New ASHA Virtual Exhibit Features Early Pioneers

The University of Iowa, formerly known as the State University of Iowa, produced a steady stream of graduates in the 1930s and 1940s who emerged as movers and shakers in the fledgling field of speech pathology. What was it about Iowa that attracted so many students from across the country during a time of extreme economic hardship due to the Great Depression? A new exhibit in ASHA’s online archives has the answer. Most of the credit is given to one man—Lee Edward Travis. Many were drawn to the Iowa program after hearing Travis speak or reading about the program he developed based on a scientific foundation of the study of speech disorders. Some of his students, such as Charles Van Riper and Wendell Johnson, stuttered. Others developed an interest in the subject due to early encounters with someone they knew who experienced a speech disorder. Not only did the University of Iowa help spawn a new profession under the direction of Travis, it’s also where founding members of this burgeoning profession gathered and created ASHA. Travis hosted a dinner at his home after a university-sponsored conference on speech in the summer of 1925. He worked with attendees to form a society for the scientific study of speech disorders. Many of the students who studied with Travis became leaders in this emerging profession, as well as leaders in ASHA, contributing much to its growth and development. In honor of American Archives Month in October, the ASHA Archives created a new online e...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Academia & Research Audiology Events News Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: blogs