Current Research

Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Research participants required for a new treatment for childhood apraxia of speech

• Will your child be between the ages of 5 years 0 months and 12 years 11 months in January 2009?
• Does your child have Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Dyspraxia or a speech motor disorder of unknown origin?
• Can you come for speech lessons in Lidcombe 4 days a week for up to 3 weeks in January 2009?
• Does your child speak English as a first language and does one of his/her parents?

OR

• Is your child typically developing?
• Are you interested in helping to improve treatment outcomes for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
• Will your child be between the ages of 5 years 0 months and 12 years 11 months in January 2009?
• Can you come for speech lessons in Lidcombe 4 days a week for up to 3 weeks in January 2009?
• Does your child speak English as a first language and does one of his/her parents?
• Do you live in Sydney?

If you answered yes to all of these questions and would like to be involved in a trial of a new way of treating Childhood Apraxia of Speech then we would like to hear from you. Please read on for more information.

Your child is invited to take part in a study on the benefits of a new treatment for children with childhood apraxia of speech (also known as verbal dyspraxia). The aim of this study is to investigate whether the speech of children with childhood apraxia of speech can be improved using this approach.

If you decide to permit your child to participate in this study, we will give your child a comprehensive speech pathology assessment to see if they are suitable for our study. If your child is suitable for this research we will offer you a therapy block consisting of 12 sessions of 50 minutes each over three weeks in January 2009. While you are completing this treatment and for 1 month after the treatment we want you to stop attending any other speech pathology service.

After the treatment has been completed we will review your child’s progress one month after the end of the treatment. This is to see if the therapy has helped your child improve their speech.

You will not need to do any home practice of this treatment.

The study will be conducted by:
Dr Kirrie Ballard (Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and qualified speech pathologist)
Dr Patricia McCabe (Lecturer at the University of Sydney and qualified speech pathologist)
Dr Joanne Arcuilli (Lecturer at the University of Sydney)
Anita Macdonald-D'Silva (final year Speech Pathology Honours student)
Lauren van Rees (final year Speech Pathology Honours student)

If you would like to be involved in this trial please contact or via email or you can call the Communication Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic on (02)9351 9539

TBI EXPRESS - Improving communication after brain injury

Research study into improving the communication of people with severe traumatic brain injury: a clinical trial

NH&MRC Project Grant 402687

How to participate

• Have you had a brain injury?
• Do you have trouble chatting to your friends, family and work colleagues?

OR

• Do you have a family member or friend who has a brain injury?
• Do you have trouble chatting and socialising with them?

If you answered yes to these questions and would like to be involved in a trial on a new way to treat social communication skills problems we would like to hear from you.

What is the study about?
People with traumatic brain injury often find social situations difficult because they no longer have the skills to interact successfully with other people. The University of Sydney is running a free research study into improving the communication of people with severe traumatic brain injury. This trial will be held in Sydney and provide assessment and therapy to eligible participants. The aim is to investigate the effectiveness of several strategies aimed at treating social communication skills problems.

What happens if I want to be involved?
If you decide to participate in this study, you and your family member/friend will be asked to attend an initial assessment session. This assessment will also confirm whether of not you are eligible for the study and help us to understand your communication strengths and weaknesses. If you are eligible, you both may receive one of three treatment options:

1. Social communication training for people with brain injury
2. Social communication training for people with brain injury AND their family member/friend also attend
3. Delayed treatment

What is involved in the training?
The training program involves attending individual and group sessions in addition to the assessment sessions above. There will be about 3 hours of sessions per week for 10 weeks. You would need to attend one 2.5 hour group and one 40 minute individual session per week. Group and individual sessions will involve education, role plays, group discussion and practice on successful communication strategies that fit you and your family member/friend’s communication goals. Participants will also take part in a post-training assessment once immediately after training and once 6 months after training, to see if there are long term benefits of the program. These assessments will last 2-3 hours each.

Will involvement in the study cost me anything?
Contributions towards travel costs are available to participants, otherwise all materials (such as folders, pens) will be provided. The study is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and is being run by Dr Leanne Togher (Lecturer at the University of Sydney and qualified speech pathologist), Professor Skye McDonald (UNSW and qualified neuropsychologist), and Associate Professor Robyn Tate (University of Sydney and qualified neuropsychologist).

Are there any risks?
There should be no inconvenience to you caused by your participation in this study. There are no foreseeable medical risks or discomforts. However, answering questions about how communication problems affect your life and how you feel about yourself may cause minor distress to some people. If so, we will provide you with counseling. Any other materials required will be provided by the researchers at no cost to you.

Are there any benefits?
We anticipate that by participating in this study you will receive a comprehensive assessment of your cognitive-communication skills which may be of some benefit to you. We also anticipate that your social communication abilities will improve; however, we cannot guarantee this.

Confidentiality and Privacy
All aspects of this study, including results, will be strictly confidential and only the researchers will have access to your personal information. Any publication of the results from this study will use only de-identified information.

How do I get involved?
If you would like more information please contact Dr Emma Power, Project Manager, at Speech Pathology on (02) 9351 9748 or via