Friday, June 10, 2005

Speech-Language Pathologists are Focus for Professional Development Resources

Speech-Language Pathologists are Focus for Professional Development Resources

Professional Development Resources SLPContinuingEducationOnline, a nationally accredited provider of continuing education units (CEUs) for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and other health professionals, is now finalizing its 25th self-study course pertaining to the practice of speech-language pathology and audiology.

Jacksonville, FL (Vocus) May 1, 2009

Professional Development Resources, SLPContinuingEducationOnline has expanded its curriculum to include 25 accredited continuing education (CE) courses for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs). SLPs, who are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and licensed in most states, are required to maintain their clinical skills by earning continuing education units each time they renew their licenses. In the State of Florida, for example, SLPs renew their licenses every two years and are required to earn 30 hours of approved CE as a condition of relicensure.

The company’s 25 SLP courses have all undergone the rigorous review processes ASHA requires before it registers a CE course for CEUs. ASHA is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for its 135,000 members and affiliates, who are speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. All course manuscripts are subjected to a pilot study by a panel of testers and must be recommended by at least two peer reviewers who are experts in the topic area. The review and registration process can take anywhere from ninety days to six months.

“We have had a long and rewarding association with ASHA and the professionals it represents,” says Leo Christie, PhD, CEO of Professional Development Resources. “One of the most satisfying components has been the cordial relationships we enjoy with our valued panel of pilot testers, our expert peer reviewers, and those SLPs who have faithfully relied upon us for CEUs for many years of their professional careers. The high educational standards maintained by the ASHA CE Board and supported by the membership help keep us on our toes and inspire us to continually upgrade our own standards of excellence.”

Professional Development Resources has developed an advanced website that is designed to makes its courses readily accessible anytime, anywhere to anyone with a computer. All courses and the detailed descriptions of their content and desired learner outcomes are available on the company’s website SLPCEUsOnline. Several are online courses, which the user can purchase and complete immediately online. Other courses utilize published textbooks written by some of the best-known experts in speech, language, and hearing sciences. After studying the course, the user takes the test online. The company’s sophisticated learning platform grades tests instantly and makes certificates of completion available for immediate printing.

Working with the full range of human communication and its disorders, SLPs evaluate and diagnose speech, language, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders in individuals of all ages, from infants to the elderly. SLPs often work as part of a team, which may include teachers, physicians, audiologists, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation counselors and others. Corporate speech-language pathologists also work with employees to improve communication with their customers.

In consideration of the broad spectrum of professional specialties practiced by SLPs, Professional Development Resources has endeavored to develop courses that address the wide range of topics SLPs need to sharpen and expand their competencies. In addition, because they frequently work on interdisciplinary teams that include other health and mental health professionals, many of the topics have cross-disciplinary relevance. Among the specialized courses are titles dealing with ADHD, Autism and Aspergers, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Articulation and Phonology, Aphasia and Other Neurogenic Disorders, Dysphasia, Dual Language Development, and Learning Disabilities.

Some of the speech and language science topics are available from Professional Development Resources are: Autism Subtypes, Feeding Issues and Nutrition Considerations, (2008) 41 pages, Articulation and Phonology Resource Guide, (2003) 336 pages, Dysphagia: Guide to Establishing a Restorative Mealtime Program, (2007) 36 pages,
Neurogenic Disorders of Language, (2006) 518 Pages, and more.

About Professional Development Resources, Inc.

Professional Development Resources is a Florida nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1992 by licensed marriage and family therapist Leo Christie, PhD. The company, which is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) – as well as many other national and state boards – has focused its efforts on making continuing education courses more efficient and widely accessible to health professionals by offering online home study coursework. Its current expanded curriculum includes a wide variety of clinical topics intended to equip health professionals to offer state-of-the art services to their clients.

Contact:
Leo Christie, PhD, CEO
Professional Development Resources, Inc.
904-645-3456
Http://www. pdresources. org/promo/prweb7

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