Evaluating Verbal Communication in Structured Interactions and Its Effects in People with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying how communicative interaction affects verbal communication in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared to age-matched adults without ALS. The goal is to understand differences in speech when participants speak alone versus during interactive communication. This research includes people with ALS and similar-aged adults to explore how speech challenges impact communication. Participants will complete four speech tasks: one solo clear speech task and three interactive tasks involving structured and unstructured communicative interactions with an unfamiliar person. During these tasks, participants use tablets and audio devices to record their speech at home. The study involves pairs where one person speaks and the other listens, responding to prompts like clicking on a word or identifying differences in pictures, with feedback provided after each trial. Participants will be recorded and assessed through video conferencing, with speech analyzed for clarity, speech sound duration, and language features across multiple one-hour sessions. The study will measure formant frequencies, intelligibility, syntax, pragmatics, and duration of speech sounds. The trial aims to enroll 100 people with ALS and 50 age-matched adults to compare speech patterns and better understand communication difficulties in ALS.

Evaluating Verbal Communication in Structured Interactions: Theoretical and Clinical Implications