By: Suzanne Bonifert, MA, MS, CCC-SLP, Vice President for Professional Services

Heading into the fall always makes me think of the movie You’ve Got Mail. I love the quote where Tom Hanks says to Meg Ryan, “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies… I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” Our committee chairs in Professional Services have their sharpened pencils and new notebooks ready and are working hard for you, our Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) members. They are in the places and spaces where you as speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists work and serve your patients and families.

The Business Management Committee, led by Ronda Polansky and Pam Ragland, has submitted three parts of a four-part Communicologist series on insurance, reimbursement, contracts, and negotiations. You can read part three here, and part four will be out in the December issue. Each article has provided a wealth of practical information to help you with reimbursement issues and is paired with a question-and-answer video on social media.

The Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CLD) Committee, led by Maria Resendiz and Lauren Weathers, is continuing to work on creating and revising critical resources for you on the TSHA website. There are easily referenced CLD articles on a wide range of topics listed alphabetically, from Apraxia to Bilingual and Cultural Trainings to Dysphagia, Fluency, and Voice, all from the perspective of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Articles that have appeared in the Communicologist are also listed by title for browsing and include “Oh My Gs: A Speech-Language Pathologist’s Look into Specific Learning Disabilities Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Individuals,” “Bilingual CAS,” and “Highlighting Communication Contrasts Between Vietnamese and English.”

The Medical Speech Pathology Committee, led by Ashley Brown and Lori Taffet, has a lot of plans in store for the TSHA 2025 Convention for their annual medical forum and popular networking event. They also are planning an in-person networking event as well; more information will be coming soon. In addition, keep an eye on TSHA Webinar Wednesdays as the Medical Committee will have some upcoming speakers for you. If you want more information, be sure to follow TSHA Medical SLPs on Facebook.

The Public School Advisory/Joint TSHA-Texas Council of Special Education (TCASE) Committee, led by Dalan Gore, continues to work on updating eligibility guidelines. Discussions are in process regarding the need for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) companion manual.

The Public School Committee, led by Kresta Atkin, plans to host their annual public school forum at Convention again. This forum is always a well-attended event by public school SLPs across the state and addresses important issues and topics relevant to our members working in this area. In addition, the committee is continuing to create and revise resources for our public school SLPs on the TSHA website.

The SLP Assistants/SLP Assistants’ Supervisors Committee, led by Venessa Grandjean and Elisa Martinez, is working on plans for social media activities to engage members as well as opportunities to present at the upcoming Convention.

The Telepractice Committee, led by Maria Resendiz, will be continuing to advocate with Medicare for the utilization of telepractice services by SLPs and audiologists. This has been such a valuable service delivery method for our patients and families, and we want to advocate for legislators’ continued support for this.

The University Issues Committee, led by Chris Bolinger and Karen Hennington, facilitated an in-person meeting at the Convention in February during which constituents gave input on key issues of concern. These issues will be addressed in an upcoming virtual meeting to be scheduled this fall semester in order to brainstorm solutions.

We are so thankful and grateful to these committee chairs as well as to the hard-working committee members who carry out these important initiatives. I would like to thank our two councilors, Melanie Van Noy and Lisa Rukovena, who continue to work with me to help support each of these committees. We truly have an outstanding team of volunteers in Professional Services. If I could, I would give each of these hardworking professionals a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. It has been a joy to serve as your vice president over these past almost two years. If you have questions or thoughts regarding how we can help or serve you better as TSHA members, do not hesitate to reach out to us.

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