Who We Are

The International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (d/b/a IALP) is the non-profit worldwide organization of professionals and scientists in communication, voice, speech language pathology, audiology and swallowing.

The organization, formerly known as International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP) was founded in 1924 by Emil Froeschels in Austria to foster collaboration of all professionals interested in logopedics and phoniatrics throughout the world.

Today, IALP is a global network of more than 300,000 Logopedists, Speech-Language Therapists/Pathologists, Audiologists, Clinical Linguists, ENTs and Phoniatricians in more than 40 countries across the globe.

Ialp organization

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Vision and Mission

Our Vision

We at IALP have a global vision to facilitate better understanding, knowledge and care of all those with communication and swallowing disorders.

Our Mission

To improve the quality of lives of individuals with disorders of communication, speech, language, voice, hearing and swallowing.

We strive to:

  • Facilitate science, education, and clinical practice through international cooperation and collaboration;
  • Create and share knowledge, skills and information;
  • Provide a platform for international networking and advocacy.
Talking Each other

Our History

1924

Emil Froeschels decided to hold the 1st International Congress of Logopedics and Phoniatrics in Vienna and founded the Gesellschaft fuer Logopaedie und Phoniatrie (IALP) with him as President and Hugo Stern as Secretary.

1928

At this Viennese Congress it was proposed that IALP publish an official journal of its own.

Seeman, Flat, Froeschels and Stern welcomed attendees to the Fourth Congress for the first time out of Vienna in Prague. IALP had become more European.

1930

1937

Many of the participants in Copenhagen suspected that many years must pass before
they would meet again, for many it would be their last Congress.

1950

IALP members met in Amsterdam and decided to draft a set of by-laws, to enroll a permanent membership for IALP. Secretary Weiss made initial contacts with WHO and UNESCO.

1956

225 delegates to IALP met in Barcelona. The presence of participants from North and South America, East Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa made it international.

498 participants met on 17-22 August in London. By this time, there were already 15 national associations affiliated with IALP.

1959

1963

In June 1963, IALP obtained official recognition by the WHO and acquired consultation status with the UNICEF. In 1966, the Barcelona artist Josep Artigas designed for emblems for IALP.

1971

1,400 delegates attended the Congress in Buenos Aires. It was the first time to be conveyed out of Europe. That year, there were 34 national associations affiliated with IALP.

1974

IALP members met at the Casino Kursaal in Interlaken, Switzerland, without outstanding personalities such as Froschels, Gutzmann, Tarneaud and Weiss, who had passed away.

The 17th Congress in Copenhagen welcomed a multitude of new faces. The By-Laws were modified in the sense of not establishing differences respect to race, national origin and religion.

1977

1980

834 attendants from 35 countries met in Washington D.C. counting 41 affiliated societies from 39 countries and 633 individual members.

1986

President Butler and General Secretary Sister de Montfort welcomed 610 attendees to the 20th Congress in Tokyo, where IALP Voice Committee was created.

1995

300 participants registered for the Congress in Cairo and represented 53 countries. Prof. Logan set up the new Dysphagia Committee.

The 24th IALP Congress in Amsterdam counted 927 attendees and became the second largest world conference until then. The Multilingual Affairs Committee was established by Dr. Fredman.

1998

2001

The first IALP congress of the new millennium in Montréal offered a program in three languages: English, French, and German.

2004

The 26th Congress in Brisbane showed that IALP had achieved worldwide reputation: 7 bids to host the 2010 World Congress were presented by representatives from different countries.

2007

Prof. Behlau welcomed 746 participants to the 2nd International IALP Composium in São Paulo. The motto was “The one who communicates better wis less violent and suffers less violence from society”.

Almost 700 participants from 55 countries attended the 28th World Congress in Athens. IALP celebrated the 60-year partnership with Karger.

2010

2013

The 29th World Congress of the IALP in Torino was attended by 981 registrants from 59 countries. IALP became signatory of the International Communication Project.

2017

Delegates from all continents attended the 5th IALP Composium on Multilingual and Multicultural Populations focusing on refugees and migrations hosted by Prof. Scharff Rethfeldt in Bremen.

2019

The 31st World Congress of the IALP welcomed around 1,000 attendees from across the globe in Taipei.

Board members met in Malta, where IALP was newly registered  with its new name: International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (d/b/a IALP).

