Athens, Ga. – Can you hear me now? That’s what faculty/staff clinicians and graduate students in the University of Georgia’s Speech and Hearing Clinic may be asking visitors as they kick off a 60th anniversary celebration on Feb. 28.
The clinic will offer free speech, language and hearing screenings and an Open House tour of its facilities on the fifth floor of the College of Education’s Aderhold Hall. The clinic has been providing Athens area adults and children with services for the prevention, assessment and treatment of speech, language, swallowing and hearing disorders since 1953.
The clinic has provided an estimated 100,000 free speech and hearing screenings in area schools and its on-campus facilities. These screenings provide early identification of hearing, speech, language and swallowing problems so that appropriate treatment can be recommended or provided. The clinic is a Medicaid/Medicare provider and has a sliding fee scale policy for those in financial need.
Services are provided by student clinicians who are earning master’s degrees in speech-language pathology, under the supervision of licensed, certified audiologists and speech-language pathologists.
The Feb. 28 events are free and open to the public. They include:
8:30-10:45 a.m. Free screenings for which appointments are required. Call 706-542-4598;
10:30-11:15 a.m. Open House. Tour of clinical laboratories. Reception in Room 535, Aderhold Hall; and
11:15 – 11:45 a.m. Remarks and video presentation on “The Past, the Present, and the Future of the UGA Speech and Hearing Clinic” in Room G-5, Aderhold Hall.
The celebration continues that afternoon with a professional development session from 1-3 p.m. titled, “Communications Sciences and Disorders Research at UGA: New Findings and Implications for Professional Practice” in Room 520 of Aderhold Hall. Reservations for the session are required and can be made by emailing csse@uga.edu or calling 706-542-4561 by Feb.15.
At the session, faculty members from the education college’s department of communications science and special education will speak on the following topics:
• “Volubility of the Human Infant: Effects of Parental Interaction,” Suneeti Nathani Iyer;
• “Responsive Interaction Interventions to Promote Early Communication Skills,” Jennifer A. Brown; and
• “Critical Thinking: Knowledge and Skills for Helping Professionals,” Patrick Finn
• “Listening Through the Ages: It’s not your Mama’s Hearing Aid!,” Holly Kaplan.
Continuing education certificates will be provided separately for each 30-minute presentation. Participants are responsible for ensuring that any activity they use as continuing education for their own licensure or certification meets all requirements of relevant state, national or other organizations.
The 60th anniversary celebration wraps up on March 1 after the clinic’s fourth annual 5K Run/Walk fundraiser, Ready, Set, Speak, which is coordinated by members of the UGA chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. Registration is available at www.active.com/athens-ga/running/distance-running-races/4th-annual-uga-nsslha-5k-2014.
Parking for the Aderhold Hall events is available at Performing Arts Center, East Campus, Carlton Street, or South (Georgia Center) parking decks.
