From A to Z, here's what you need to know about the ASHA Convention. All attendees, presenters, and exhibitors should familiarize themselves with the policies, guidelines, and services outlined before attending the ASHA Convention.
ASHA is committed to providing an outstanding experience for all participants at its live events. We strive for full access to the activities of these events and accommodations relating to mobility, hearing, vision or other areas may be provided. Read more about accessibility at ASHA events.
We ask that requests for reasonable accommodations at our live events be made as early as possible, and well in advance of the event, so we may best meet individual needs and requirements. We may be unable to fully respond to requests received after November 3. If you register after this date, please send an email to the address below with details about the accommodation. Onsite requests will be accommodated to the best of our ability; however, available resources may be limited.
An ADA-accessible shuttle equipped with a wheelchair lift will be available to transport attendees with mobility issues from the convention center to the ASHA hotels and to any official ASHA offsite event (i.e., ASHFoundation Fundraiser or the ASHA PAC Reception). Individuals who use scooters can use the standard shuttle service; shuttle staff will help stow scooters in the cargo area of the bus. To arrange for ADA shuttle service while onsite, call 1-800-523-4046 and allow 45 minutes from call time for pickup.
For questions or concerns about accessibility at ASHA's live events, please contact accessevents@asha.org.
| Thursday, December 5 | 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. |
| Friday, December 6 | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Saturday, December 7 | 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. |
ASHA staff will be on hand at the ASHA Member Services Center in the Exhibit Hall to help you with all the information and services the association provides. The Member Services Center can also help you with questions about the Exhibit Hall.
Business casual attire is recommended during the Convention. Session rooms are often cool, and attendees are advised to dress in layers. Comfortable walking shoes are a must.
Name badges will be issued to all registered in-person attendees, regardless of registration type. Badges must be worn at all times while participating in ASHA Convention activities, whether in the Convention Center, at our leadership hotel, or at off-site activities such as the ASHFoundation Reception. One-day registrants will have the day they selected to attend printed prominently on their badge to prevent re-use. Exhibit Hall–only passes indicate limited access.
Please be aware that if exhibitors scan the bar code on your badge during the ASHA Convention, you are agreeing to share your information with them and consenting to allow them to contact you, even if you opted out during the registration process. (Read more about the Privacy Policy.)
Badges will be mailed in mid-November to everyone who is registered for the full 3-day event by late October (Date TBD). Badges for one-day registrants are not mailed in advance; you may pick up your badge and materials at registration onsite after 3 p.m. the day before they are attending. Even if you received your badge in the mail in advance, you still must check in by scanning your badge when you arrive to verify your attendance so you may claim continuing education credit after the Convention concludes.
Please do not forget to bring your badge. There is a $10 fee to reprint lost badges. If your badge does not arrive in the mail, you will be able to print it onsite when you check in at no cost.
FedEx Office at the Seattle Convention Center, located on Level 1 near the Pike Street entrance, offers everything you need to meet your office needs from packing and shipping to signs, banners, office supplies, and copying and printing services.
Exhibitors are allowed limited use of cameras in their own booth area. Photography, video production, and/or graphic reproduction of other exhibitors' booths and products displayed therein are prohibited unless authorization is obtained from the exhibitor. Commercial use of photographs of attendees by exhibitors is prohibited unless written consent is given by the attendee.
Personal photography is permitted at social functions. Please see the Recording Policy for additional information on situations where photography is restricted or limited. Please see the Photo Release policy for information on ASHA's official photographer and use photos of attendees.
Cancelling your ASHA Convention registration does not automatically cancel your hotel reservation, and cancelling your hotel reservation does not automatically cancel your registration. If you need to cancel, be sure to follow the cancellation process for both registration and hotel reservations individually.
If you need to cancel your registration, whether for the in-person event or the Virtual Extra, we must have your request in writing. Please send all registration cancellation requests to ASHA@maritz.com.
All cancellations and refunds will be processed in the same manner as original payment: if paid by credit card the refund will be issued to the card on record, generally within 72 hours of the request. Payments made by check will be refunded as a check and may take up to 30 days AFTER the Convention to process. Donations (ASHFoundation, ASHA PAC, or Student) and ASHFoundation Fundraiser tickets are nonrefundable.
Cancellation requests for in-person registrations received before November 1 will be refunded, less a $50 processing fee, prior to the Convention. Any cancellation request received after November 1 will be refunded after the Convention, less a $75 fee. ASHA Eats cards and all special event tickets are nonrefundable after November 1.
