Are PDHs (formerly CMHs) the same as ASHA CEUs?

Are PDHs or CMHs the same as ASHA CEUs?

PDH (Professional Development Hour) is the term that ASHA currently uses to describe any type of professional development or continuing education hour that counts toward your certification maintenance. 

All hours should be documented using reporting units called Professional Development Hours (PDHs).

ASHA CEUs are a type of PDH but ASHA CEUs are not the only way to maintain your certification. 

The ASHA Clinical Certification Standards define professional development as an instructional activity where

• You must be the learner (not the presenter)
• Content is related to the science or contemporary practice of speech-language pathology, audiology, or the speech/language/hearing sciences
• Content results 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 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.

Click here to read this information on ASHAs website: 

ASHA requires 30 Professional Development Hours (PDH) every 3 years to maintain your certification. Each of these professional development hours count toward your certification maintenance. 

Read this info on ASHA’s website here: 

Examples of Accepted Professional Development Activities

ASHA defines generally accepted activities this way:

“Activities will generally be accepted if you determine that they contribute to your professional development and will lead to acquiring and enhancing skills and knowledge required for independent practice."

Some examples include

• teacher-oriented content that is not related to the professions but enhances your ability to better serve your clients;
• business and management content that will help you manage your private practice more effectively;
• supervisory and leadership content for individuals employed in supervisory or management positions;
• employer-sponsored in-service activities such as Grand Rounds, special education workshops (i.e., Americans with Disabilities Act requirements), formal training sessions sponsored by manufacturers on equipment used in the evaluation or treatment of your clients, and professional activities (i.e., professional ethics, diversity issues, reimbursement issues);
• other continuing education activities such as state association workshops, and seminars offered through other professional associations like those offered for continuing medical education (CME) units, university scientific symposia, and formal online, non-credit courses offered through a university (i.e., autism, literacy, neurological disorders, genetics, and ethics);
• College or university course work at any level-undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral-offered by regionally accredited programs (can be via distance learning) in any area that meets the definition of professional development (i.e., foreign languages needed to communicate with the population you work with, early childhood development, autism, literacy, neurological disorders, genetics, ethics).

Here is the link to read this information on ASHA’s website.

Is there an advantage to earning approved ASHA CEUs?

The main benefit of ASHA CEUs over PDHs is that an ASHA approved provider is already registered with ASHA and the provider can submit your participation directly to ASHA for you.

Also, by earning ASHA CEUs instead of PDHs, you will not need to submit any additional documentation to ASHA if you are randomly selected for a maintenance audit, so there is no question or reason to worry that that your hours will or will not qualify.

I've been selected for an audit and it was very easy to send the required information to ASHA.

HOWEVER: Some state licensing boards do NOT allow you to get all of your hours as PDHs and require a certain amount of certified ASHA CEUs so you will want to contact your state board to verify compliance before enrolling in an course offered by an an unapproved CE provider.

Luckily for you, The Accent Channel is an approved provider and offers online courses to earn ASHA CEUs:  Check out all our online courses here!