Petition: ASHA Needs to Actively Enforce its Code of Ethics

Please visit the link below to add read the petition to the ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)...and then consider signing the petition. The ASHA has its own code of ethics regarding its members advertising "cures" for stuttering/stammering, yet they do not always enforce them. Currently, many ASHA members violate the code of ethics by making false/misleading claims regarding certain treatments and "cures". It is not simply an issue of "free speech". The FDA actively enforces the law regarding food and drug manufacturers making false or misleading claims...and so should the ASHA with regard to their own code of ethics and their Members.

By allowing these unsavory companies and individuals to thrive, the affliction of stuttering is mis-characterized, individuals are misled into thinking there is a "quick fix" for stuttering and the stutterers themselves are enticed to part with their money, only to be left feeling as if they failed when the "cure" didn't work for them. If you, as an individual business owner, marketed a "pill" or supplement that you claim can cure diabetes, you would quickly face the wrath of the Food and Drug Administration. And rightly so. Consumers need to be protected from individuals peddling "snake oils" to cure or treat debilitating medical, psychological or physiological conditions.

Some might regard this issue as merely one of "buyer beware", but this is a terribly careless position to take, in my opinion, because it entirely ignores the ASHA code of ethics, firstly; secondly, society (and the FDA) does not tolerate similar standards with regard to food or drug manufacturers who make curative claims. We need to stand together as a community to send a message to the ASHA. Please consider standing together with me by clicking the link below, reading and then signing the petition.

ASHA Needs to Actively Enforce its Code of Ethics