Visual cues to help adults learn speech movements

Improving speech motor learning processes using augmented behavioral interventions

NIH-funded research Arizona State University-Tempe Campus · NIH-11143873

This project tests whether adding clear visual cues during speech practice helps adults learn and make speech movements more accurately.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionArizona State University-Tempe Campus NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Scottsdale, United States)
Project IDNIH-11143873 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

You would practice speaking while researchers add visual guidance and measure how well you notice sound errors and turn sounds into mouth movements. The team will create and refine several visual training methods that specifically target detecting auditory mistakes and mapping sounds to movements. Most work is being done with healthy adults to optimize the methods before adapting them for people with speech disorders. Over multiple sessions they will compare which visual aids speed learning and improve speech accuracy.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Adults with speech motor problems (for example, apraxia) or people who have trouble changing or relearning speech sounds would be the eventual candidates for therapies based on this work.

Not a fit: Children and people whose speech difficulties stem mainly from language comprehension or hearing loss rather than motor learning may not see direct benefit from these motor-focused protocols.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, these methods could lead to speech therapies that help people relearn clearer speech faster and with fewer sessions.

How similar studies have performed: Prior work using feedback and visual cues in speech and motor learning has shown promising results, but directly targeting auditory error detection and auditory-to-motor mapping with these augmented protocols is relatively new.

Where this research is happening

Scottsdale, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-09 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.