Improving speech clarity in children with cerebral palsy using augmentative communication
Official title: Speech Supplementation Strategies for Improving Intelligibility in Children With Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Run by University of Wisconsin, Madison · NCT07173049 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This test checks whether having children with cerebral palsy point to letters or pictures while they speak can make their speech easier to understand.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 7 Years to 17 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 100 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Wisconsin, Madison Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | July 27, 2026 |
| Main results expected | March 2029 |
| Study ends | July 2029 |
| Registry record updated | August 3, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07173049 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Children aged 7–17 with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy (or a similar early-onset motor disorder), clinical dysarthria with intelligibility between 10–85%, ability to produce connected English speech of at least three words, ability to point with their hands, basic picture identification skills, and passing a hearing screen are ideal candidates.
✕Probably not a fit
Children who cannot see or point to items on a communication board, cannot produce connected English utterances of at least three words, have intelligibility outside the 10–85% range, or have other clinical issues that make participation unsuitable are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This is a one-session pre/post intervention with 100 children aged 7–17 who have cerebral palsy and dysarthria. Participants produce a baseline set of 60 sentences, receive one-on-one training from a speech-language pathologist in a speech supplementation AAC strategy (pointing to first letters or topical pictures while speaking), then produce the same sentences using the strategy. Post-test samples and a set of emphasized-word repetition tasks are played to blinded listeners who orthographically transcribe and score intelligibility in both habitual and supplemented conditions. The study compares intelligibility scores across conditions to determine how much change is needed for meaningful improvement.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could make everyday speech easier to understand for some children with cerebral palsy, improving communication with family, classmates, and caregivers.
How similar studies have gone: Related AAC and speech supplementation approaches have shown promise in prior smaller studies, but one-session effects on intelligibility in a larger pediatric CP sample are less well established.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Medical diagnosis of cerebral palsy, or a similar, related condition that affects early motor development and presents as a chronic motor disability * Age between 7 and 17 years * Clinical dysarthria with speech intelligibility between 10-85 percent * Able to produce connected speech in English, with a minimum utterance length of 3 words * Able to use hands to point to items on a communication board * Cognitive/language skills that enable basic picture identification on a communication board * Pass pure tone hearing screening Exclusion Criteria: * Failure to meet all inclusion criteria. * Vision impairment that precludes being able to see items on a communication board. * Not suitable for participation due to other reasons at the discretion of the investigators.
Where it's running
-
University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center
Madison, Wisconsin, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Katherine C Hustad, PhD — University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Study coordinator: WISC Lab
- Email: speak@waisman.wisc.edu
- Phone: 608-263-5822
Similar studies
Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.
-
Manual Therapy Before Neuromotor Rehab in Children with Cerebral Palsy
In this pilot study, researchers test whether 30 minutes of lower-limb manual therapy before functional neuromotor therapy helps improve gait and motor performance in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
-
Co-designed wrist-hand orthosis for children with neuromotor disorders
In children aged 6 to 14 with neuromotor conditions after brain injury, researchers are testing a wrist-hand brace designed with input from the kids to see if it fits better and is easier to use than their current orthosis.
-
Outcomes of tone-management surgery in children with spastic/dystonic quadriplegia
This study tests how well intrathecal baclofen pumps and dorsal/ventral rhizotomy help improve movement, comfort, and daily life for kids with severe CP and high muscle tone.
-
Wearable eye tracking during bimanual tasks in children with cerebral palsy
This study tests whether wearable eye-tracking glasses can reliably record eye movements while children with CP and typically developing peers perform two-handed tasks.
-
Able Kids device: safer gait aid for kids with neurologic gait problems
This study tests whether the ABLE Kids wearable exoskeleton can be safely used during a 10-session gait training program for children with neurological gait disorders or muscle weakness.
-
Dorsal Root Electrical Stimulation to Help Spasticity in Children with Cerebral Palsy
This study tests whether adding dorsal root electrical stimulation during SDR surgery can lessen spasticity in children with cerebral palsy.
How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.