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Evaluating Verbal Communication in ALS

This study aims to understand how different types of conversations affect verbal communication in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and age-matched speakers. You would participate in tasks where you read words and sentences alone and in interactive settings with an unfamiliar person. The study uses various behavioral interventions, including "Structured Communicative Interaction" and "Clear Speech," to observe how speech changes. Researchers will measure speech sound characteristics, how understandable your speech is, and sentence structure. To join, you must be 18-90 years old, have an ALS diagnosis, no other neurological conditions, no cognitive impairment, and detectable speech difficulties. The goal is to clarify if speech differences are due to ALS-related speech challenges. The study plans to enroll 300 participants.

Study design
This is an interventional study where all participants will complete the same tasks. It aims to enroll 300 participants.
What's involved
You will complete one solo speech task and three interactive tasks using tablets and audio recording devices provided to you at home. Each of the primary measurements will occur over two 60-minute sessions or one 60-minute session.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Not specified.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT06266403

Evaluating Verbal Communication in Structured Interactions: Theoretical and Clinical Implications

Recruiting
NAAges 18–90InterventionalBasic science
Penn State University
~300 participants
Updated 2026-08-07 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Structured Communicative InteractionClear SpeechUnstructured communicative interactionClear Speech Structured Communicative Interaction

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Formant frequencies of speech sounds
Measured over two 60 minute sessions
+4 more outcomes measured

Conditions

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Explore related trials

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

NCT06266403

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • Speech Core, Pennsylvania State University

    University Park, Pennsylvaniastudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

Study leadership

  • Jimin Lee, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · The Pennsylvania State University
  • Navin Viswanathan, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · The Pennsylvania State University
  • Anne Olmstead, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · The Pennsylvania State University

Who to contact

Anne Olmstead, Ph.D.
[email protected]
814-867-3373
Email the study team

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

diagnosis of ALS following the revised EL Escorial criteria
no history of other neurological conditions (e.g., stroke)
no cognitive impairment assessed by Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (mini MoCA)
detectable speech disturbance according to the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R)
the ability to produce single words
being a native speaker of American English (AE).
passing the remote hearing screening
having no known speech, language, or neurological disorders per self-report
no cognitive impairment assessed by Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (mini MoCA)
being a functionally native monolingual speaker of American English.
passing the remote hearing screening
having no known speech, language or neurological disorders per self-report
being a native monolingual speaker of American English
having no experience communicating with people with dysarthria
being between the ages of 18 and 40.

What this trial measures

  • Formant frequencies of speech soundstwo 60 minute sessions

    Formant frequencies that characterize speech sounds will be made on speech recorded in the intervention task.

  • Intelligibility of recorded speechtwo 60 minute sessions

    Perceptual judgments will be provided by solo, naïve listeners who did not participate in the interactions. Listeners will hear recorded speech of PALS and age-matched speakers recorded across the different tasks and indicate what they heard. The score will be expressed in percent. The possible range is between 0-100%. The higher scores mean a better outcome.

  • Syntactic propertiesOne 60 minute session

    Syntactic complexity in the unstructured communication task will be measured through mean length of grammatical units, clausal density, and clause type. Each variable will be assessed at both the dyadic level (e.g., clausal density for both interlocutors together) and at the level of the individual speaker (e.g., clausal density of each speaker). A composite of these measures will provide an index of the syntactic complexity of the conversation.

  • Pragmatic PropertiesOne 60 minute session

    The investigators will count the number and duration of silent portions of speech, filled pauses, linguistic mazes, speaking turns, and interruptions in the unstructured communication task. A composite measure of the individual measures will provide an index of an individual's contribution to the conversation.

  • Duration of speech soundstwo 60 minute sessions

    Durations that characterize speech sounds will be made on speech recorded in the intervention task.