Intensive treatment for children with speech sound disorders

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This clinical trial aims to compare the effectiveness of intensive versus distributed treatment schedules for school-age children with residual speech sound disorders. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a traditional treatment schedule of two sessions per week over eight weeks or an intensive schedule of four sessions per week for four weeks. The study focuses on optimizing motor-based treatments for specific speech sounds, particularly /ɹ/ and /s/, to enhance learning outcomes. By investigating the impact of treatment intensity on speech sound learning, the trial seeks to address practical barriers in therapy delivery.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Must speak American English as a dominant language.
* Must have began learning English by at least the age of 3 years.
* Must be between 9;0 to 17;11 years of age.
* Must have reported difficulty with /ɹ/ and/or /s/ production
* Must pass pure tone hearing screening at 25 dB at 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz.
* Must receive a scaled score of at least 5 on the Listening Comprehension and Story Retelling subtests of the Test of Integrated Language and Literacy Skills (TILLS)
* Must receive a percentile score of 5 or below on the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-3 (GFTA-3) Sounds in Words subtest.
* Must have 1 scorable response with 5+ consecutive correct /pataka/ with \> 3.4 syllables per second in the MRR-Tri task of the Maximum Performance Tasks OR must demonstrate no childhood apraxia of speech (CAS-only) features in BOTH articulatory and rate/prosody domains of the ProCAD.
* Must score \<40% accurate on /ɹ/ and/or /s/ probes assessing these sounds at the word level.
* Must express a desire to modify their speech.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Must have no known history of autism spectrum disorder, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, permanent hearing loss, or brain injury.
* Must not have current cleft palate or voice disorder.

Where it's running

• Syracuse University
  Syracuse, New York, United States Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Jonathan Preston, PhD — Syracuse University
• Study coordinator: Jonathan Preston, PhD
• Email: jopresto@syr.edu
• Phone: 315-443-1351

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

• Help children ages 7–11 say the /s/ sound more clearly

  It will try short, online speech lessons to help children ages 7–11 who have trouble saying the /s/ sound.

  Recruiting Syracuse University · Syracuse, New York · NCT07214480

• Online visual-acoustic biofeedback to correct /s/ (lisp) distortions

  This trial will test whether live online visual-acoustic biofeedback helps children aged 8 to 17 who have persistent distortions of the /s/ sound.

  Recruiting Montclair State University · Bloomfield, New Jersey · NCT07041723

• Online treatment for improving speech sound disorders in children

  This study is testing if an online treatment that focuses on listening skills first or speaking skills first can help children with speech sound disorders improve their speech.

  Recruiting Montclair State University · Montclair, New Jersey · NCT06969521

• AI-guided home practice for improving speech sound production

  This study is testing if using an AI program at home can help children and teens with Speech Sound Disorder improve how they say the 'r' sound compared to regular treatment alone.

  Recruiting at 2 sites Phase 2 New York University · Bloomfield, New Jersey and 1 other locations · NCT06884943

• Ultrasound therapy for children with speech sound disorders

  This study is testing if using ultrasound to help kids with speech sound disorders, especially those with brain tumors or cleft palates, can improve their speech by showing them how to move their tongues correctly.

  Recruiting The University of Hong Kong · Hong Kong · NCT06831396

• Visual-acoustic biofeedback intervention for children with speech sound disorder

  This study tests if a new speech therapy using visual and sound feedback works just as well for kids with speech sound disorder when done in person or online.

  Recruiting at 2 sites Phase 2 New York University · Bloomfield, New Jersey and 2 other locations · NCT06517225

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.