# Determining Optimal Treatment Intensity for Children with Language Impairment (LI)

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2022 · $594,649

## Abstract

Project Summary
 The proposed study aims to determine the optimal levels of treatment intensity of a word learning
intervention for young school-age children with language impairment (LI; 5- 6-years-old) by systematically
manipulating the treatment dose and frequency children receive. Cumulative intensity is the product of
treatment dose (the number of treatment exposures) and treatment frequency (the number of treatment
sessions) and both contribute to intervention effectiveness. To date, there are few studies that have examined
the interplay of dose and frequency to determine optimal levels to affect change, and the extent to which there
may be a threshold, or a level after which significant gains diminish. Within the framework of distributed
learning theory (Cepeda et al., 2006), the proposed study will determine the optimal level of treatment intensity
of an efficacious work learning intervention (Justice et al., 2005; Storkel et al., 2017; Voelmle and Storkel, 2017)
designed to improve the vocabulary knowledge of children with LI. The first aim, determining the optimal
number of treatment sessions, is proposed to determine differences between treatment provided within a
distributed, or spaced, schedule (high-frequency, 4 times a week) and a consolidated, or massed, treatment
session (low-frequency, 1 time a week). The second aim of this study, identifying optimal dosage, will
determine the number of times a word should be targeted, using rich instructive strategies, within each
frequency condition. Preliminary studies of children with LI in the public schools suggest that children with LI
who received high frequency/low dose treatment (or low frequency/high dose) made better gains over time
than children receiving the extremes (Schmitt et al., 2017). These findings are correlational in nature; the
current study aims to manipulate both parameters of intensity (dose and frequency) to determine the optimal
levels of treatment intensity. This study’s third aim will examine the point at which increases in dose with
respect to frequency (i.e., more word exposures) are no longer advantageous to children’s outcomes.
 To address these aims, the proposed study will recruit 180 children with LI over three consecutive years.
Participants will be randomized into one of two frequency conditions (high vs. low) which will determine how
frequently they receive treatment (once/week or four times/week). Within those treatment sessions, children
will learn 60 words; each word will be randomly assigned to one of six possible dose conditions (0 – 20 word
exposures). Student interns will deliver the manualized word learning intervention in one-on-one sessions for
10 weeks in the summer. Although frequency conditions differ, all children will receive 120 minutes of therapy
per week. Children’s learning of the novel words, as well as their overall vocabulary skills will be measured at
three time points: pre-treatment, immediate post-treatment, and 6-months post trea...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10327332
- **Project number:** 5R01DC016272-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Mary Beth Schmitt
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $594,649
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-10 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10327332

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10327332, Determining Optimal Treatment Intensity for Children with Language Impairment (LI) (5R01DC016272-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10327332. Licensed CC0.

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