What are ASHA PDHs and Do I Have to Get CEUs?
ASHA requires all SLPs who have their CCC’s to obtain 30 hours of continuing education every 3 years. However, those 30 hours don’t have to be CEUs, that’s just one way to get them!
What is a Professional Development Hour (PDH)?
PDH is the term that ASHA uses to describe any type of professional development hour that counts toward your certification. In order for a professional development activity to count toward your 30 hours required by ASHA, it must meet the following rules:
- You must be the learner (not the presenter)
- It must be related to the science or contemporary practice of speech-language pathology, audiology, or the speech/language/hearing sciences
- It must result in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, or the enhancement of current knowledge and skills necessary for independent practice in any practice setting and area of practice
- You must determine that the professional development activity is appropriate, relevant, and meaningful to any practice setting and area of practice
- Your attendance can be documented by a third party such as an employer, educational institution, or sponsoring organization.
Good news!! The webinars on The SLP Solution meet these requirements! Huzzah!
Are CEUs Different from PDHs?
CEUs are a type of PDHs. ASHA requires 30 Professional Development Hours (PDH). ASHA Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will fulfill that because they have already been registered with ASHA. The benefit of going through a CEU provider is that they can submit your participation directly to your CE registry for you.
However, you don’t have to use CEUs for your hours. Any other continuing education activity you do will be considered a PDH but ASHA will allow you to get all 30 of your hours as PDH if you prefer. You simply have to check a box that says you did them at the end of your maintenance interval. You also need to hold onto your certificates in case you get audited. (How to Tell ASHA You Did Your Hours)
What Counts as a PDH?
This graphic above shows you some examples of the types of professional development activities that ASHA says you can use to count toward your 30-hour requirement. As you can see, ASHA CEUs are one way but not the only way! You can also count the in-services that your employer puts on and any teacher or business workshops that you go to that relate to working with your clients or running your business.
And best of all, it means that you can count the online webinars and courses from The SLP Solution even though we’re not an ASHA-Approved CE provider! You’ll also find that most online courses that AREN’T ASHA CEUs are going to be cheaper than true ASHA CEUs. That’s because it costs A LOT of money to keep up with ASHA’s standards and procedures.
Will My State/Other Licensing Board Accept PDHs?
This will vary from state to state and between licensing boards. Some states require a certain percentage of your hours to be certified CEUs while others will accept the same things that ASHA will accept. Please be familiar with your state or licensing board’s rules on what counts toward your certification maintenance.
Specific Licensing Board Requriements:
As we find links to specific licensing board requirements, we’ll add them here:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- If you are outside of the United States, you’ll need to check with your local licensing agency for their specific requirements.
How Can I Get PDHs from The SLP Solution?
We offer many of our webinars for PDH credit. To get credit for these items, you’ll need to log into the membership area and find the page for the webinar or recording that you are interested in. If you didn’t watch the webinar live, you will have the chance to watch the recording and still get credit. After you have watched the presentation, you’ll take a simple 10-question quiz. If you pass with at least 80% accuracy, you will be able to download the certificate of completion.
How to I Report My PDHs to ASHA?
Hold onto any certificates you get for completing our webinars. We do not keep records of these for you. At the end of your compliance cycle, you’ll follow the directions on the following link to submit your hours. You literally just have to check a box and type your name. That’s it! ASHA doesn’t need you to submit the actual certificates unless you get audited. So save these certficates in a safe place in case you do get audited and then click the button on the ASHA website once you get all 30 that says you did it.
Click Here for the Instructions on Telling ASHA You Did Your Hours
Want to See this in Action?
Check out this video I took when I submitted my hours for ASHA in 2019:
Questions?
If you have additional questions about this process, you can always refer to ASHA’s resources here:
Or, contact our support page by clicking here:
