Purpose: Individual-randomized trials are the gold standard for testing the efficacy and effectiveness of drugs, devices, and behavioral interventions. Health care delivery, educational, and programmatic interventions are often complex, involving multiple levels of change and measurement precluding individual randomization for testing.…

Purpose: This study examines how ultrasound biofeedback and intensive treatment distribution affect speech sound generalization during an evidence-based treatment, Speech Motor Chaining, for children with persisting speech errors associated with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Method: In a 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial, children…

Purpose: In a companion paper, we found no statistical reason to favor percentage syllables stuttered (%SS) over parent-reported stuttering severity as a primary outcome measure for clinical trials of early stuttering. Hence, considering the logistical advantages of the latter measure, we recommended parent-reported stuttering severity for use as…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that stretch-and-flow voice therapy (SnF) is noninferior to resonant voice therapy (RVT) for speakers with muscle tension dysphonia. Method: Participants with primary muscle tension dysphonia were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups. Participants received 6 sessions of either SnF…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate secondary voice outcomes and detraining effects of 2 head and neck strengthening exercises, which have been used in swallowing rehabilitation, that is, the head-lift exercise (HLE) and the recline exercise (RE), in healthy older adults. Method: Twenty-seven healthy older adults (between 60 and 85…

Purpose: This research note reports on an unexpected negative finding related to behavior change in a controlled trial designed to test whether partner training improves the conversational skills of volunteers. Method: The clinical trial involving training in "Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia" utilized a single-blind,…

Purpose: This review article introduces research methods for personalization of intervention. Our goals are to review evidence-based practices for improving social communication impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder generally and then how these practices can be systematized in ways that personalize intervention, especially for…

Purpose: This report investigates whether parent-reported stuttering severity ratings (SRs) provide similar estimates of effect size as percentage of syllables stuttered (%SS) for randomized trials of early stuttering treatment with preschool children. Method: Data sets from 3 randomized controlled trials of an early stuttering intervention were…

Purpose: To effectively implement a response to intervention approach, there is a need for timely and specific information about student learning in response to treatment to ensure that treatment decisions are appropriate. This exploratory study examined responsivity to a supplemental, Tier 2 vocabulary intervention delivered to preschool children…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to run a proof of concept on a new commercially available device, Forbrain® (Sound For Life Ltd/Soundev, Luxemburg, model UN38.3), to test whether it can modulate the speech of its users. Method: Participants were instructed to read aloud a text of their choice during 3 experimental phases: baseline, test,…

Purpose: We developed and evaluated in a randomized controlled trial a computerized speechreading training program to determine (a) whether it is possible to train speechreading in deaf children and (b) whether speechreading training results in improvements in phonological and reading skills. Previous studies indicate a relationship between…

Purpose: This randomized controlled trial evaluated, within clinical settings, the effectiveness of coping skills education that is provided with progressive tinnitus management (PTM). Method: At 2 Veterans Affairs medical centers, N = 300 veterans were randomized to either PTM intervention or 6-month wait-list control. The PTM intervention…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if patient characteristics or clinical variables could predict who benefits from individual auditory training. Method: A retrospective series of analyses were performed using a data set from a large, multisite, randomized controlled clinical trial that compared the treatment effects of at-home…

Purpose: This study documented the efficacy of visual-acoustic biofeedback intervention for residual rhotic errors, relative to a comparison condition involving traditional articulatory treatment. All participants received both treatments in a single-subject experimental design featuring alternating treatments with blocked randomization of…

Purpose: Complexity-based approaches to treatment have been gaining popularity in domains such as phonology and aphasia but have not yet been tested in child morphological acquisition. In this study, we examined whether beginning treatment with easier-to-inflect (easy first) or harder-to-inflect (hard first) verbs led to greater progress in the…