Our Current Projects
We are actively recruiting research participants for several studies. We are seeking children with cerebral palsy between the ages of 3 and 17 years, children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy who have received disease modifying medical treatment between the ages of 2 and 17 years, and speech language pathologists.
SPEAK
Our Speech Production Enhancement using Augmentative Communication for Kids (SPEAK) project is a clinical trial designed to examine how the use of speech supplementation strategies (pointing to letters or pictures on a tablet, while simultaneously talking) impact speech intelligibility in children with cerebral palsy or similar motor impairments.
We are seeking children and youth (ages 7–17 years) who:
- Have a diagnosis of cerebral palsy or another, similar, motor condition
- Experience speech limitations (ranging from mild to severe), such as:
- Speech that is hard to understand
- Slurred speech
- A very soft voice
- Are able to point to letters or pictures
SPECS
Focuses on developing and validating perceptual measures for evidence-based clinical speech assessment in children, across a range of speech differences and disorders.
We are seeking speech language pathologists who:
- Speak English as a primary language (including bilingual SLPs)
- Reside in the U.S.
- Hold a Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA
- Have at least one year of clinical experience, but do not need to be working clinically to participate
GLEAM
This study examines vocabulary knowledge and language learning in children with severe motor impairment and very limited speaking ability.
We are seeking children (ages 3-7 years) who:
- Have a diagnosis of cerebral palsy or another, similar, motor condition
- Have moderate to profound gross motor impairment
- Have limited speaking ability or are unable to speak
- Are exposed to English in the home
SPARK
This study aims to characterize speech and communication abilities in children and youth with spinal muscular atrophy who have received FDA-approved disease-modifying therapies.
We are seeking children and youth (ages 2-17 years) who:
- Have a medical diagnosis of SMA
- Have received an FDA-approved disease-modifying therapy