Can speech therapy help bilingual kids speak clearly? new study investigates
NCT ID NCT06416306
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a speech therapy program for Spanish-English bilingual children aged 3-6 with speech sound disorders. Sixteen children will attend 12-18 therapy sessions in either English or Spanish, focusing on imitating and then spontaneously producing target words. Researchers want to see if targeting more complex sounds leads to greater improvement within and across languages. The goal is to find the best way to help these children speak more clearly.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Speech intervention (behavioral therapy with imitation and spontaneous production exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help identify the most effective speech therapy targets for bilingual children, improving their communication skills.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study with only 16 participants, so results may not apply to all bilingual children. The therapy requires many sessions and may not work for everyone.
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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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 16 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2024
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- 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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3 to 8 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: * Participants will be regularly exposed to English for at least 3 months in one of the following ways: a) an English-speaking caregiver or sibling who interacts with the child on a daily basis in English, b) attendance at an English-speaking daycare, preschool, or elementary school. * Caregivers will have reported concern with their child's speech development and/or reduced intelligibility on the Intelligibility in Context Scale in Spanish or English. * Participants will present with 5 or more consonants or clusters missing from their phonetic inventories in each language to confirm presence of a speech sound disorder and sufficient gaps in phonological knowledge to warrant treatment. Exclusion Criteria: * Participants receiving speech or language treatment elsewhere during their participation in this project.
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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.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Iowa
RECRUITINGIowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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