Effectiveness of speech therapy for people with Friedreich's ataxia

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Friedreich's ataxia, other hereditary ataxias; Nervous System Diseases; Early-onset cerebellar ataxia

• Registration Number: ISRCTN17619184
• Lead Sponsor: Strathclyde University, Research and Knowledge Exchange Services

Brief Summary

2020 results in https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-020-01153-3 (added 03/09/2020)

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2018-11-16
• Study Completion: 2019-07-30
• Last Update Posted: 14 September 2020

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 20

Inclusion Criteria

1. Confirmed diagnosis of hereditary ataxia, primarily Friedreich's ataxia
2. Presence of a speech impairment
3. Ability to perform assessment and treatment tasks
4. No uncorrected hearing loss
5. Availability of appropriate technology to record voice and operate Skype

Exclusion Criteria

1. Ataxia due to non-hereditary reasons
2. Lack of speech impairment
3. Inability to perform assessment or treatment tasks
4. Significant hearing loss that would impact on speech performance
5. Unable to participate in Skype conversations

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<br> Participants will be assessed before and after treatment. Multiple baseline assessments will be taken (assessments 1 & 2, approximately 2 weeks apart). Performance will then be re-assessed immediately following (assessment 3) and 6-8 weeks after the end of treatment (assessment 4).<br> 1. Maximum loudness on prolonged /a/ and mean loudness of a reading passage measured acoustically in decibel at assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4<br> 2. Voice quality of prolonged /a/ evaluated acoustically (shimmer, jitter, harmonics to noise ratio) at assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4<br> 3. Articulation and speech rate of a reading passage assessed acoustically in syllables per minute at assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4<br> 4. Intelligibility of a reading passage measured perceptually on a 9-point scale according to Dobinson (2007) at assessments 1, 2, 3 & 4<br><br><br>