University of Pretoria (UP) alumnus, Professor Brenda Louw, was awarded a Fellowship of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

According to the organisation, the Fellowship is one of the highest forms of recognition given by ASHA of an individual’s accomplishments and is a public declaration of outstanding professional achievements.

Prof Louw said it was a very humbling experience to be acknowledged and awarded for doing somethings she is passionate about and is her life’s mission.

“This special honour could not have been possible without past and present students who enabled me to contribute to the future of the professions of speech language pathology and audiology; mentors who inspired me and provided amazing opportunities; family, friends and colleagues in different fields whom I learned from, collaborated with and who supported me; and clients with communication disorders and their families who taught me the most important lessons of all.”   

According to the recently retired Prof Louw, who’s now a professor emerita at UP and East Tennessee State University , the ASHA Fellowship was awarded to her for her contribution to the field in the areas of teaching, administrative service, research and publications.

Throughout her career of 46 years, Prof Louw conducted a lot of ground-breaking research, however, she holds dearly her research on early intervention for infants and young children with communication disorders. “In collaboration with colleagues that research contributed to the establishment of the field of early intervention in South Africa in the 1980s,” she said.

“It led to the development of assessment protocols and intervention strategies to prevent and minimise the impact of risks to early communication development such as cleft lip and palate, Down syndrome, young children affected by HIV/AIDS and autism spectrum disorders, among others. It also contributed to the training of speech-language pathology in early intervention. I have also contributed to the scant research on adolescents and young adults with cleft lip and palate.”

Although Prof Louw studied at UP a many years ago, she says she’s proud that the training she received had a lasting impact on her professional and academic development. As a result, she thinks that alumni must keep abreast of developments of their alma mater and “be willing to collaborate and share contacts and information with the department and alumni, be willing to provide career mentoring to alumni and students, and provide opportunities to collaborate on research,” she added.