Improving Outcomes Using Technology for Children Who Are DHH

Improving Outcomes Using Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02998164

Enrollment

154

Registered

2016-12-20

Start date

2016-10-31

Completion date

2025-12-31

Last updated

2025-12-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hearing Loss, Language Development, Social Behavior

Brief summary

This study evaluates the efficacy of using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology for enhancing language development in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Half of the participants will receive AAC technology with their speech and language therapy and half will continue with their usual care models.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALaugmentative and alternative communication technology

BEHAVIORALUsual Care

No change to the therapy care received

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

3 Years to 10 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* documented permanent bilateral hearing loss with severity levels clinically defined in any range (mild to profound); * identified with a language gap; * currently receiving speech-language therapy.

Exclusion criteria

* primary language other than English * significant motor impairments * nonverbal IQ \<60 * children with severe communication disorders (i.e. autism spectrum disorders).

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Syntax	Change between baseline and 24 weeks	Evaluated using the mean length of utterance in morphemes collected from language samples. Assessing change between baseline and 24 weeks.
semantics	Change between baseline and 24 weeks	Variety and total number of vocabulary words used collected from language samples.Assessing change between baseline and 24 weeks.
Discourse	Assessing change between baseline and 24 weeks.	Child's mean turn length in words collected from language samples. Assessing change between baseline and 24 weeks.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Language standard scores (receptive and expressive)	Assessing change between baseline and 24 weeks.	Receptive language (what a child understands) and expressive language (what a child says) as measured by standardized language assessment.
Social functioning	Assessing change between baseline and 24 weeks.	Social functioning as measured by parent-reported assessments or scales

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 11, 2026