Search clinical trials by condition, location and status
The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the impact of direct vs. indirect caregiver training on treatment outcomes following a period of Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) intervention combined with home practice in childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Forty children with CAS, between the ages of 2;5 and 7;11 years of age, will be recruited for this study. All children will receive DTTC treatment at the frequency of standard care (2x/week) in a university clinic over and 8-week period. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: the Direct Training Group; the Indirect Training Group. All caregivers will complete an educational module about CAS, will observe all sessions, and will engage in home practice with their children. Caregivers in the Direct Group will receive coaching in the use of DTTC with their child during a portion of each treatment session to support home practice, whereas those in the Indirect Group will not receive detailed guidance for home practice. Caregivers in both groups will practice at home with their children during the treatment phase (3x/week). Following the treatment phase, home practice will continue at a higher frequency (6x/week) during a 4-week follow-up phase. Treatment outcomes will be compared between groups.
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a complex, multivariate speech motor disorder characterized by difficulty planning and programming movements of the speech articulators (ASHA, 2007; Ayres, 1985; Campbell et al., 2007; Davis et al., 1998; Forrest, 2003; Shriberg et al., 1997). Despite the profound impact that CAS can have on a child's ability to communicate, little data are available to direct treatment in this challenging population. Historically, children with CAS have been treated with articulation and phonologically based approaches with limited effectiveness in improving speech, as shown by very slow treatment progress and poor generalization of skills to new contexts. With the emerging data regarding speech motor deficits in CAS, there is a critical need to test treatments that directly refine speech movements using methods that quantify speech motor control. This research is a Randomized Control Trial designed to examine the outcomes of a non-traditional, motor-based approach, Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cuing (DTTC), to improve speech production in children with CAS. The overall objectives of this research are (i) to test the efficacy of DTTC in young children with CAS (N=72) by examining the impact of DTTC on treated words, generalization to untreated words and post-treatment maintenance, and (ii) to examine how individual patterns of speech motor variability impact response to DTTC.
Comorbid Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) may be one factor that limits speech development in some minimally verbal children with autism. CAS is a disorder affecting speech movement planning. This study tests whether CAS-specific treatment, appropriately modified for minimally verbal children with autism, improves their speech.