Rockville, MD – January 7, 2013 - Patricia A. Prelock, PhD, CCC-SLP took office January 1 as the 2013 President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Dr. Prelock is Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. A Board Recognized Specialist in Child Language, she coordinates parent-training programs for caregivers and providers who serve children with autism spectrum disorders.
Since Dr. Prelock came to the University in 1994, she has been awarded more than $9 million in state and federal funds to support her work.
ASHA presidents serve for one-year. Dr. Prelock says she will use her term to “reach out to ASHA member advocates and other stakeholders to ensure the Association continues to be a significant player in the new health care reform legislation to bring more services to those individuals with communication disabilities.”
“In this vein,” she explains, “I hope to promote that audiologists and speech-language pathologists have a professional skill set equal to no other.”
Dr. Prelock adds that she feels honored and excited to be leading an organization that is involved with many of the major issues facing our country.
“From serving the complex communication needs of children in the schools, being responsive to the speech and hearing needs of older Americans, to serving veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with blast injuries, our Association and members are making great positive differences for so many.”
Dr. Prelock comes to ASHA's top elected office with more than 25 years of volunteer experience having served on a number of committees, boards, and councils of the Association. In 2000, she became an ASHA Fellow, one of the highest honors of the Association.
Dr. Prelock earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kent State University and her doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She succeeds Shelly Chabon, PhD, CCC-SLP, professor and chair of the Speech and Hearing Sciences Department, Portland State University, Portland, OR.
About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 150,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems, including swallowing disorders. https://www.asha.org/.
