About this trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of sibilant biofeedback treatment delivered via telepractice in six children ages 8:0-17;11 who present with distortions of /s/. The main questions it aims to answer are:
* Primary hypothesis: Biofeedback treatment for sibilants delivered via telepractice will produce positive gains compared to a no-treatment baseline phase. * Secondary hypothesis: Participants will experience positive changes in social-emotional well-being after receiving biofeedback treatment for sibilants as reported by the participants and their guardians.
Following the initial evaluation, participants will be randomly assigned to transition from baseline to treatment at one of seven possible points, ranging from 4-10 baseline sessions in which /s/ production will be probed but not treated. All participants will then receive 20, 1-hour biofeedback treatment sessions over 10 weeks with a certified Speech-Language Pathologist via teletherapy, followed by three maintenance sessions.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Age between 8;0 and 17;11 years at the time of enrollment
English as the dominant language (must have begun learning English by age 3, per parent report)
Passes pure-tone hearing screening at 30 dB hearing level
Passes brief examination of oral structure and function
Disqualifiers
Scaled score of 7 or higher on the Recalling Sentences and Formulated Sentences subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-5 (CELF-5)
History of permanent hearing loss (temporary hearing loss due to otitis media, including recurrent OM/tubes, is admissible)
History of developmental disorder (e.g., Down syndrome, cerebral palsy)
History of major brain injury, surgery, or stroke in the past year (mild concussion is admissible)
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Visual-acoustic biofeedback for Sibilants
Treatment groups
Sponsors and collaborators
Montclair State University
Lead sponsor
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Collaborator