Companies purchasing NSSLHA Advantage e-broadcasts must sign a contract, and also acknowledge and agree to the following terms:
- The National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) is a legally recognized affiliate organization of ASHA. NSSLHA is the recognized pre-professional association for undergraduate and graduate students interested in the discipline of the communication sciences.
- E-broadcasts must be in keeping with the professional policies of the ASHA and NSSLHA.
- NSSLHA endorses equal employment opportunity practices and accepts only e-broadcasts that are not discriminatory on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or physical handicap.
- The acceptability of an e-broadcast will be based upon legal, social, professional, and ethical considerations.
- NSSLHA reserves the right to refuse, reject, or cancel any e-broadcast for any reason at any time without liability, even though previously acknowledged or accepted.
- Acceptance of an e-broadcast does not imply NSSLHA’s endorsement or guarantee of the product or service advertised. NSSLHA is not responsible for any claims made in an e-broadcast.
- ASHA and NSSLHA practice professionals review all e-broadcasts for claims and use of person-first language.
- Statements about and illustrations of all products must meet professional standards. They must not be deceptive or misleading by either statement or omission, must not disparage a competitor’s product, and must not make unsupported claims.
- Claims made in e-broadcasts are expected to have research data that substantiates these claims and that is easily assessable via a website and/or made available upon request.
- Products must be in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws, and they must meet applicable FDA regulations and FTC requirements. Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements concerning the content of advertising is the manufacturer’s responsibility.
- NSSLHA does not accept e-broadcasts for job sites.
- Companies and advertising agencies assume responsibility for all contents of e-broadcasts transmitted, and each represents that it is fully authorized and/or licensed to publish the entire contents and subject matter contained in its e-broadcast including:
- The names, portraits, and/or pictures of living persons
- Any copyrighted material
- Any testimonials contained in any e-broadcast submitted to and transmitted by NSSLHA
- Company and agency will also indemnify and save harmless NSSLHA against all loss, liability, damage, and expense of any nature arising out of the e-broadcast transmission, including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from claims or suits for libel, violation of rights or privacy, plagiarism, copyright, and trademark infringement.
- Advertising agency agrees to pay charges for e-broadcasts transmitted at its direction.
Terminology Guidelines
- NSSLHA is the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. NSSLHA does not use the dashes separating the disciplines in the title of the name.
- Speech-language pathologists should not be referred to as therapists, speech therapists, or speech pathologists.
- Speech-language pathologist (pathology) should be written as such, NOT as speech/language pathologist or speech language pathologist without the hyphen.
- The Clinical Fellowship (CF) is the postgraduate period of professional experience required for NSSLHA certification once the academic course work and the clinical practicum have been completed. The minimum entry level for the profession is a master’s degree.
- The following abbreviations signify certification status:
- CCC-SLP: holds CCC in speech-language pathology
- CCC-A: holds CCC in audiology
- CF-SLP: eligible to begin CF in speech-language pathology
- To avoid repetition in e-broadcast copy, the term clinician may be used when referring to a speech-language pathologist or audiologist.
- Person-first language must be used to identify individuals with disorders (e.g., people who stutter, instead of stutterers)
- Audiologists may not be referred to as Hearing Aid Dispensers.
- Avoid the terms teacher and teaching when referring to the positions or services of speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
- The term specialist may not be used except in the areas of fluency, child/language, and Neurophysiological Intraoperative Monitoring.
- Programs—not departments, schools, or hospitals—can hold Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology accreditation.
- Continuing Education Providers—not courses—are approved by ASHA’s Continuing Education Board. NSSLHA approved CE Providers are the only organizations approved to offer continuing education courses for audiologists and speech-language pathologists for ASHA Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Effective October 1, 2017:
- Advertising cannot include phrases such as free CEUs, free ASHA CEUs, or any language implying or suggesting the award of ASHA CEUs at no cost. If a course is being offered for ASHA CEUs, the wording of the course itself or any promotional material announcing that course should not state that the course includes CEUs or includes ASHA CEUs. In this context, includes is synonymous with free.
- ASHA CEUs are never “free.” It is considered false advertising to claim that “free ASHA CEUs” are being offered. In order to earn ASHA CEUs, course attendees must be eligible to earn ASHA CEUs, must have successfully completed the course offered for ASHA CEUs, and must have paid the ASHA CE Registry fee for the year in which they completed the course.
- The only instance in which ASHA CEUs could be offered for free is if the ASHA Approved CE Provider pays the annual ASHA CE Registry fee for each course participant requesting ASHA CEUs and the participant is eligible to earn ASHA CEUs.
- The word free may be used when advertising a course with no registration fee. If a course registration is free, but the purchase of an item or items related to the course is required to participate in the course—for example, a book or a device—this must be disclosed in the advertising.
- When an ad references credit being offered, the specific types of CEUs, credit, or hours being offered must be identified. For example, use ASHA CEUs not CEUs; LSLS CEUs not CEUs; or Professional Development Hours (PDH) not hours.
- The acronym “CEU” should not be used to mean “course.” For example, instead of saying New CEUs, say New courses for ASHA CEUs.
Review the examples and guidance on the correct use of the terms “CEU” and “ASHA CEU.” [PDF]