ArkSHA Membership

With many important legislative issues on the table, it is more important than ever to maintain your membership in ArkSHA. Did you know that ArkSHA has lobbyists who work on your behalf? The ArkSHA Board and lobbyists ensure that audiologists and speech-language pathologists have a voice in important issues facing our professions. In 2017, this included participating on Senator Lindsey’s Task Force on Best Practices for Special Education Responsibilities, initiating our state’s official “Roles and Responsibilities of SLPs in the Schools” document, and aligning with the OT and PT associations to advocate for medically necessary funding for therapy services with Medicaid. The ArkSHA Board has been fervently at work in navigating the new prior authorization process for requesting therapy services beyond the 90-minute thresholds. ArkSHA also worked to defeat legislation that would limit patient access to qualified speech-language pathologists providing evaluative and treatment services!

To put it bluntly, many decisions are made legislatively regarding the professions of speech pathology and audiology by senators and representatives who have little to no knowledge of what we do. When speaking with legislators on your behalf, often the first question asked is “How many constituents do you represent?”  That means, “How many members are in ArkSHA?” The higher the number; the more votes we represent.  The more votes we represent; the better the response we get from the members of the House and Senate.  It is really that simple.

If you would like to be involved in the ArkSHA Board, serve on a committee, or attend a task force meeting, please contact us and let me know of your interest! ArkSHA would love to have you!
Our professions are dedicated to giving a voice to those who need it. It would be a shame to let our voices go unheard.