Improving speech clarity in children with cerebral palsy using augmentative communication
Speech Supplementation Strategies for Improving Intelligibility in Children With Cerebral Palsy (CP)
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
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 100 (estimated) |
| Ages | 7 Years to 17 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | University of Wisconsin, Madison Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Madison, Wisconsin) |
| Trial ID | NCT07173049 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
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.
Who should consider this trial
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.
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.
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 performed: 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.
Eligibility criteria
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 this trial is running
Madison, Wisconsin
- 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
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.