This research will meet a public health need by evaluating the efficacy of speech intervention supplemented with real-time visual-acoustic biofeedback when delivered using remote technologies.
In a crossover design, participants will be randomly assigned to receive 10 weeks/20 sessions of visual-acoustic biofeedback treatment via telepractice followed by a 10-week period of no treatment, or the same two conditions in the reverse order. Production accuracy will be assessed with standard probes (20 syllables, 30 words, and 10 sentences containing /r/ in various phonetic contexts) administered prior to the beginning of treatment (baseline), after the first 10-week phase, and again at the end of the study.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
40
In visual-acoustic biofeedback treatment, the elements of traditional articulatory treatment (i.e., auditory models and verbal descriptions of articulator placement) are enhanced with a dynamic display of the speech signal in the form of the real-time LPC (Linear Predictive Coding) spectrum. Because correct vs incorrect productions of /r/ contrast acoustically in the frequency of the third formant (F3), participants will be cued to make their real-time LPC spectrum match a visual target characterized by a low F3 frequency. They will be encouraged to attend to the visual display while adjusting the placement of their articulators and observing how those adjustments impact F3.
10-week period of no treatment
Montclair State University
Upper Montclair, New Jersey, United States
Rhotic Accuracy (/r/)
To evaluate the generalization of treatment effects to untreated words, participants will complete standardized word probes comprising 50 target words. The primary outcome measure is the proportion of words rated as "correct" across all tokens, reflecting perceptual accuracy of the participant's responses.
Time frame: BL - (Initial Assessments:1-2 weeks), MP-(Midpoint assessment -1 day following First Period (10 weeks), MN - (Maintenance Assessment -1 day following Second Period (10 weeks).
Change in Social-emotional Well-being
An 11-item survey was developed to assess parent perceptions of the impact of their child's /r/-related speech sound disorder on life participation and satisfaction. Each survey item was mapped to the most relevant chapter within the Activities and Participation domain of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. Most items corresponded to chapters on interpersonal interactions and relationships, and major life areas; two items were categorized under communication. Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), with higher average scores indicating greater perceived negative impact of the speech sound disorder.
Time frame: Survey completed at BL ( evaluation) and MN ( 1 day following Second period duration). Same for both groups.
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.