For decades, international experiences have given students in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) opportunities to learn about culturally responsive practices and health care disparities. Careful evaluation and planning can ensure thatthese study-abroad experiences benefit both students and the communities they serve.

A new forum in Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (Perspectives) highlights how institutions and educators can approach this work with purpose. Perspectives editors Lekeitha R. Morris and Bea Staley present a forum offering timely insights to university staff who administrate or participate in these global learning experiences.

An Administrator’s Experience

In the introduction to the forum, Morris and Staley highlight the unique path that the forum took to publication and introduce the articles. Next, Edmister and Bleile share their unique perspectives from 11 international service trips to six different countries.

Reilly and Alimonti discuss key components of international service-learning programs, including their experience implementing telehealth into the program. Mumy and colleagues discuss how interprofessional study-abroad experiences can prepare students for the collaborative nature of health care.

Learning From Each Other

In the final article, Whisenhunt Saar et al. present students’ perspective on these international experiences. They highlight students’ perceived changes in themselves and how the experiences will shape future work.

In their introduction, Morris and Staley write that study-abroad experiences can be beneficial—but often complex. “If the goal, however, is to do this work better, we must learn from each other,” they write (p. xxxx). Whether you’re an experienced program leader, an administrator, a faculty member supervising students, or an ASHA member interested in ethical and effective global engagement, these articles offer valuable perspectives.

We’d like to thank Drs. Morris and Staley for their work bringing this forum to Perspectives. You can read the entire forum in the October issue of Perspectives, or explore individual articles below!

Explore the Forum

Edmister, E., & Bleile, K. (2026). Developing international travel experiences with preservice students in communication sciences and disorders. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(5), 1673–1683. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-24-00296

Morris, L. R., & Staley, B. (2026). Introduction to the forum: Administration and supervision in study-abroad experiences. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(5), 1670–1672. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_ PERSP-26-00137

Mumy, A. P. G. S., Matney, W. B., Gatts, J. H., Brock, K. L, & Kirkland, K. D. (2026). Crossing cultures, bridging disciplines: Interdisciplinary insights from speech-language pathology and music therapy study-abroad experiences. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(5), 1705–1720. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-24-00277

Reilly, E. L., & Alimonti, S. (2026). Components of an international service-learning program. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(5), 1684–1704. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-24-00273

Whisenhunt Saar, K., Arrington, L. E., Damico, H., Nelson, R., & Damico, J. S. (2026). “We thought about it in a different way”: A phenomenological investigation of student study-abroad experiences. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(5), 1721–1741. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_PERSP-24-00272