American Speech–Language–Hearing Association

American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA) is a professional association for speech–language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. It has more than 140,000 members and affiliates.

The mission of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association is to promote the interests of and provide the highest quality services for professionals in audiology, speech–language pathology, and speech and hearing science, and to advocate for people with communication disabilities.

It was founded in 1925 as the American Academy of Speech Correction. The current name was adopted in 1978. The Association claimed in a 2003 lawsuit that it has exclusive rights to the acronym ASHA. However, the acronym remains in use by at least 18 other trade associations including the American Social Health Association, the American Surgical Hospital Association, and the American Saddlebred Horse Association. See http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/ASHA.

The association's national office is located at Gude Drive and Research Boulevard in Rockville, Maryland.

Arlene Pietranton is currently serving as the association's executive director.