CASANA: Why do you feel this study is important?
Dr. Namasivayam: There are a number of factors that may contribute to treatment outcomes in children with Apraxia of Speech (CAS) ranging from frequency, intensity and type of practice sessions to amount of home practice, parental involvement/participation parental skill and treatment fidelity, yet there is little empirical data regarding how these factors actually contribute to treatment effectiveness. The present large scale multi-centre study is the first of its kind to investigate:
a) the magnitude of treatment effects,
(b) the relationship between treatment intensity and outcome measures and
(c) to identify the key factors that contribute to treatment effectiveness of motor speech treatment for this population.
For example, at the present time we do not know if the intensity of treatment (1x versus 2x a week) plays a role in determining the magnitude of treatment effects when controlled for treatment duration (10 weeks), or what are the effects of parental training and home practice on speech intelligibility and functional communication. Having this information will help us refine and guide clinical practice (e.g. service delivery models for this population).
CASANA: In what ways do you anticipate the study being most successful?
Dr. Namasivayam: We feel that the study will contribute significantly to the understanding of how the service delivery models (e.g. treatment intensity) affect treatment outcomes in CAS. This information could then be used to justify treatment schedule changes and funding allocation for treatment of this population. Also, findings of the study will yield important information relating to the impact of parental training and home practice on treatment success. This information can be discussed with parents to motivate and increase their participation in the therapy process. Finally, information on magnitude of treatment effects for outcome measures related to speech intelligibility and functional communication is limited for this population. Knowing magnitude of treatment effects is important for two reasons: (a) it can be used to set appropriate levels of clinician and parental expectations prior to treatment, and (b) it allows for planning of future studies in terms of study design and sample size.
CASANA: What are the biggest challenges you will face with this study?
Dr. Namasivayam: The biggest challenge as with any large scale multi-centre study is to limit inter-clinician and inter-clinic variability and make treatment replicable. We have taken a number of steps to ensure both quality and quantity of treatment is delivered as intended. For example, all clinicians prior to participating in the study were given a structured 30 page manual, had to attend 2 rigorous multi-day workshops on assessment and treatment of children with motor speech disorders, had to complete 2 online video based assignments, and pilot the treatment protocol as a case study in their own clinics. These procedures were developed to allow us to maintain a high degree of treatment fidelity across clinicians and clinics. Additional challenges include getting ethics approvals from a large number of centers and hospitals within a short period of time, and finding sufficient assistance and financial resources to meet project timelines.
CASANA: When this study is successfully completed, what future research do you expect?
Dr. Namasivayam: We hope to continue several lines of research based on the factors that may contribute to treatment outcomes in children. For example, we would like to investigate how a clinician’s skill level and training may affect treatment outcomes or how a clinician’s accuracy, timing, and type of cueing in treatment alters treatment outcomes for CAS. These are critical follow-up questions to this project.
CASANA: What are your thoughts on CASANA's Apraxia Treatment Grant Program?
Dr. Namasivayam: Through it's research program, CASANA is fostering exciting research that will help us develop a deeper understanding of CAS and how to treat the disorder more effectively. Our research team would like to extend our sincere thanks to CASANA for providing us with the opportunity to contribute to this cause.
It is expected that about 200 children with motor speech issues will be participating in this study, with a significant portion of them displaying signs and symptoms of CAS as defined in the 2007 ASHA technical report. Without the financial help of CASANA we would not be able to identify, analyze, and report on data relating to treatment effects in this subpopulation of CAS within the larger motor speech research study.
We hope that the study will provide concrete information on the impact of service delivery models (e.g. treatment intensity), parental training and home practice and magnitude of treatment success. Based on the findings of our study, we would be better able to justify changes to service delivery models and funding allocation for treatment, and to motivate and increase parental participation in the therapy process, allowing clinicians to develop appropriate levels of parental expectations and finally, to permit future researchers to plan appropriate study designs and estimate sample sizes. In this manner we feel that the proposed study directly relates to the mission statement of CASANA: “To strengthen the support systems in the lives of children with apraxia, so that each child has their best opportunity to develop speech”.
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