Meet Professionals

Maisa Haj-Tas is an assistant professor at the University of Jordan (UJ). She received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida, USA in 2007 and is one of the first specialists in the area of fluency disorders in the Arab World. She served as the director of the University of Jordan Hearing and Speech Clinic and is a certified speech-language pathologist with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She teaches theoretical and clinical courses and is a clinical supervisor of graduate and undergraduate SLP- students at UJ. Her research work focuses on the development of clinical material that can be used in the assessment and treatment of stuttering and cluttering, and on the characteristics of speech fluency in speakers of Arabic. She has given numerous presentations, seminars, and continuing education workshops in local and international conferences and professional events, and co-authored several studies in the area of speech fluency. She has also co-developed a website https://www.worldofstuttering.com/ that provides free online resources for persons who stutter, their families, and for professionals about the characteristics and management of stuttering.

Nahla Ahmed Dashash, holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Howard University, USA since 2004.  She received her master’s degree in Speech and language Pathology from San Jose State University, USA, in 1999 and has the Certificate of Clinical Competency CCC from the American Speech and Hearing Association ASHA since 1999.  She received her Bachler degree in Speech and Hearing Disorders, from the Applied Medical Sciences at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabic in 1991.

She is currently the Clinical Services Director at the Jeddah Institute for Speech and Hearing JISH. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at Dar Al Hekma University. Over the last two decades she has been working as a clinician with individuals with communication disorders directly or supervising SLP’s while working with clients in Saudi Arabia. She has also presented several workshops and lectures to professionals in the field of speech pathology in Saudi Arabia.  She also participated and presented papers in international conferences. Over that last 10 years she has headed and was a member of several scientific committees and boards at the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties SCFHS.  Currently she is a member of the Medical Rehabilitation Scientific Board as well as a program surveyor at the SCFHS.   She also serves as a board member at the Saudi Society for Speech and Audiology SSSPA.

Professor Yaser Natour, the faculty member at the University of Jordan and former director of Al Ahhlyyia Amman University Hearing and Speech Center. Professor Natour is a Fulbright Alumnus and a graduate of the University of Florida, USA, 2001.  He has published more than 29 peer-reviewed papers and has authored three books in Arabic and multiple book chapters through international publishers. Professor Natour has co-established multiple speech pathology programs throughout the Arab World. He also launched the teletherapy group In Jordan and other Arab countries during and after the COVID 19 pandemic. He is one of the few who have obtained the rank of professor of communication sciences and disorders in the Arab world.  He has devoted his career to evidence-based clinical practice and supervision. He is also a certified ASHA member CCC-SLP and the Jordanian Ministry of Health. He served in multiple leadership positions (Department chair, vice dean, SLP Certification committed chair,  Jordanian Ministry of Health.

اختصاصي في تقويم اضطرابات الكلام واللغة في المنظمة السورية للأشخاص ذوي الاعاقة آمال من عام 2004

مدير قسم البرامج الكاديمية والتدريب في المنظمة السورية للأشخاص ذوي الإعاقة آمال

منسق لجميع البرامج الأكاديمية من إجازة وماجستير في اختصاصات ( تقويم الكلام واللغة – علوم السمعيات – العلاج النفس حركي – علم النفس السريري – العلاج الوظيفي – الأطراف الاصطناعية والأجهزة التقويمية ) مع الجامعات السورية وغير السورية

اختصاصي في تقويم اضطرابات الكلام واللعة في المنظمة السورية للاشخاص ذوي الاعاقة آمال من عام 2004
اختصاصي في تقويم اضطرابات الكلام واللعة في الهيئة الطبية الدولية عام 2010 -2012
مشرف التدريب العملي على طلاب ماجستيرات تقويم الكلام واللغة في دمشق وحلب ،وعلى طلاب الاجازة في تقويم الكلام وااللغة في كلية العلوم الصحية في دمشق