We’re pleased to announce the 2025 ASHA Journals Awards! The annual awards encompass two categories: (1) The Alfred K. Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications and (2) the Editor’s Awards. You can find more information on the ASHA Journals Awards, including present and past recipients, on the ASHA Journals Awards page on ASHAWire.

The Alfred K. Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications

This award, named in memory of the late Alfred K. Kawana, former Director of ASHA Publications, recognizes a sustained history of exemplary publications. Awardees have authored articles in ASHA Journals that are meritorious in their educational, scientific, or clinical value over a period of at least 10 years. For information on the Kawana Award, including present and past recipients, see the Kawana Award page on ASHAWire.

2025 Kawana Awardee: Sumitrajit Dhar, PhD, CCC-A

Dr. Sumitrajit (Sumit) Dhar is a Professor and Hugh Knowles Chair in Hearing Sciences at Northwestern University, where he also heads the Auditory Research Laboratory. Dr. Dhar is an ASHA Fellow and has served as the organization’s Vice President for Science and Research from 2022 through 2024. Dr. Dhar is the chair of ASHA’s Article Peer-Review Training (APT) Program advisory committee, working to support and develop the next generation of peer reviewers. He has previously served as chair of the ASHA Journals Board and as editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Audiology. Dr. Dhar’s published works are substantial and impactful, with thousands of citations. ASHA awarded Dr. Dhar with Honors of the Association in 2021. He was part of a team of authors who received an Editor’s Award in 2019.

Editor’s Awards

An Editor’s Award is awarded by each editor-in-chief from AJA, AJSLP, LSHSS, JSLHR, and Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups. The award recognizes the article that the editor-in-chief and editors believe meets the highest quality standards in research design, presentation, and impact for a given year.

2025 Editor’s Award Winners (for articles published in 2024)

American Journal of Audiology (EIC: Erin Picou )
Spatial Hearing in Children With and Without Hearing Loss: Where and What the Speech Is Matters for Local Speech Intelligibility
Andrea L. Pittman and M. Torben Pastore

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (EIC: Amy L. Donaldson)
How Toddlers Use Core and Fringe Vocabulary: What’s in an Utterance?
Cathy Binger, Priscilla Magallanes, Vanessa San Miguel, Nancy Harrington, and Debbie Hahs-Vaughn

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (EIC: Rita R. Patel)
Patient Characteristics and Treatment Patterns for Speech-Language Pathology Services in Skilled Nursing Facilities
Cait Brown, Rachel Prusynski, Carolyn Baylor, Andrew Humbert, and Tracy M. Mroz

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research – Speech section (EIC: Jessica Huber)
Virtual Post-Intervention Speech and Language Assessment of Toddler and Preschool Participants in Babble Boot Camp
Nancy L. Potter, Mark VanDam, Laurel Bruce, Jenny Davis, Linda Eng, Lizbeth Finestack, Victoria Heinlen, Nancy Scherer, Claire Schrock, Ryan Seltzer, Carol Stoel-Gammon, Lauren Thompson, and Beate Peter

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research – Language section (EIC: Julie Washington)
Bilingualism Predicts Affective Theory of Mind in Autistic Adults
Kaitlin K. Cummings, Rachel K. Greene, Paul Cernasov, Dang Dang Delia Kan, Julia Parish-Morris, Gabriel S. Dichter, and Jessica L. Kinard 

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research – Hearing section (EIC: Rachael Frush Holt)
Executive Function Associations With Audibility-Adjusted Speech Perception in Noise
Mark A. Eckert, Lois J. Matthews, Kenneth I. Vaden, and Judy R. Dubno

Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools (EIC: Karla N. Washington)
We Have to Talk About Something: Why NOT Talk About the Curriculum? A Guide to Embedding Language Interventions in Curricular Content
Amanda J. Owen Van Horne, Maura Curran, Samantha Weatherford, and Karla K. McGregor

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (EIC: Monique T. Mills)
Black Languaging IS Translanguaging: We Not Just Talkin Bout It, We Bout It Bout It!
Chelsea Privette and Karina R. Saechao

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (EIC: Kendrea L. Garand)
Social Networks and Communication Impairment: Racial Differences Among Stroke Survivors
Jacqueline Nicole Jones, Molly Jacobs, and Charles Ellis 

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (EIC: Ishara Ramkissoon)
Development and Implementation of an Aural Rehabilitation Program Using Community Health Workers in Rural Alabama
Marcia J. Hay-McCutcheon, Abigail Hubbard, Emma B. Brothers, Kerstin Straub, Rebecca S. Allen, Claudia Hardy, and Nancy Tye-Murray

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups (EIC: Danai Fannin)
Addressing Hearing Loss of Palestinians Living in Refugee Camps
Lori A. Pakulski