Cancellation requests for virtual-only registrations received before November 1 will be refunded, less a $25 processing fee, prior to the Convention. Any cancellation request received after November 1 will be refunded after the Convention, less a $35 fee.
The cancellation fee is a processing fee and cannot be waived.
To cancel a hotel reservation, you can either log into the Housing Attendee Service Center and cancel directly through the housing system or send your cancellation request in writing to ASHAHotel@maritz.com. Reservation changes or cancellations can be made with Maritz through Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Beginning Monday, November 6, 2023, changes and cancellations must be made directly with your hotel.
Hotel cancellations must be made no later than 72 hours prior to your arrival date. Cancellation within 3 days, or failure to check in on your scheduled day of arrival will result in a one-night's room and tax penalty charged by the hotel to the credit card used for guarantee.
Talking on cell phones is strictly prohibited during all education sessions and other nonsocial events at the in-person ASHA Convention. Cell phones should always be in silent mode during sessions, meetings, and events to avoid disruption. Recording and photography is prohibited during sessions and events without prior consent from the presenter.
Certificates of Completion are available to all attendees. To retrieve your certificate, complete the online CEU/attendance reporting process. As soon as you have finished, you will be able to print your certificate.
You must report the sessions you attended at the 2024 ASHA Convention by December 13, 2024, 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, to earn ASHA CEUs or PDHs and to receive a Certificate of Completion. If you need a record of the sessions you attended—or think you may need a record in the future—you must report for credit by December 13. Questions about Certificates of Completion or reporting your continuing education may be directed to the ASHA Professional Development team (ashaprofdev@asha.org).
The ASHA Convention is a professional development event and is not intended to be inclusive of children. Due to safety and liability issues, children under 18 are not permitted in the Exhibit Hall, and strollers are not permitted in the Exhibit Hall or in session rooms. Due to space limitations and the potential for disruption in session rooms, as well as safety issues should overcrowding occur, the presence of infants and children in education sessions is discouraged. ASHA does not provide child care services. Your hotel concierge may be able to provide information about on-site child care services or other local options for child care.
See the Personal Consideration Room section below for information for nursing mothers.
Use the following format to properly cite oral seminars or poster presentations offered at the ASHA Convention:
Shepard, N., Gleason, A., Beckerman, M. (2017, November). 1004: Vestibular & Balance Grand Rounds Wait There’s More. Seminar presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Los Angeles, CA.
All attendees, whether in-person or virtual, are expected to abide by ASHA's Code of Conduct for Meetings.
ASHA expects in-person attendees to respect each other, ASHA staff, student volunteers, and convention center staff, and to behave in a courteous and civilized fashion. Attendees should respect common sense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, common courtesy, and respect for private property.
Abusive, harassing, or threatening behavior toward any other attendee or directed at any student volunteer, ASHA staff, convention center staff, or security will not be tolerated. Please report any incidents in which an attendee is abusive, insulting, intimidating, bothersome, or acting in an unsafe or illegal manner to ASHA staff or security immediately.
After the Convention, all registrants will receive an emailed invitation to complete an in-depth evaluation survey. To share comments or feedback while at the Convention, or to report a disclosure issue with a presenter, ask for a comment form at any of the ASHA Info Booths.
Visit any of the ASHA Information Booths located throughout the convention center during registration hours for help with continuing education (CE) questions. CE staff at the Information Booths can also provide instructions about how to report your continuing education credit earned during the ASHA Convention online.
A first aid services area is located outside Hall B1 on the Exhibit/Ground Level of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for anyone who needs medical assistance. If there is an emergency, please use one of the house phones to alert security and then report the emergency at the nearest ASHA Info Booth.
You may view the floor plans for the Seattle Convention Center and our leadership hotels using the Program Planner or ASHA Convention mobile app to help you familiarize yourself with the space. The mobile app also includes a way finder feature that provides walking directions from room to room once you are onsite at the convention center.
The Convention Center has a number of concession areas which offer a variety of food, including some vegetarian and gluten-free choices, as well as grab-and-go snack and coffee carts located throughout the center. Meals are not provided as part of your registration fee.
You may purchase an ASHA Eats voucher card through registration. The card is worth $50 towards food and drink purchases at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center concession stands. A list of food outlets, with dietary specialties noted (vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, etc.), where you can use your ASHA Eats card will be available at the ASHA Information Booths.
