About Our Clinic

The mission of the Howard University Speech and Hearing Clinic (HUSHC) is to provide exemplary training to graduate and undergraduate students in the prevention, identification, and remediation of various communication disorders including cognition and swallowing.  Remaining consistent with the core values of the University, the School of Communications, and the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA, the HUSHC positions itself to advocate for and empower individuals with communication disorders through a variety of services from a multicultural perspective. 

The Clinic is an integral part of Howard University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.  All Clinical Faculty hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and DC Licensure.  While the HUSHC provides a comprehensive clinical training component to the students, some of the major strengths rest in the clinical supervisors who are also practicing clinicians themselves.  This is an important aspect because they are training the students to use the current and up-to-date clinical practices that  have been proven effective.  As well, the teaching faculty is often used as consultants on clinical cases and these cases are regularly transferred into the academic setting and continue to be used as teaching cases. 

 Martine Elie ,Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Clinic Director
marelie@howard.edu

Tiffany Nettles M.S., CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
Tiffany.Nettles@howard.edu

Rachelle Nelson, M.S., CCC-SLP
Clinical Supervisor
rachelle.nelson@howard.edu

Jennifer Williams, M.S. CCC-SLP
Adjunct Clinical Supervisor

Evelyn Freeman, M.S. CCC-SLP
Adjunct Clinical Supervisor

Margaret Evans-Joyce, M.S., CCC-SLP
Adjunct Clinical Supervisor

Arline Hankinson, M.S., CCC-SLP
Adjunct Clinical Supervisor

The Clinic offers assessments and treatment of disorders in the following areas:

• Accent Modification
• Articulation/Speech
• Auditory Processing
• Augmentative/alternative communication
• Autistic spectrum
• Cognition
• Emerging Language
• Fluency/Stuttering
• Language and Literacy
• Orofacial myofunction
• Oral Motor
• Phonemic Awareness
• Voice
• Apraxia/Aphasia/Dysarthria
• Autism/PDD
• Brain Injury
• Developmental Delay
• Swallowing
• Dialect Difference (Regional)

In addition, the HUSHC offers family training, counseling, and support groups designed to facilitate clients’ communicative and/or swallowing functioning.

Our staff and students conduct speech, language and hearing screening throughout the community, and provide education about communication disorders to preschools, parent groups, senior citizen centers, and other community groups. If you are interested in community outreach programs, please contact our main office.

Office hours for HU’s Speech and Hearing Clinic are from 9:00 a.m. until 5.00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Appointments for individuals whose primary language is Spanish can be arranged during the week. Please call 202-806-6991 (Main office/voicemail) to schedule an appointment.  Persons with disabilities who need assistance with scheduling or parking are encouraged to call the clinic office for special arrangements.

Thet fee schedule is available upon request.  Clinical services are provided at reasonable rates.  A sliding fee scale is also available for those who qualify.  University employees and students are serviced at no charge.

Persons with disabilities are provided equal access to all services provided by the HUSHC.  In addition, the facilities have been designed to ensure that they are ADA compliant.

The Clinic is located on the southeastern section of the Howard University campus, in the School of Communications C.B. Powell Building on the first floor.  The HUSHC is best accessed from the entrance located adjacent to the HU TV Station on the corner of 4th and Bryant Streets.

"My daughter came to the clinic at the age of 6, struggling to breaking down sounds and words which affected her reading. Since she started receiving services in the clinic, there has been an increase in her confidence level. Her reading scores have increased from a 60 to a 95 in school. She is reading chapter books and has a love for reading. I credit her improvement to the services that were provided by the clinical team at the Howard University Speech and Hearing clinic."

"I have enjoyed my experience with the HUSHC clinic.  It is a professional environment with pleasant staff and students.  My son enjoys the caring he receives. The therapy has encouraged his participation in different settings." 

"The clinic is a warm environment. The staff and students are very friendly. The clinic is really dedicated to helping people overcome their personal insecurities regarding their speech."

"My daughter just completed her 5th semester of Speech therapy at the Howard University Speech and Hearing Clinic. My husband and I have been nothing but pleased by the services that our daughter received. We feel that the services offered in the clinic are very high quality and are thankful for the opportunity to participate in the program."