how will you lead ASHA to help to deal with these issues?
Kate:ASHA has a very strong presence right now in examining and moving forward on these issues. We have a strong public relations program to attract more people to the fields. We are working in the university settings, by talking to boards of higher education in various states and by examining how to, in a cost-effective manner, open up more slots within the field. But the answer also lies within how service is provided. We are examining how to continue to provide quality evidenced-based practice in new ways.
Kate:Also, we have a significant Latino/Hispanic/Puerto Rican population in America. We need to reach out to them to become speech-language pathologists. ASHA can help to attract people of color; people who are native speakers or bilingual, or persons who are multilingual, into the professions. There are five different school districts in California that are already offering sign-on bonuses for bilingual speech-language pathologists. Reaching out to others will help us with that area of the shortage.
Linda:In addition to those issues, some speech-language pathologists feel we have identity issues. That is, that our focus and roles and responsibilities in the area of literacy encroaches on other professions. Do you believe this is true? Should speech-language pathologists be addressing literacy?
Kate:If you just look at the area of literacy, I have a very, very strong belief that the essence, the basis of literacy and preliteracy, the skills a child needs to learn to be kindergarten reading ready, is language. From phonemic/phonological awareness, to reading fluency, to vocabulary, to concept and background knowledge-we're talking about language skills. I would be hard pressed to name another field that has such knowledge in preliteracy and language skills. Could you?
Linda:I could not.
Kate:So, I think we know all about the basis for literacy and we don't have to be shy about that. We have to be assertive about what we know. We have to be at the table at the national conferences on reading and reading readiness. We need to be heard by the Department of Education when it comes to literacy. Not only to say, don't forget us, but give us that leading role because we have information that will help solve the literacy problem in America. We cannot reduce the education gap in America between people of poverty and people of higher socio-economic groups without addressing the language issues. And, who else is better able to help Head Start teachers and preschool teachers know how to have a language-intensive classroom? Without closing that gap in kindergarten and first grade, the gap will only widen as the child progresses through the grades. The research shows that if you are a poor reader in third grade, you have an 85% chance of being a poor reader in eighth grade.
Linda:What will this year be like for you at ASHA?
Kate:This is a transition year. The most important thing we can do this year is to make sure we live up to the promise of the new governance.
Linda:Tell me about the new governance.
Kate:The promise of the new ASHA governance system is that we will hear you. The board of directors is responsible for hearing every member so every member of ASHA is encouragednot just welcomedbut encouraged to write to the board of directors directly or to talk to the board of directors through their divisions, and advisory council members. ASHA needs to hear from everybody. To be a more nimble and responsive governance system, ASHA needs to hear what the concerns are. I've asked President Elect Sue Hale to devise a communications plan of how we will triage concerns, inquiries, and suggestions. She has done so and we are actively receiving comments and concerns. The advisory councils are meeting in a week. That's what we can and should accomplish this year.
Linda:If ASHA members have concerns, they need to share them. This is their opportunity.
Kate: Yes, they can go to the website and contact us or me.
Linda:ASHA's mission is to make effective communication accessible and achievable for all.
Kate:Yes, communication is a human right and ASHA is dedicated to ensuring that right. I think the four pillars of ASHA's strategic plan support that mission. The four pillars include that audiologists and speech-language pathologists are both communication specialists and we work together. That continuation of our being intimately involved with each other's professions is an important part of what ASHA supports. I think the member-centric system and the member experience is a big part of how can we make the ASHA member experience positive and fulfilling.
Kate:Another pillar of the strategic plan is for ASHA to provide leadership in generating, disseminating, and translating research into clinical practiceto help members discover evidence-based practice or the scientific-based research.
Linda:Another pillar of support that ASHA provides is advocacy, correct?
Kate:Yes, advocacy to the general public, to Congress and the federal government, to the Department of Education, and to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). We spend enormous amounts of volunteer and staff time and effort on advocacy and it's beginning to pay off. Last year, when US News & World Report named both of our professions as two of the top 25 professions to enter, the advocacy work ASHA has done was obvious.
Linda:Amazing advocacy on ASHA's part.
Kate:Yes, because ASHA's out there. People are beginning to realize how essential our professions are to human satisfaction. Communicationhearing and speech and language, understanding, and reading and writingall the things that go into being a good communicator, both receptively and expressively, that's what we're all about. So, it's very exciting to see the public start to recognize that we are the professions that can enhance their lives.
Linda:I agree that ASHA's efforts via leaders like you are paying off. I see so much more recently in the media about our profession.
Kate:ASHA staff is on the hill all the time, looking at the bills and understanding them. And now with so many state's rights issues, ASHA has a team that goes out to help states who are fighting particular issues.
Linda:I have never thought of the vigilance that ASHA has to maintain; to be aware at all times of what is happening in the legislatures everywhere.
Kate:Right. So we have a very confident lobbying staff.
Linda: Kate, the ASHA convention is in Chicago this yearyour backyard. Do you have any special things planned for us?
Kate:I'm excited that it's here in Chicago. It looks as if we're going to have two keynote speakersand I won't say who they are until I know that it's absolutely officialbut one is very, very important and strategic at the federal government level in working with the rehabilitation of our soldiers returning from Iraq.
Linda:Well that's intriguing! What kind of disability are our troops experiencing?
Kate:We see soldiers coming back from Iraq with hearing loss. It's the number one disorder because of the roadside bombs and the hearing loss aspect of the explosion. There may also be cognitive damage. We are the two leading professions to help rehabilitate the soldiers returning from Iraq. That's huge! That's real!
And, we're going to have a keynote speaker on that. Another one of our major speakers is a well-known celebrity who's very involved in children's literature and in children's literacy. So, I'm very excited that we're going to talk about these two major components of who we are as audiologists and speech-language pathologists.
Linda:Hmmm, now I will be trying to sort out who these speakers could be for the rest of the day. We will stay tuned. Kate. Best wishes in your leadership of ASHA. Thanks for taking the time to visit with us today. We will all see you in Chicago.
Kate:Yes, when you're in Chicago, come see us. I say to all members come, introduce yourselves. If not in person, email me your concerns. We, the Board of Directors, want to hear from members!