ASAE Award is the Association Community's Highest Honor
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has won a 2025 Summit Award for HEAR and TALK—two text messaging programs that deliver timely, trusted, and actionable information to families whose children who have, or may have, a hearing loss or speech-language delay or disorder.
Administered by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the Summit Award is the highest recognition for associations that make a meaningful impact in the United States and around the world.
"Parents are their child's first and best teachers, and building their confidence about how to support their child's development—and where to connect with assistance if needed—are among the most powerful steps towards raising the next generation of successful children," said 2025 ASHA President Bernadette Mayfield-Clarke, PhD, CCC-SLP.
She continued: "As communication disorders continue to rise in prevalence, the HEAR and TALK programs fill an important gap by providing easily accessible information to caregivers at exactly the right time, paired with messages of support and understanding. We are honored that ASAE agrees and has chosen to recognize the impact of these programs with its Summit Award. It is particularly special to receive the award this year, as 2025 marks ASHA's centennial."
ASHA partnered with Lantern(formerly Bright by Text)—a national nonprofit organization that provides free, informational text messages across a variety of parenting topics to nearly 600,000 families nationwide—to develop and deliver the specialty HEAR and TALK texting programs. For the HEAR program, ASHA and Lantern additionally collaborated with the Helping Adults Talk to Children (HATCH) Lab at Idaho State University. All content for these programs was developed by experts in audiology and speech-language pathology.
Communication Disorders in Children
One in 500 babies in the United States is born deaf or hard of hearing, with the prevalence of hearing loss increasing to approximately 15% of children during the school-age years (ages 6–19 years). Nearly 11% of U.S. children ages 3–6 years has a speech, language, or voice disorder. Among school-aged children (ages 5–21 years), speech or language impairment is the second most common disability category for which children receive special education services under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
"Left unaddressed, communication disorders can lead to academic difficulties, behavior problems, social challenges, and reduced career options," explains Mayfield-Clarke. "These disorders are highly treatable, particularly when intervention occurs early. Unfortunately, many caregivers are advised to 'wait and see' if their child's challenges go away on their own, resulting in delaying treatment during the critical developmental window of the first few years of life."
The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated long-standing trends and needs around early diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders. A survey of ASHA members in 2023 found that:
Among audiologists, 34% reported seeing more children with a delayed diagnosis of hearing loss during the prior 2 years.
Among speech-language pathologists, 79% reported more children with delayed language and/or diagnosed language disorders during the prior 2 years.
Program Details
The HEAR program is intended for caregivers of children ages birth to 3 years with suspected or confirmed hearing loss. The TALK program is intended for caregivers of children ages 2–6 years with a suspected or confirmed speech-language delay or disorder. Both are free, opt-in programs that deliver 12 text messages over the course of 6 months. Because subscribers register using their child's birthday and zip code, the programs are able to deliver messages that match their child's age and developmental stage—as well as link to local community resources.
Messages are a mix of information, resources, and encouragement. Many of the messages link to landing pages with further information. Content is available in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Families can sign up for the programs by texting HEAR or TALK to 274-448.
Program Results
Lantern surveys of participants demonstrate a significant impact for both programs. To date, these surveys have revealed the following:
- HEAR: A vast majority (89%) of subscribers said that they feel well prepared to address their child's hearing needs (compared with 46% at the outset of the program), and 89% also said that they now know where to seek help (compared with 49% at the outset).
o Contact their pediatrician or other health care provider (46%).
o Contact early intervention in their state (35%).
o Download the CDC's milestone tracker or other app (35%).
o Contact a private speech-language pathologist (28%).
"These results are particularly gratifying," commented Mayfield-Clarke. "We believe these programs can contribute to earlier identification and treatment, translating to better outcomes for children and families as well as future savings for society overall."
The Summit Award will be presented to ASHA at ASAE's annual Summit Awards Dinner on September 25, 2025.
About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 241,000 members, certificate holders, and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology assistants; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders. http://www.asha.org
Media Contact
Francine Pierson, ASHA, 301-296-8715, [email protected], https://www.asha.org
SOURCE ASHA
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