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ASHA Content Area 2: the 2 PDHs and the topics ASHA lists

ASHA's certification maintenance requirements, effective January 1, 2026, include 2 PDHs in Content Area 2 within your 30 PDHs. Here is ASHA's wording, and the suggested topics on its list.

The requirement

ASHA's Content Area 2 is "2 PDHs in topics that strengthen the ability of ASHA-certified individuals to provide services that align with the unique histories, values, and circumstances of individuals, families, communities, and /or enhance capacity for self-reflection, adaptability, and collaboration with colleagues, students, externs, Clinical Fellows, assistants, professionals, care partners, and others, as appropriate." These hours are part of the "at least 30 PDHs during each 3-year certification maintenance interval." ASHA marks the requirement "Effective: January 1, 2026", and says: "If you are in the 2023–2025 interval and have not yet met the maintenance requirement, you may complete the PDHs under either the current standard or the new standard." Check ASHA's pages for your interval.

Why ASHA added it

ASHA says: "The broad scope of acceptable topics allows certified individuals to determine which areas will provide the most impactful growth in their day-to-day practice."

Who decides what counts

ASHA says its list of suggested course content "serves as a guide, but it is not all-inclusive. The learner determines if a professional development activity falls within acceptable topic areas and applies to their professional interactions and practice setting."

Some of the topics on ASHA's list

  • "Accommodations/adaptions of services to meet an individual's needs"
  • "Communication differences"
  • "Development and evaluation of nonbiased assessment tools and treatment programs"
  • "Guided reflection on professional topics"
  • "Multilingual and multi-dialectal assessment and treatment issues"
  • "Neurodivergent individuals, including considerations for clinicians, clients, caregivers, and colleagues"
  • "Second-language or second-dialect acquisition"

ASHA's page has the full list.

Counted once

ASHA's PDH page says that if an activity addresses both content areas, "certificate holders may divide the total clock time between those two content areas; however, the same clock time may not be counted twice."

Plan your hours

Our free ASHA certification maintenance hours planner shows what is left of your 30 PDHs and the two content areas, and has a printable PDH log.

Special Learning is not an ASHA Approved CE Provider, and our courses are not ASHA CEUs. If you choose a recorded course, Compassionate Mandated Reporting Across Disciplines runs 110 minutes and costs $39, paid once; after you pass its quiz, its certificate shows Special Learning as the sponsoring organization, your name, the course title, the dates and the hours. You decide whether its content fits ASHA's Scope of Practice for you. We do not claim it meets Content Area 1 or Content Area 2. Read what ASHA says about courses from other providers.

Common questions

How many Content Area 2 hours does ASHA require?

ASHA requires 2 PDHs in Content Area 2, effective January 1, 2026, as part of the at least 30 PDHs in each 3-year certification maintenance interval.

What topics count for ASHA Content Area 2?

ASHA publishes a list of suggested course content, such as communication differences, multilingual and multi-dialectal assessment and treatment issues, and neurodivergent individuals. ASHA says the list is a guide and not all-inclusive, and the learner determines if an activity falls within acceptable topic areas.

Can one course count for both content areas?

ASHA says you may divide an activity's total clock time between Content Area 1 and Content Area 2, but the same clock time may not be counted twice.

Sources