# A randomized control trial of motor-based intervention for childhood apraxia of speech

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $414,462

## Abstract

CAS is a complex, multivariate speech motor disorder characterized by difficulty planning and programming
movements of the speech articulators. Despite the profound impact that CAS can have on a child's ability to
communicate, there is a paucity of treatment research involving this population. The planned research is a
Phase II Randomized Control Trial designed to examine the outcomes of Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cuing
(DTTC), a dynamic, multimodal approach to improving speech production, in children with childhood apraxia of
speech (CAS). The long-term goal is to provide evidence based guidelines for treatment in children with CAS.
The overall obiectives of this application, which will be the largest randomized control trial on CAS to date, are
(i) to test the efficacy of DTTC in 72 young children with CAS by examining the impact of DTTC on treated
words, generalization to untreated words and post-treatment maintenance, and (ii) to examine how individual
patterns of speech motor variability impact response to DTTC. The central hypothesis is that DTTC will refine
speech motor control and lead to longstanding change in speech production accuracy. The rationale for this
work is that research on the efficacy of DTTC will provide a strong scientific foundation for future treatment
research on CAS whereby Phase Ill studies can be conducted. It will also enhance our theoretical
understanding of speech motor learning in this underserved population. The central hypothesis will be tested
by pursuing three specific aims: 1) Quantify the effects of DTTC on improved speech production (perceptual
ratings) in treated words that are maintained post-treatment and generalized to untreated words in children
with CAS; 2) Quantify the effects of DTTC on refined speech motor control (kinematic/acoustic measures) in
treated words that are maintained post-treatment and generalized to untreated words in children with CAS; and
3) Characterize the effects of speech motor variability (within-subject) at baseline as a predictor of DTTC
efficacy in children with CAS. The first aim will be studied by documenting the accuracy and intelligibility of
treated words, maintenance post-treatment and generalization to untreated words. The second aim will be
studied by measuring the duration and variability of treated words, maintenance post-treatment and
generalization to untreated words. For aim three, measures of speech motor variability at baseline will be
compared to word accuracy and intelligibility post-treatment. The proposed work is innovative, as it will study
the efficacy of a motor-based treatment for CAS (DTTC) in a large sample of young children, use objective
measures (kinematic & acoustic) to support evidence-based decision-making and provide new evidence about
participant factors that predict response to treatment. These contributions will be significant because they are
expected to have a substantial impact on clinical practice by provide strong scientific justifi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10815805
- **Project number:** 5R01DC018581-05
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Irene Grigos
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $414,462
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-20 → 2026-05-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10815805

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10815805, A randomized control trial of motor-based intervention for childhood apraxia of speech (5R01DC018581-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10815805. Licensed CC0.

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