A Developmental Framework For Linking Phonological And Morpho-syntactic Sequential Pattern Rules In DLD: Production

NCT04558541 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 20-78
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 400
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The broad aim of this clinical study is to assess the hypothesis that morphological and phonological deficits are linked by a broader deficit in sequential pattern learning. This hypothesis applies to learning in general, but is especially critical as an avenue for developing earlier assessments and more powerful interventions for children with developmental language disorder (DLD; also known as specific language impairment). Other populations, such as at-risk toddlers, may also benefit from this new approach.

Conditions

Developmental Language Disorder; Speech Sound Disorder; Specific Language Impairment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (8)

• Transcription Accuracy Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction, Family resemblance/prototype and/or Single feature rules

  Learning shown via changes in transcription accuracy

  30 minutes

• Transcription Variability Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction, Family resemblance/prototype and/or Single feature rules

  Learning shown via changes in transcription based syllable co-occurrence variability

  30 minutes

• Articulatory Variability Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction, Family resemblance/prototype and/or Single feature rules

  Learning shown via changes in articulatory variability (articulatory spatiotemporal variability)

  30 minutes

• Acoustic Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction, Family resemblance/prototype and/or Single feature rules

  Learning shown via changes in acoustic variability (Acoustic spatiotemporal variability)

  30 minutes

• Transcription Accuracy Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction with the inclusion of a semantic category cue.

  Learning shown via changes in transcription accuracy

  30 minutes

• Transcription Variability Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction with the inclusion of a semantic category cue.

  Learning shown via changes in transcription based syllable co-occurrence variability

  30 minutes

• Articulatory Variability Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction with the inclusion of a semantic category cue.

  Learning shown via changes in articulatory variability (articulatory spatiotemporal variability)

  30 minutes

• Acoustic Variability Measures of Children's Sensitivity to OR/disjunction with the inclusion of a semantic category cue.

  Learning shown via changes in acoustic variability (acoustic spatiotemporal variability)

  30 minutes

Study Arms (2)

Sensitivity to phonological rules: Children

EXPERIMENTAL

Arm 1: Single Feature Pattern; Arm 2: OR/Disjunction Pattern; Arm 3: Family Resemblance/Prototype Pattern

Other: Sensitivity to phonological rules

Sensitivity to semantic category cues: Children

EXPERIMENTAL

Arm 1.Referential cue during OR learning.

Other: Sensitivity to semantic category cues.

Interventions

Sensitivity to phonological rules OTHER

Assess whether children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are sensitive to different phonological patterns that are predicted to align with development of morphosyntax or the lexicon; children with speech sound disorder (SSD) are not predicted to be sensitive to the same phonological patterns.

Sensitivity to phonological rules: Children

Sensitivity to semantic category cues. OTHER

Assess whether all children, including those with DLD, show improved learning of OR rules when a semantic category cue is used.

Sensitivity to semantic category cues: Children

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 4 Years - 8 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Because clinical precision is required, 4- to 8-year-olds will complete a large test battery.
• All children (TD, DLD, DLD + SSD, SSD) will score above 75 on the Nonverbal Scale of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC-II), which is above the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual cut-off for intellectual disability, even considering the standard error of measurement.
• Hearing will be within normal limits
• Oral structures will be within normal limits (Robbins \& Klee, 1987).
• The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Schopler et al., 2010) and parent report, will be used to rule out autism.
• Children with DLD will meet standard criteria.
• Children with DLD will score below the cutoff of 87 on the Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test-P2 (SPELT-P2; Dawson et al., 2005) that has demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for DLD.
• Children with DLD will perform below 80% in their spontaneous production of finite verb morphemes.
• Performance on a nonword repetition task will also support DLD status. Scores below 70% for total phonemes correct across all nonword lengths are greater than 1 SD below the mean for typical children.
• Speech production skills will be measured via the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-3 (GFTA-3; Goldman \& Fristoe, 2015) and the inconsistency subtest of the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP, Dodd, et al., 2006). Many 4- to 6-year-old children with DLD are expected to perform below expected levels on the GFTA-3; for this study half of the children with DLD will show performance below expected levels and half above a standard score of 85. Children with SSD will show impaired performance on the GFTA-3, but typical performance on grammatically weighted language measures (SPELT-P2 and finite verb morphemes). The DEAP serves as a standardized measure of segmental inconsistency and will provide a post hoc analysis that may be related to sequence pattern variability.
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 4th ed (Dunn \& Dunn, 1997)
• Expressive Vocabulary Test, 2nd ed (Williams, 1997)
• Verbal and nonverbal memory span.
• Because of the emphasis on English phonological and morpho-syntactic patterns, all participants will be monolingual English learners or report dominant exposure to English from infancy. Exposure to other languages will be documented.

You may not qualify if:

• Hearing impairment
• Intellectual impairment
• Autism
• Significant motor impairment.
• Typical participants will be excluded if they show:
• Histories of developmental, speech, language, or hearing disorders.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Father Flanagan's Boys' Home: lead
• University of Arizona: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona, 85721, United States

RECRUITING

Boys Town National Research Hospital

Omaha, Nebraska, 68131, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Language Development Disorders; Speech Sound Disorder; Specific Language Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Learning Disabilities

Central Study Contacts

Lisa Goffman, PhD

CONTACT

531-355-5038; lisa.goffman@boystown.org

LouAnn Gerken, PhD

CONTACT

gerken@email.arizona.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER
• Masking Details: Participants and care providers will not be told which condition they are participating in. Investigators will know because of familiarity with the stimuli.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Senior Scientist and Endowed Chair

Model Details: For children, assessments will determine group assignment. Participants will be randomly assigned to a condition, reflecting each of the 3 phonological patterns (Single Feature, OR, Family Resemblance). Randomization will occur within groups and will be generated a priori. Children will participate in testing and an experimental session, which includes exposure to the rule followed by a generalization test. A sub-group will participate in the Referential Study.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 22, 2020
• First Posted: September 22, 2020
• Study Start: August 7, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: October 27, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (2)