The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009 - (Page 4)

2009 CONVENTION SPONSORS HELPING US HIT HIGH NOTES! LENA Designed for Live Speech As director of child language research for the LENA Foundation, I commend the Louisiana State University (LSU) investigators involved with the LENA system research reported in the May 5 issue of The ASHA Leader. As the report highlights, the LENA system can make an important contribution to clinical practice. As mentioned in the article, the investigators used pre-recorded archival data to evaluate the accuracy of the LENA system, and they report low reliability for conversational turns between the adult and child when compared with transcriptions. We wish to point out that the LENA system was designed to record live interactions between the child and caregiver and was never intended for use with pre-recorded data. In fact, it is important to note that in order to correctly identify the child, our recording device must be within six to eight inches of the child’s mouth and it must record live speech. Due to the acoustic characteristics associated with recorded audio played from a speaker, the LENA system will generally mischaracterize that child’s speech as belonging to someone else or as “electronic media.” Thus, the relatively high error rates that the LSU researchers reported may be attributed to the fact that the child engaging in the turns could not be correctly identified by the LENA system because it was pre-recorded speech. Jill Gilkerson Boulder, Colo. JillGilkerson@lenafoundation.org The generous sponsors of the 2009 ASHA Annual Convention in New Orleans are helping to make this an event to remember. Please take a moment to stop by their booths and say thanks. in our organization. Every client brings his or her own unique set of experiences and difficulties to treatment. Cultural factors play an important role in service delivery, but each client is as important as the next, regardless of race, color, creed, or sexual orientation. I think it is important for leaders in our organization to clearly distinguish clinical issues from politics. It is clear to me that ASHA has turned treatment-related cultural issues into a political tool to advocate special rights for gays and minorities. Mark my words that over time this type of thinking will become a regretful mistake. The U.S. Constitution clearly states that we are all equal, which I believe to be true. I expect the same from any legitimate American organization. Anything less should not be tolerated. I believe that clinicians, especially young ones, should examine this internal organizational flaw more closely, and try to filter fact from fiction. Fact being that every client brings a special set of circumstances to treatment. Fiction being that gays and minorities somehow deserve elevated status above the rest in our profession. This is absolute inane political drivel. It will no doubt create tension, and fragment populations in the long run, and it will one day come back to bite us. Paul Anthony Imbert Kenmore, N.Y. Thanks for Online Journals Just a note of thanks that the ASHA journals are online. I have felt this has been the best benefit of my membership and I’ve used the archives many times. I definitely see the benefit of online access, and I just wanted to express my appreciation. Catherine E. Schmidt Le Center, Minn. kls@frontiernet.net Content printed on 85% recycled fiber. Booth #533 Booth #900 Booth #1033 Booth #1201 Separate Clinical Issues From Politics Hello again from your proud conservative. I would like to thank Jane White (April 14, 2009) and Alan Segal (May 26, 2009) for their letters related to liberalism and political correctness Booth #1333 August 11, 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009

The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009
Contents
Four Members Elected to Board of Directors
Readers Respond
Audiology
Congress Begins Health Care Reform Debate
Medicare Private Practice Poses Concerns for Some SLPs
Custom Fit Your Marketing
Personal Music Players
From the President
Convention Preview
2010 Dues Change
Ethics in Private Practice
Missouri SLPs Win on School Retirement Issue
Classifieds
A Deluge of Human Kindness
First Person on the Last Page

The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009