2020

2023

Up to 1,000 registrants from across the globe attended the 32nd World Congress in Auckland which was postponed by one year due to the pandemic.

2024

In Celebration of the Centennial of IALP a special Composium was held in Vienna – where the historic timeline began …

Teaching

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Exemplifying and embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is part of everything we do at IALP.

We understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision and mission to facilitate better understanding, knowledge and care of all people with communication and swallowing disorders, and enable us to take action to create lasting change.

We value diversity and celebrate the contributions of people of all backgrounds, across age, ethnicity, race, national origin, ability, learning style, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in thoughts and ideas.

Recognizing that individuals from some groups have historically experienced barriers to service and participation, we are committed to advancing equity in all aspects of IALP.

We believe that all people hold visible and invisible qualities that inherently make them unique, and we strive to create an inclusive culture where each person knows they are valued and belong.

We are committed to being honest and transparent about where we are in our DEI journey as an organization, and to continuing to learn and do better.

How We Work

IALP is a non-profit, non-political and nongovernmental global organization. 

The work of the organization is primarily accomplished by its members who volunteer their time and talents on the IALP Board of Directors and IALP’s 14 Standing Committees, with operational support and guidance from the IALP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and additional part-time or consulting staff as needed.

IALP Officers and Board Members for the term 2022-2025

Officers

Executive Committee
President Brian B. Shulman, USA
President-Elect Tamer Abou-Elsaad, Egypt
Vice-President for Communication Wiebke Scharff Rethfeldt, Germany
Vice-President for Finance Arlene A. Pietranton, USA
Vice-President for Education Fernanda Dreux, Brasil
Vice-President for Membership and Partnerships Kamini Gadhok, United Kingdom
Vice-President for Marketing and Development Maria Christopoulou, Cyprus

Executive Committee

President

Brian B. Shulman, USA

President-Elect

Tamer Abou-Elsaad, Egypt

Vice-President for Communication

Wiebke Scharff Rethfeldt, Germany

Vice-President for Finance

Arlene A. Pietranton, USA

Vice-President for Education

Fernanda Dreux, Brasil

Vice-President for Membership and Partnerships

Kamini Gadhok, United Kingdom

Vice-President for Marketing and Development

Maria Christopoulou, Cyprus

Officers

Brian Shulman, USA

President

Prof. Tamer Abou-Elsaad, MD, PhD, Egypt

President Elect

Prof. Dr. Wiebke Scharff Rethfeldt, Germany

Vice-President for Communication

Arlene A. Pietranton, USA

Vice-President for Finance

Fernanda Dreux, Brazil

Vice-President for Education

Kamini Gadhok, United Kingdom

Vice-President for Membership and Partnerships

Maria Christopolou, Cyprus

Vice-President for Marketing and Development

Vanessa Ebejer, Malta

CEO

Join Us

IALP welcomes all Logopedists, Speech-Language Therapists/Pathologists, Audiologists, Clinical Linguists, ENTs and Phoniatricians worldwide who are engaged in the study, prevention, identification, and treatment of communication and related disorders and organizations comprised of individuals from those professions from all countries to apply for membership.

Affiliated Society Membership

There are 3 types of membership of Affiliate Society, depending on the profile of the organization. Category A Society Membership: National organizations in communication sciences and disorders having individual members among their membership. Examples of this category are The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA ), Speech Pathology Australia (SPA)and The Egyptian Society for Phoniatrics and Logopedics. (ESPL) Category B Society Membership: Multinational, regional, or local organizations in communication sciences and disorders having individual members among their membership. Category C Society Membership: Multinational, national, regional, or local organizations in communication sciences and disorders comprised of Societies as their membership. When your National Society/Association wishes to join the IALP as an Affiliated Society, please fill in and send the Application Form for IALP Affiliated Membership below.

Please fill in and send the Application Form for IALP Affiliated Membership below:

We also need to receive (in English) your:

1. Mission Statement

2. By-Laws/Constitution and/or Regulations


Upload your file.

Accepted file types: zip, rar, arj, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Student Membership

An individual enrolled for part- or full-time study for preregistration, undergraduate or postgraduate studies directly related to the field of human communication disorders and sciences at a formal education institution. Students must provide official evidence of enrolment at the time of joining the Association and/or registering for a congress/composium.

Individual Membership

On behalf of the IALP I would like to thank you for considering membership in our global organisation of professionals.