Differentiating Speech Delays from Dysarthria in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Official title: Differential Diagnosis of Functional Speech Deficits in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Funded at University of Wisconsin-Madison · NIH-11367975 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aims to create easy-to-use, data-driven standards to tell apart typical speech development from dysarthria in young children with cerebral palsy so clinicians can identify and help earlier.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin-Madison NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project start | July 8, 2016 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $596,359 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC015653-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11367975 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children with cerebral palsy, ages roughly 0-11 years, whose speech development is being evaluated; speech-language pathologists who will rate and contribute data.
✕Less likely to help
Children without CP or speech-language concerns are unlikely to benefit directly, though broader standards may inform future assessments.
What this research studies
This project will develop and validate clinical standards to distinguish normal speech development from dysarthric speech in children with cerebral palsy. It builds on an established speech assessment tool (BoDyS-Kid) and tests 31 speech features across 10 domains using a large sample of children. The study will collect and analyze thousands of speech samples from children with CP and typically developing peers, with ratings contributed by a wide network of speech-language pathologists. The goal is to produce practical guidelines and scoring benchmarks that can be used in clinics to improve early identification and targeted therapy. The work emphasizes translating research findings into accessible tools for clinicians working with young children.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, clinicians will have clearer, data-based ways to identify dysarthria early and tailor therapies for children with CP.
How similar studies have gone: Large-scale validation of perceptual speech features is uncommon; this study expands and leverages prior longitudinal data to create new standards.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hustad, Katherine C — University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Study coordinator: Hustad, Katherine C
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding Speech Differences in Children with Cerebral Palsy
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.