Table to Tablet (T2T): A Novel Intervention Framework for Children With Speech Sound Disorders

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The primary aim of this study is to develop software as a tool in speech and language therapy for the treatment of children (Portuguese and English) with phonologically based Speech Sound Disorders (SSD). Further, this project aims to test the effectiveness of this approach with two groups of preschool and school aged children with phonologically based SSD, with one group consisting of European Portuguese (EP) speakers and one group of British English (BE) speakers. Performance across the two groups will be compared. The total duration of the project will be 30 month.

Detailed Description
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The Table to Tablet (T2T) project aims to develop software as a tool in speech and language therapy for the treatment of children (Portuguese and English) with phonologically based Speech Sound Disorders (SSD). Further, this project aims to test the effectiveness of this approach with two groups of children aged between 3 years and 6 months and 6 years and 6 months with phonologically based Speech Sound Disorders (SSD). One group consists of European Portuguese (EP) speakers and one group of British English (BE) speakers. Each group should include 20 children with the referred criteria and the performance across the two groups will be compared. The total duration of the project will be 30 month (software development over the first 12 months and an intervention study during following 18 months). The T2T team includes 3 Speech and Language Therapists and 3 engineers/researchers plus a designer that will develop the T2T material.

Official Title
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Intervention Software for Children With Speech Sound Disorders

Conditions
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Speech Disorders

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Table-based T2T intervention
* Other: Tablet-based T2T intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Diagnose of Phonologically based Speech and Sound Disorder; Portuguese as native language; Audition of 20 decibels (dB) or lower in the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000; Normal non-verbal ability (NVIQ) according to age; Receptive language skills within normal limits. Exclusion Criteria: Diagnose of childhood apraxia of speech; Structural or functional oral alterations

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 42 Months
Maximum Age: 78 Months

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Table-based T2T intervention<br>A combined phonological awareness therapy, listening and discrimination and auditory bombardment activities intervention will be applied. This will be based in a table top material version. The intervention will consist of 12 weekly sessions (individual) of 45 min in duration, divided into two blocks (6+6) without any breaks. | Other: Table-based T2T intervention<br>* Phonological therapy consists of a combination of phonological awareness activities, auditory and discrimination and auditory bombardment activities. This activities will be based on table top materials. The items used in the intervention will be based on the child's target speech production goals. This intervention will include the following areas: Auditory Bombardment; Auditory and discrimination; Letter-sound knowledge; Phoneme identity and phoneme matching; Blending; Segmentation; Rhyme; Phoneme manipulation.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Tablet-based T2T intervention<br>A combined phonological awareness therapy, listening and discrimination and auditory bombardment activities intervention will be applied. This will be based in a tablet (digital) material version. The intervention will consist of 12 weekly sessions (individual) of 45 min in duration, divided into two blocks (6+6) without any breaks. | Other: Tablet-based T2T intervention<br>* Phonological therapy consists of a combination of phonological awareness activities, auditory and discrimination and auditory bombardment activities. This activities will be based on digital materials presented on a tablet. The items used in the intervention will be based on the child's target speech production goals. This intervention will include the following areas: Auditory Bombardment; Auditory and discrimination; Letter-sound knowledge; Phoneme identity and phoneme matching; Blending; Segmentation; Rhyme; Phoneme manipulation.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Percentage of Consonants Correct | Calculation of the percentage of the correct produced consonants | one year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parental Reports | Questionnaire focused on: speech improvement; enjoyment of therapy; effect of therapy on their understanding of their child. | one and a half year | 
| Intelligibility Score | How well a client's speech is understood by other individuals, i.e. understandability of speech. | one year | 
| Percentage of occurence of phonological processes | Calculations of the percentage of occurence of phonological processes | one year | 
| Generalisation Score | Generalization probe of the trained phonological process to five non-intervention words. | one year | 
| Phonetic Inventory | List of produces consonants | one year | 
| Percentage of Correct Vowels | Calculation of the percentage of the correct produced vowels | one year | 
| Percentage of Phonemes Correct | Calculation of the percentage of the correct produced phonemes | one year | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Speech Sound Disorders, Tabletop, Digital