By Melissa Zuniga, Communication Specialist Through all walks of life, a person will come across many diverse levels of communication. From a newborn cry, to babbling, to baby talk, to gestures, to those first words, to then sentences and all the way up to full conversations-communication is worldwide. Emotions are expressed nonverbally and verbally and communication entails both. Every child is hungry for attention, full of imagination, and born for a special purpose. The steps towards reaching that special purpose and expressing emotions begin with communication. Last year, I took a course called Introduction to Communication Studies. I learned many of the theories, strategies, and research that relate to both public and private communication and how it relates to us in everyday life. The course was designed and especially focused on how college students should prepare themselves according to their personal goals, course of academic study, and eventual professional career. But the tips and concepts I learned could be applied to my personal life and the career of Speech Language Pathology that I am planning to embark on. Life certainly is a journey and I feel more than ready and happier than ever to be where I’m at right now.…

Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have introduced S.905, the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act. The legislation provides a tax credit of up to $500 per hearing aid, once every five years for any individual who purchases a hearing aid. Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) are all original co-sponsors of this legislation. The legislation differs from H.R. 1479, which was introduced by Congressman Tom Latham (R-IA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), which would provide a tax credit of up to $500 per hearing aid every five years for parents purchasing hearing aids for their dependent children or persons over 55 years old. H.R. 1479 also includes a $200,000 annual eligibility income cap. Please request that your members of Congress co-sponsor these legislative initiatives. For additional information, contact Ingrida Lusis, ASHA’s director of federal and political advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org.

A success story written by Julie A. Milian, Student Clinician at FIU “Today we are going to see JR, a 3-year-old boy who presents autism and severe apraxia,” said Barbie C., his speech therapist and also my supervisor. The reality of observing JR for the first time was far more than what a Language Diagnostic Report or the description of my supervisor could convey. I was eager to meet him; nevertheless, I was nervous. My first observations when I met him were that he would not make eye contact; he ran instead of walking; he would not listen; he was upset – crying and screaming; and the only thing he was able to verbalize was “ah-ah-ah-ah.” Clearly he was challenging, but I was looking forward to working with him. Since I was very nervous that day, the fact that I was just observing him for first time made me feel relieved; however, I knew that soon I was going to working with him. The first few sessions began with a 15-minute walk on the playground. He wasn’t able to walk next to me without holding my hand or running away from me. Then we practiced sitting at a table, and…