Applying Eye-Gaze Assistive Technology for Children and Youth With Complex Needs
Self-Help DevicesEye-Gaze Technology2 moreThe purpose of this research is to investigate the impacts of applying eye-gaze assistive technology (AT) in children and youth with severe disabilities and complex needs in Taiwan, where eye-gaze AT has not been researched for children yet.
Wellbeing After Stroke (WAterS): Upskilling a Workforce to Provide Psychotherapy for Stroke Survivors...
StrokePsychological Distress3 moreStroke survivors face a range of mental health challenges adjusting post-stroke. There is a lack of treatment options and clinical psychologist workforce to deliver support. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been used successfully in clinical services to improve wellbeing. The investigators worked with stroke survivors, health care professionals and researchers to co-develop group ACT therapy, specifically for stroke survivors, to be delivered using video calling (Zoom). Staff training and supervision programmes were also developed to equip Stroke Association workforce (paraprofessionals) to deliver ACT. The current study will recruit and train up to 10 professionals with some experience of supporting stroke survivors but no experience of ACT. The study aims to recruit up to 30 stroke survivors in the community who are at least 4 months post-stroke and experiencing distress adjusting to their stroke. The investigators aimed to make everything accessible for people with mild/moderate difficulties with thinking and communicating. Recruitment took place across England, over a 6 month period. The study will test how feasible and acceptable it is to deliver the co-developed, remote ACT intervention to stroke survivors: Initially, participants will be invited to consent to complete online measures of well-being every 3 months for up to 12 months (taking around 20 minutes), with the option to participate in group intervention. Those who don't opt for groups will not be treated but will be followed up about their wellbeing, if they agree. Those who opt to attend groups will be invited to attend the ACT intervention, involving 9 weekly sessions and homework. Data will be collected on how successfully the groups are delivered and how acceptable they are / how to improve them, through online surveys, feedback questionnaires and interviews. UPDATE May 2023: The investigators had initially intended to run an 'active comparator' of social support and randomly allocated those people to groups. However, the design changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that the planning phases took longer than expected in order to pivot all study components to be deliverable online.
Speech Therapy and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy in Post-stroke Anomic Aphasia...
AphasiaAphasia2 moreThe aim of the study is to observe the effects of speech therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy in patients who develop anomic aphasia after stroke. Patients meeting the inclusion criteria will be randomly divided into groups. In the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment group, a total of 10 sessions, 1 session per day, will be applied to the right inferior frontal gyrus area with a frequency of 1 Hz for 20 minutes. The control group patients will be given speech therapy in the same way, but no active magnetic stimulation will be given in rTMS sessions (sham application). Speech therapy will be given to each patient by the same physiotherapist, and the treatment will last a total of 10 days, 60 minutes a day. Minimental test (MMT), Ege aphasia test, aphasia quality of life scale (SAQOL-39) will be filled in to the patients before and after the treatment.
Effects of Intensity of Early Communication Intervention
Communication DisordersDevelopmental DisabilitiesThe purpose of the study is to determine if a more intensive application of communication intervention, i.e. 5 hours per week, will result in more frequent intentional communication acts, greater lexical density, and a better verbal comprehension level than children who receive the same communication intervention only one time per week.
Benefit From the Chin Down Maneuver in the Swallowing Performance and Self-perception of Parkinson's...
DysphagiaOropharyngeal3 moreObjective: To verify the effectiveness of chin-down posture maneuver in swallowing therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD).
Quality of Life in Patients Treated for Tongue and/or Jaw Neoplasia Before and After Speech Therapy...
Tongue CancerJaw Cancer3 moreThis study aims to verify the impact of four speech therapy sessions on the Quality of Life of patients treated for malignant tongue and/or jaw cancer, using as measure specific questionnaires of speech and swallowing. The hypothesis is that after treatment with exercises and speech therapy guidance, patients will present better indicators on Quality of Life related to speech and swallowing.
Improving Perception of Speech in Noise in Children With Communication Disorders
Speech PerceptionSmarty Ears has developed a prototype of an innovative therapeutic training system to improve speech perception in noise by training children on interrupted noise (which has silent intervals that allow for fragments of the target to be heard). The study will attempt to validate the technology and gather initial design feedback from clinicians and caregivers and from children with ASD and HL.
Improvised Music to Enhance Intensive Interaction Version 1
Child Development DisordersSpecific1 moreThe project will investigate the effectiveness of a specialised musical-clinical approach used as an adjunct to an established non-musical intervention in the enhancement of interpersonal interaction. 6 school pupils with profound disability will be randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. The control group will receive only Intensive Interaction for 16 sessions. The experimental group will receive four sessions of Intensive Interaction, followed by twelve sessions of Intensive Interaction plus improvised music. Music therapists will follow a flexible manual written to ensure that their music supports the interaction between pupil and learning support assistant (LSA) without direct social interaction with either. Changes in capacity for interpersonal interaction will be assessed by a standardised assessment instrument, the Pre-Verbal Communication Schedule (PVCS), administered to both experimental and control groups before the 1st session and after the 16th session. There will also be a qualitative process study of the experimental group conducted by video observation by the researchers involved. The project is funded in equal shares by the Music Therapy Charity and Beacon Hill Academy.
Providing Speech Therapy Awareness in Private Schools
Speech and Language DisorderSpeech Therapy7 moreThere has been limited research in the area of speech and language therapy awareness in Pakistan. The study aims to assess the efficacy of providing speech therapy awareness in private schools through a pre-post model. This Quasi experimental study will be a means of reaching out to schools and directly create awareness regarding the field and its scope. Pre-assessment will be carried out and after which a 45 minutes presentation will be conducted face to face or through a webinar as per school directives. The results will be analysed quantitatively and pre-post assessment of the participants will be measured.
Adaptive and Individualized AAC
Communication DisordersThis project will test the feasibility of developing a smart augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) system that is effective in delivering communication capabilities that automatically adapt to the users' physical abilities.