Want to know who's coming to the ASHA Convention in Seattle this year? If you are already registered, you can search for people you know by logging back into the registration system and clicking the See Who's Coming button on your dashboard. The attendee list is opt-in and only includes in-person registrants who indicated that they wished to be listed as an attendee.
(Available after registration opens on August 1.)
Guest Services ambassadors at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will be there to welcome you and help direct you to destination at the center. They are equipped with internet-connected tablets and are ready to provide guests with directions or information on local restaurants and attractions.
Representatives from ASHA's housing company will be located near the registration counter and available during registration hours to assist you should any issues arise with your hotel reservations.
Staff at the ASHA Information Booths, located in key high-traffic areas of the Seattle Convention Center and our leadership hotels, are available to answer any questions about the ASHA Convention. They will be open during registration hours.
Basic wireless Internet service is offered in the public areas of the Seattle Convention Center. Basic service allows attendees to perform low-bandwidth functions, such as checking email. Fees may apply. Internet access is not available for presenters in the session rooms.
All of the ASHA hotels offer complimentary high-speed Internet access for ASHA Convention guests.
Please see Personal Consideration Room below.
The 2024 ASHA Convention will be held at the Seattle Convention Center from December 5–7, 2024.
ASHA is not responsible for items lost during the Convention, nor is ASHA responsible for returning found items to attendees.
Found items brought to any ASHA Information Booth will be held at that booth for the remainder of the day; at the end of the day, the items will be brought to the ASHA Convention staff office. When the Convention concludes on Saturday, all unclaimed items will be turned over to the Seattle Convention Center.
Attendees are responsibile for following up with the Convention Center to retrieve lost items after the ASHA Convention has ended.
Luggage and coats may be stored at the Seattle Convention Center for a small fee. Cash not accepted. Hours and rates will be available in November.
For those arriving by car, parking is available in garages near the Seattle Convention Center for a daily fee (plan for $25+). View parking options and current fees.
Private rooms are available in the convention center for nursing mothers and others with sensitive personal health needs. Stop by any of the ASHA Information booths and staff will direct you to the nearest location. Small refrigerators are provided. Please be aware that these rooms are not staffed and ASHA is not responsible for items left in the rooms.
When you register for the ASHA Convention, you will need to agree to the Personal Responsibility Release Statement:
As a participant in the upcoming ASHA Convention, I agree to abide by all established and applicable health and security-related requirements, policies, procedures, and protocols of the Convention Center, hotels, and ASHA. I understand that, despite any efforts by ASHA, the Convention Center, and hotels, health or security risks may exist by attending the ASHA Convention. I knowingly and freely assume all such risks, both known and unknown, and assume full personal responsibility for my participation. I release ASHA and their staff and contractors from liability should I experience health-related issues, directly or indirectly, as a result of my participation in the event.
ASHA hires an official photographer for the Convention. Photographs taken at the ASHA Convention may be used in future ASHA publications, on the ASHA website, or in other ASHA materials. By registering for the ASHA Convention, you agree to allow ASHA to use your photograph in ASHA-related print or digital publications.
All Convention presenters, including those displaying posters, are required to disclose relevant financial and nonfinancial relationships—or lack thereof—and must, at the beginning of their respective sessions or presentations, make a disclosure statement. The purpose of the disclosure requirement is to promote transparency in the design, development, and presentation of courses offered for ASHA CEUs. The requirement provides Convention attendees with a more complete context in which to evaluate presenters' information. Presenter disclosures may be viewed via the Program Planner. To report a presenter disclosure issue, stop by one of the Information Booths and ask for a comment form.
Registered press and media should come to the PR/Media Lounge for more information and to inquire about access to the Press Room. For questions about press or media, please contact ASHA's Public Relations team at pr@asha.org.
ASHA does not sell the contact information of Convention registrants. We do provide registrant mailing lists to exhibiting companies for their marketing purposes; part of their exhibitor package allows them to contact you once, either before or after the event. You may opt out of sharing your information with exhibitors during the registration process. (Please note that doing so does not remove you from any lists that may be managed by ASHA Marketing. To remove yourself from these lists, you must call the Action Center at 800-498-2071.)
Please be aware that if you allow exhibitors to scan the bar code on your badge during the ASHA Convention, you are agreeing to share your information with them and consenting to allow them to contact you, even if you opted out during the registration process.
