Adding Spelling Practice to a Reading Program for Children With Limited Speech
Tests adding spelling lessons to the ALLSTAR reading program for children with communication needs.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Enhancing Orthographic Communication and Literacy Outcomes for AAC Learners
Key facts
- Where
- State College, United StatesSee the site
- Phase
- Phase 1/2
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 5 and 12 years old?
Source: NCT07384156, who can take part
Where in United States
- The Pennsylvania State UniversityState College, United StatesNo longer taking part
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Penn State University
- Trial code
- NCT07384156
- Record updated
- 3 February 2026
- Original description
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether adding Integrated Decoding and Encoding instruction to the ALLSTAR literacy program improves reading outcomes for students with significant literacy and communication needs. The study will also examine how students' reading skills change over time across instructional conditions.Read full original descriptionShow less
Enhancing Orthographic Communication and Literacy Outcomes for AAC Learners: Investigating Effective Instructional Strategies
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether adding Integrated Decoding and Encoding instruction to the ALLSTAR literacy program improves reading outcomes for students with significant literacy and communication needs. The study will also examine how students' reading skills change over time across instructional conditions.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Do students who receive ALLSTAR with Integrated Decoding and Encoding instruction demonstrate greater improvements in literacy outcomes than students who receive ALLSTAR as standard care alone? How do students' literacy skills change from baseline to mid-intervention and post-intervention across the two instructional conditions? Researchers will compare two groups using a randomized controlled trial design. One group will receive 60 lessons of ALLSTAR as the standard of care (ALLSTAR-SC), and the other group will receive 60 lessons of ALLSTAR with the addition of Integrated Decoding and Encoding lessons (ALLSTAR-I*). Literacy outcomes will be measured using repeated assessment probes at baseline (0 Lessons), after 30-40 lessons, and after 60 lessons to evaluate differences between groups and changes over time in the individuals.
Inclusion: Have complex communication needs and use AAC,; are ages 5-12,; per report can follow two-step directions,; symbolic communicators with at least 75 words on the CDI and mean length of utterance greater than 2; can match letters and words with greater than 90% accuracy,; can identify letter-sound correspondences from a field of 4 with greater than 70% accuracy; can identify common photographs used to represent words in the study (e.g., touch the picture of a hat, touch hot) with greater than 80% accuracy,; can sit to work in a minimum of 5 min. intervals; decoding or encoding at less than 40% accuracy based on parent or provider report and screening results; demonstrate functional vision and hearing.
Exclusion: • Do not have complex communication needs / can speak and do not need AAC,; Younger than 5 or older than 12 years of age,; Can not follow two-step directions,; Are not symbolic communicators with at least 75 words on the CDI and not combining at least 2 symbols; Can not match letters and words with >90% accuracy,; Can not identify letter-sound correspondences from a field of 4 with greater than 70% accuracy; Can not identify common photographs used to represent words in the study (e.g., touch the picture of a hat, touch hot) with greater than 80% accuracy,; Can not attend to work for 5 mins; decoding or encoding at more than 40% accuracy based on parent or provider report and screening results; Do not have corrected or functional vision and hearing.