Lynn Flahive, former adviser for the chapter, said, “It was great to have the national recognition given to the TCU chapter of NSSLHA. The president of NSSLHA, as well as the other national officers, were there, so it was good publicity for TCU.”
Annually, the executive council of the organization awards Chapter of the Year honors for outstanding achievements. Several factors are taken into consideration, including awareness of student issues and concerns, community outreach, educational opportunities, and social and fund-raising activities. Chapters that win this award also must demonstrate significant contributions to the association on both a national and local level, as well as to the discipline of human communication sciences and disorders on the whole.
TCU submitted their chapter for consideration for the award in both 2007 and 2008. These previous attempts only made the chapter stronger as members set out to improve their service to the community across many different levels. “It is a very competitive process, so I was disappointed when we weren’t recognized the first time, but now I look at it as a reward for 17 years of excellence,” Dr. Flahive said. “It’s great recognition for TCU and especially our department. We were really active for the 17 years I was the adviser, so I’m really very thrilled for the students.”
2009 was an eventful and productive year for the TCU chapter, as it recruited 30 local members and 41 national members. These members participated in several activities that raised awareness for the communication sciences and disorders program, including a fall carnival for children receiving services in the clinic and a book drive for children at two local Head Start facilities. The chapter also was one of the largest contributors to a Christmas toy drive for children in the Child Protective Services program.
“Our outreach to Head Start to promote literacy is one of my favorite events,” Dr. Flahive said. “We provide children with two books in their language as well as a pamphlet for parents that tells them how to reach their children.”
The chapter also hosted speakers, educational workshops, banquets and conferences throughout the year. One notable speaker was Dr. Patricia Prelock, who talked about Autism Spectrum Disorder and its assessment and treatment.
The NSSLHA, founded in 1972, is a pre-professional membership association for students interested in the study of communication sciences and disorders. It is the only official national student association recognized by the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Membership is available to any undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral student enrolled full or part-time who is interested in the study of communication disorders. NSSLHA has about 13,000 members nationwide with chapters at more than 300 colleges and universities.
For more information on TCU's Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, visit their Web site at www.csd.tcu.edu or call ext. 7621. To visit the official National Student Speech Language Hearing Association Web site, go to www.nsslha.org.
Lynn Flahive, former adviser for the TCU chapter, said, “It was great to have the national recognition given to the TCU chapter of NSSLHA. The president of NSSLHA, as well as the other national officers, were there, so it was good publicity for TCU.”
