PRIISM | Auditory perception for speech sound errors

Speech therapist and child pointing to their throats

This project focuses on improving treatment outcomes for children with Residual Speech Sound Disorder (RSSD), which affects sounds like the American English /ɹ/ and /s/. Many children with RSSD show reduced auditory-perceptual acuity for the sounds they produce in error. Dr. Tara McAllister leads the NYU research team, with support from co-investigator Dr. Jennifer Hill. This is a subaward from Montclair State University funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

The research team will explore two auditory-enhanced treatment methods—perceptual training and visual-acoustic biofeedback—to see if combining them improves results, particularly when delivered via telepractice. Specifically, the researchers will:

evaluate if perceptual training enhances the response to biofeedback for the /ɹ/ sound and;
test if biofeedback can be successfully expanded via telepractice to treat the sibilant /s/.

Ultimately, the researchers strive to advance the evidence base for effective remote speech pathology interventions.

This research is funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and the primary grant recipient is Montclair State University. At NYU, this project is housed in the PRIISM center and the Biofeedback Intervention Technology for Speech (BITs) Lab.