Can computer exercises fix a Child's 'R' sound?
NCT ID NCT04858035
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tested an online program that trains children aged 9 to 15 with speech sound errors to better hear and judge the /r/ sound. Ten children completed computerized exercises where they listened to correct and incorrect /r/ sounds and got feedback. The goal was to see if improving their ear for /r/ would also help them say it correctly.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- perceptual training (computerized auditory exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a simple, at-home training method to help children with speech sound disorders produce the /r/ sound more accurately.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage study with only 10 children, so results may not apply to everyone. The training focuses on perception, and it's unclear if that will reliably improve actual speech production.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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10 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2022
- Finished
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Jun 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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9 to 15 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Must be between 9;0 and 15;11 years of age at the time of enrollment. * Must speak English as the dominant language (i.e., must have begun learning English by age 2, per parent report). * Must speak a rhotic dialect of English. * Must pass a pure-tone hearing screening at 20dB HL * Must pass a brief examination of oral structure and function. * Must exhibit less than 30% accuracy, based on consensus across 2 trained listeners, on a probe list eliciting rhotics in various phonetic contexts at the word level. * Must exhibit no more than 3 sounds other than /r/ in error on the GFTA-3 Exclusion Criteria: * Must not receive a T score more than 1.3 SD below the mean on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-2 (WASI-2) Matrix Reasoning * Must not receive a scaled score of 7 or higher on the Recalling Sentences and Formulated Sentences subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-5 (CELF-5). * Must not have an existing diagnosis of developmental disability or major neurobehavioral syndrome such as cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, or Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Montclair State University- Online Research Study
Upper Montclair, New Jersey, 07043, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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