Special Interest Divisions on the Net

by Judith Maginnis Kuster - Minnesota State University, Mankato (kuster@mnsu.edu).

ASHA members who share a common interest in a specialty area are invited to join Special Interest Divisions (DIVs) which "promote specific professional interests; develop communication and network in diverse professional settings; identify and convey concerns and needs to the Executive Board and Legislative Council; assist in policy formation; and promote and participate in continuing education." The mission statement and goals for each of the 15 DIVS is online .

The ASHA website also provides additional information about the Divisions. Although the (free) Adobe Acrobat reader is needed to access it, an application for membership form (open to ASHA members, international affiliates, students and consumers) is online.

Several of ASHA's DIVS are taking an active role in using the new technologies available through the Internet to benefit their members. Those divisions dealing with hearing issues, tend to use the closed ASHA mailing list designed for audiologists. Any ASHA audiologist can join the mailing list by sending the following message to asha-aud-forum-request@postman.com subscribe yourfirstname yourlastname youremailaddress. As with any "closed" mailing list, subscribers are added by the list owner following verification of appropriate membership. Some of the division mailing lists are "open" to anyone who wishes to join.

Additional Internet activities for several of the DIVS are highlighted below.

• DIV #1 -- LANGUAGE LEARNING AND EDUCATION maintains a closed mailing list. Members of DIV#1 may join LANG-LEARN- ED@LISTS.WWU.EDU by sending the message subscribe lang- learn-ed yourfirstname yourlastname to listproc@lists.wwu.edu. Lang-learn-ed is used to facilitate discussion of current journal articles of interest to its members. An article is announced two weeks prior to discussion and a suggested format for discussion is on the website which is maintained for DIV#1 (http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~spa/div.one.html).

• DIV #2 -- NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND NEUROGENIC SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS uses the open CenterNet mailing list, provided by the National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders at the University of Arizona as their forum on professional concerns, cultural and reimbursement issues, as well as assessment and management problems and dilemmas, interesting cases, and research needs as they relate to neurogenic communication disorders in adults. To subscribe send the message subscribe c- net_adultneuro your email address and your name to listserv@listserv.arizona.edu.

• DIV #3 -- VOICE AND VOICE DISORDERS in cooperation with the University of Iowa's Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, sponsors an open mailing list, SID3VOICE@LIST.MEDICINE.UIOWA.EDU. To subscribe you may access the sid3voice webpage and click on the button "Join sid3voice" Alternatively, you may subscribe by sending the following message to lyris@list.medicine.uiowa.edu, subscribe sid3voice firstname lastname. .

• DIV #4 -- FLUENCY AND FLUENCY DISORDERS sponsors a closed mailing list, SID4@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU. Members of DIV#4 who wish to subscribe should send the message subscribe sid4 yourfirstname yourlastname to listserv@listserv.temple.edu.

• DIV #5 -- SPEECH SCIENCE AND OROFACIAL DISORDERS maintains an open list, ASHA-SID5@POSTMAN.COM for any ASHA member as well as students or other interested professionals. To subscribe address email to asha-sid5-request@postman.com. Type subscribe in the subject line and in the message space, type yourfirstname yourlastname your email address.

• DIV #10 -- ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION sponsors a closed mailing list, DIV10@ECNET.NET for members. To subscribe, division members should send the message subscribe div10 to listproc2@ecnet.net.

• DIV #11 -- ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION sponsors a closed mailing list ASHA-SID11@POSTMAN.COM for Division members. To subscribe, members should send an email message to asha-sid11-request@postman.com. In the subject line, type subscribe and in the message space, type yourfirstname yourlastname.

• DIV #12 -- AUGMENTATION AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION maintains a closed mailing list available for Division affiliates. To subscribe, type subscribe in the subject line and in the message space, type your full name and email address to asha-div12-request@postman.com

• DIV #13 -- DYSPHAGIA - The Dysphagia Resource Center, a major Internet resource for swallowing and swallowing disorders publishes DIV#13 news/information. Division members also actively participate on the open mailing list, DYSPHAGIA@MEDONLINE.COM. To subscribe, send the message subscribe dysphagia@medonline.com to majordomo@medonline.com

• DIV #14 -- COMMUNICATION DISORDERS AND SCIENCES IN CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE (CLD) POPULATIONS. The Multicultural Electronic Journal of Communication Disorders (MEJCD) linked to DIV#14 on ASHA's website, was initiated with funding by an ASHA Office of Multicultural Affairs Grant (1997-98). The first edition, contains articles in the areas of phonology, fluency, language, and neurogenics related to cultural and linguistic diversity.

• DIV #15 -- GERONTOLOGY maintains a mailing list available for division affiliates. To subscribe, type subscribe in the subject line and in the message space, type your full name and ASHA ID number if you know it to asha-div15-request@postman.com

Kuster, JM, Special Interest Divisions on the Net, ASHA, July/August, 1999, p. 18