8 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Adults who sustain brain damage due to stroke, head injury, or traumatic surgery may develop difficulty reading. This study examines the effectiveness of behavior-based programs to improve reading ability in these individuals.
The purpose of this study is to improve motivation for reading by implementing a computer-based newsletter and examine the effects on the literacy engagement and reading achievement of middle school-aged students. Research questions to be answered: 1. Does the provision of a computer-based newsletter intervention improve literacy engagement on middle school students in comparison to their pretest scores? 2. Does the provision of computer-based newsletter intervention improve the reading achievement of middle school students in comparison to their pretest scores?
Recent adolescent-based research shows that inference making improves across grades 6-12, uniquely accounts for variance in sentence- and passage-level comprehension, and that individual differences in inference making relate in a principled way to variations in reading comprehension for readers of all abilities (Barth et al., 2015; Barnes et al., 2015). These findings suggest that comprehension requires inference making and that comprehension fails when readers do not possess relevant knowledge (i.e., availability) or slowly retrieve (i.e., accessibility) and integrate knowledge from text or semantic memory during reading (Kendeou, 2015). To date, only one study has examined the effects of knowledge availability and accessibility on inference making among adolescents. To extend this limited body of research, this project will conduct two experimental studies designed to examine (a) the extent to which knowledge-base availability and accessibility relates to the accuracy and rate of constructing inferences using that knowledge (Aim 1) and (b) the extent to which retrieval practice (i.e., spaced practice testing) increases knowledge availability and accessibility and improves the accuracy and rate of forming inferences using that knowledge-base among middle grade readers (Aim 2). In addition, this project will integrate investigative research into an undergraduate Honors Research Program by developing an investigative laboratory component that engages undergraduates in conducting applied research (Aim 3). The research design uses 558 students in grades 5-8. To address Aim 1, mixed effects explanatory item response models will fit to the trial-by-trial reading accuracy and speed data. Repeated measures analysis of variance models will address Aim 2 with analysis of variance models used for Aim 3. The expected outcomes of the proposed research include (a) understanding how knowledge availability and accessibility relate to inference making among adolescent readers; (b) understanding the sources of inference making difficulty; and (c) methods for improving knowledge availability and accessibility and inference making to broadly implement in secondary grade classrooms.
The purpose of the proposed studies is to examine a reading intervention for fourth grade students with reading difficulties that integrate work in mindset (beliefs about whether abilities are innate or can be developed) with the academic component of reading. Specifically, the investigators will examine the extent to which integrating mindset intervention improves student response to reading intervention. The investigators will use previous research in intensive reading intervention for students with reading difficulties in the upper elementary grades to examine an intervention that addresses reading skill deficits, while also providing mindset training along with (Study 1) or embedded in (Study 2) the reading intervention. It is hypothesized that students in the reading intervention with mindset conditions will improve their reading outcomes more than students in the reading intervention only and business as usual groups.
This project will (a) examine the relationship between knowledge retrieval and inferencing; (b) determine the effectiveness of an intervention that improves knowledge retrieval and inferencing among struggling readers; and (c) expand research opportunities for undergraduates. The research design uses 316 struggling readers in grades 4-6 of diverse backgrounds. The effects of knowledge retrieval (accuracy and speed) on inferencing will be modeled without dichotomizing the distribution. Linear mixed effect models will be fit to determine whether reader characteristics make unique contributions to inferencing across the posttest and follow-up data collection time points. First, several structural models will be considered as students may be nested in teachers, schools, and tutors. Unconditional models will estimate the intraclass correlation for each level of the study design. If significant interclass correlations emerge, multilevel models will be fit to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention while controlling for covariates such as pre-test performance on inference-related measures and child-attributes such as English learner status. The primary analysis plan assumes an intent-to-treat model in which the efficacy of two intact conditions will be tested. Effect sizes will be estimated to report the magnitude of difference between the two conditions. Expected outcomes include (a) the identification of a method that effectively facilitates knowledge retrieval and the application of relevant knowledge to form inferences among elementary struggling readers from diverse backgrounds; (b) the validation of an intervention that teaches struggling readers how to activate, retrieve, and interweave relevant knowledge with information in the text and accurately form inferences while reading that can be broadly implemented in general education classrooms; and (c) expansion of undergraduate research opportunities, particularly among students from diverse backgrounds who have been historically underserved.
The overarching goal of this proposal is to test the impact of a comprehensive reading intervention program (Visualizing and Verbalizing) on changing the neurobiological mechanisms underlying reading comprehension deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). To this end, the investigators will test a group of children with ASD and NT control participants who share common characteristic of average level decoding along with below average reading comprehension. Inclusion of an additional NT group that does not have any reading comprehension deficit will provide another control for additional comparisons.
The purpose of this study is to understand reading abilities of children born preterm: their cognitive profiles, the neural basis of good and poor reading abilities, and the behavioral and neural factors that predict persistent difficulties. The investigators hope to learn * what specific skills correlate reading skills * if preterm children have different cognitive profiles than full term children with respect to reading * if cognitive skills measured in kindergarten predict reading ability in the second grade * if parts of the brain are associated with reading skill * whether brain characteristics in kindergarten predict reading in second grade.
The overall purpose of this study is to determine feasibility and preliminary efficacy of pet therapy, or human-animal interactions (HAI), for children (5-12 years of age) with or at risk for LD. Children among 4 reading groups will be randomly assigned to a HAI intervention or control group. The 2 HAI intervention reading groups will receive visits from a registered canine team during children's small group reading sessions twice a week over 12 weeks. The 2 control reading groups will receive care as usual and offered a 1-time visit from the dog at the end of the study (after T3 completed). Two weeks of initial work will focus on preliminary modifications to the protocol. Parents will complete electronic measures of psychological outcomes (child depression, anxiety, QOL) via REDCap at baseline (T1), 2 weeks post-baseline (T2), and 12 weeks post-baseline (T3). The investigators will obtain copies of reading assessments already conducted by the teachers at T1 and T3. Children's salivary cortisol will be obtained from participants in the intervention groups at T1, T2, and T3. Children and their parents will complete concluding interviews at study end (T3) to further inform what they liked and did not like about the intervention. Results of the proposed study will provide critical data for a future full-scale randomized clinical trial (R01) to examine the impact of HAI on psychological, physiological, and reading outcomes in children with or at risk for LD.