Whether for personal or commercial use, the following recording types are strictly prohibited during all ASHA Convention education sessions, poster presentations, Short Courses, and the keynote speaker’s presentation at the Opening General Session:
The only exception is if consent from the presenter was granted or obtained prior to the start of the session. If the presenter does not explicitly state that you may record the session or event at the start of the presentation, assume that recording is not permitted. Any individual who does not comply with this policy will be asked to leave the session or event and to surrender their film or recording media. Under no circumstances may presentations be rebroadcast.
If you are already registered, you may log back into the registration system to make changes to your registration, such as purchasing tickets or updating your contact information, or to print your receipt. You will need your registration confirmation number and email address to log in.
If a medical emergency occurs while you are at the Seattle Convention Center, please contact the Security Control Office immediately:
Please do not contact 911 directly when possible. Contacting the Security Control Office will greatly minimize the response time of emergency response units, in the event that they need to be dispatched to the facility. Seattle Convention Center Security Officers can lead emergency response units directly to the individual in need.
After you have alerted the Security Control Office, please inform the ASHA staff at the nearest ASHA Info Booth of the situation.
Both oral presentations and posters sessions are subject to change, due to cancellations or presenter changes. Please refer to the session information listed in the online Program Planner or mobile app, which is updated every 15 minutes during the event. (Presenters who must cancel their session or substitute another presenter should send written notification to papers@asha.org as soon as possible.)
Extensive planning goes into scheduling sessions in appropriately sized rooms; however, the popularity of sessions is not always predictable, and overcrowding occasionally occurs. If a session room reaches capacity, attendees must follow the instructions provided by ASHA staff, convention center staff, student volunteers, or security staff.
ASHA is obligated to abide by the guidelines established by the fire marshal, who has the authority to delay or even shut down a session until any problem has been satisfactorily corrected. You may be instructed not to stand against the walls or block the aisles or doors, or you may be denied entry if the room is too crowded. Please be courteous and respectfully cooperate with staff and student volunteers when you are directed elsewhere.
Attendees are also asked to be respectful of presenters and their fellow attendees. Please be mindful of potential disruptions during sessions, such as eating food, use of phones or other mobile devices, or the presence of infants and children. Phones and other mobile devices should always be silenced. Attendees should not be photographing presentation slides unless explicit permission has been granted by the presenter(s); please see the Recording Policy.
Many of the ASHA hotels in Seattle are walkable from the convention center; shuttle service is provided for hotels that are farther from the center.
Limited ADA-accessible shuttle service equipped with a wheelchair lift for those with a disability will be available for all ASHA hotels and any official ASHA event (i.e., ASHFoundation Reception) from Wednesday, December 4 through Saturday, December 7. (Those who use scooters can use the standard shuttle service; shuttle staff will help stow scooters in the cargo area of the shuttle.) To arrange for ADA shuttle service, call 1-800-523-4046 and allow 45 minutes from call time to pickup.
ASHA encourages the use of social media and blogging at the ASHA Convention as a way for attendees to summarize, highlight, and promote presentations, or to share their experience in general, provided that presentation content and materials are not shared in full, and authors or presenters are referenced and cited where appropriate. Please keep in mind that presenters hold the intellectual property rights and copyrights to their materials.
Hours
Wednesday, December 4
10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 5
7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Friday, December 6
7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 7
7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Seattle Convention Center, Location TBD
All in-person/live Oral Session presentations will be managed through our Speaker Ready Room. All presenters are required to check in with the Speaker Ready Room at least 4 hours in advance of their scheduled session.
The Speaker Ready Room is where speakers must finalize their presentation slides and notes. Technicians will be available to assist and can answer questions regarding the operation of audio-visual equipment. Read more about the Speaker Ready Room and requirements for oral sessions.
ASHA thanks our sponsors. Sponsors are not responsible for the content of this conference nor does ASHA endorse their products or services.
Your health and safety are of utmost importance to ASHA. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is not required to attend the ASHA Convention; however, we strongly recommend that all attendees are up-to-date on their vaccinations. We also recommend that you test yourself for COVID-19 before traveling to the ASHA Convention, as well as upon arrival. Do not attend the ASHA Convention if you test positive for COVID-19, have any symptoms, or feel unwell on the days of the event.
Masks are welcomed but not required. This policy is subject to change, so please be prepared to wear a mask if required.