Generalization With AI Navigation Using StaRt
GAINS
Randomized Trial of AI-Enhanced Maintenance Training With Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback
Sponsor study identifier
Secondary identifiers
NIH
interventional
76
1 country
2
Study Start
December 18, 2024
Actual (reported)Primary Completion
December 31, 2028
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
Study Completion
July 1, 2029
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
Speech Sound Disorder (SSD) affects a significant portion of school-aged children, leading to social and emotional challenges that can persist into adolescence and adulthood. The number of productions necessary for a remediated speech sound to generalize to connected speech is challenging to achieve in practice, leading clinicians to call for accessible, reliable resources allowing children to continue therapy outside of direct clinical interactions. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools hold promise as a means to extend direct service delivery in speech-language pathology, but research investigating the topic has been limited. This study (Generalization with AI Navigation using staRt, or GAINS) will measure the effects of a course of AI-mediated home practice intended to promote generalization of gains made through biofeedback treatment in a related study, Visual-acoustic Intervention with Service Delivery In-person and Via Telepractice Trial (VISIT; NCT06517225).
Registry-reported information. Elapsed time and enrollment totals alone do not measure study progress or recruitment pace.
July 1, 2029
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Some registry-reported names shown below are not yet linked in this graph.
Dates and qualifiers reported by the registry. Estimated dates do not confirm that a milestone has occurred.
December 18, 2024
Actual (reported)March 13, 2025
Actual (reported)March 19, 2025
Actual (reported)December 31, 2028
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
July 1, 2029
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
1. Percentage of "Correct" Ratings by Blinded Untrained Listeners for /r/ Sounds Produced in Word Probes
To assess generalization of treatment gains to untreated words, participants will be assessed with standard probes (30 words \[considered the primary target\], 20 syllables, and 10 sentences containing /r/ in various phonetic contexts). Stimuli in each probe will be presented individually in randomized order with blocking by stimulus type (word, syllable, sentence). Individual words will be isolated from the audio record of each word probe and presented in randomized order for binary rating (correct/incorrect) by 9 untrained listeners who are blind to treatment condition and time point, but will see the written representation of each target word. We will use the proportion of "correct" ratings for each token as our primary measure of perceptually rated accuracy.
Immediately before the initiation of GAINS participation and again after the end of GAINS participation (6 weeks later)
Participants will receive visual-acoustic biofeedback treatment from a clinician in a private, password-protected WebRTC room.
Regular community-based care.
Participants will complete AI-guided practice in the home setting in which they will interact with a web interface of the staRt web-based software for speech practice. The staRt software will present words to practice and show a real-time visual display of the acoustic signal of speech (biofeedback). On select trials, feedback will be provided by a classifier for children's "r" sounds, PERCEPT. Research assistants will join sessions to facilitate but will not provide direct clinical guidance to participants.
Montclair State University
Bloomfield, New Jersey, 07003, United States
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York, 13244, United States
Ochs LC, Leece MC, Preston JL, McAllister T, Hitchcock ER. Traditional and Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback Treatment via Telepractice for Residual Speech Sound Disorders Affecting /ɹ/: Pilot study. Perspect ASHA Spec Interest Groups. 2023 Dec;8(6):1533-1553. doi: 10.1044/2023_persp-23-00120. Epub 2023 Nov 8.
Peterson L, Savarese C, Campbell T, Ma Z, Simpson KO, McAllister T. Telepractice Treatment of Residual Rhotic Errors Using App-Based Biofeedback: A Pilot Study. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2022 Apr 11;53(2):256-274. doi: 10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00084. Epub 2022 Jan 20.
First Submitted
March 13, 2025
First Posted
March 19, 2025
Study Start
Comparing Traditional and Biofeedback Telepractice Treatment for Residual Speech Errors
Participants will return to their regular community-based care. This may consist of treatment in the school setting or by a private SLP; participants who were not previously receiving treatment may return to a no-treatment condition. Data will be collected from parents/guardians to determine the frequency of treatment, if any, received during this phase.
Registry-reported names are shown in full. Names without a link have not yet been matched to a Syfrah profile.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Byun TM, Hitchcock ER. Investigating the use of traditional and spectral biofeedback approaches to intervention for /r/ misarticulation. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2012 Aug;21(3):207-21. doi: 10.1044/1058-0360(2012/11-0083). Epub 2012 Mar 21.
Byun TM, Hitchcock ER, Swartz MT. Retroflex versus bunched in treatment for rhotic misarticulation: evidence from ultrasound biofeedback intervention. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2014 Dec;57(6):2116-30. doi: 10.1044/2014_JSLHR-S-14-0034.
McAllister Byun T, Halpin PF, Szeredi D. Online crowdsourcing for efficient rating of speech: a validation study. J Commun Disord. 2015 Jan-Feb;53:70-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2014.11.003. Epub 2014 Dec 15.
McAllister Byun T, Campbell H. Differential Effects of Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback Intervention for Residual Speech Errors. Front Hum Neurosci. 2016 Nov 11;10:567. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00567. eCollection 2016.
McAllister Byun T. Efficacy of Visual-Acoustic Biofeedback Intervention for Residual Rhotic Errors: A Single-Subject Randomization Study. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017 May 24;60(5):1175-1193. doi: 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-16-0038.
Hitchcock ER, Byun TM. Enhancing generalisation in biofeedback intervention using the challenge point framework: a case study. Clin Linguist Phon. 2015 Jan;29(1):59-75. doi: 10.3109/02699206.2014.956232. Epub 2014 Sep 12.
Benway NR, Preston JL, Hitchcock E, Rose Y, Salekin A, Liang W, McAllister T. Reproducible Speech Research With the Artificial Intelligence-Ready PERCEPT Corpora. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2023 Jun 20;66(6):1986-2009. doi: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00343. Epub 2023 Jun 15.
December 18, 2024
Primary Completion
December 31, 2028
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
Study Completion
July 1, 2029
EstimatedPlanned date reported by the registry; this milestone is not confirmed as achieved.
Last Updated
May 13, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-05
Download the complete ClinicalTrials.gov record imported by Syfrah, including fields not shown in this page. The registry may contain a newer revision.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov.
JSON downloads include source attribution and retrieval details alongside the unchanged original record or the separately normalized values.
Source retrieved: