RECRUITINGINTERVENTIONAL

Examining Interactions Between PALS and Caregivers

Examining Interactions Between Persons with ALS and Caregivers

About This Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effect of communicative interaction on verbal communication in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their caregivers. The question is, What are the effects of communicative interaction on verbal communication in people with ALS when they interact with their caregivers and does this change over time? Participants will read words and sentences while they are interacting with their caregivers.

Who May Be Eligible (Plain English)

Who May Qualify: Speakers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (PALS-people with ALS) - diagnosis of ALS following the revised EL Escorial criteria - no history of other neurological conditions (e.g., stroke) - no cognitive impairment assessed by Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (mini MoCA) - detectable speech disturbance according to the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) - the ability to produce single words - being a native speaker of American English (AE). Caregivers - being a caregiver of a participant with ALS - being a native speaker of American English (AE). Who Should NOT Join This Trial: \- None - if volunteer meets the inclusion criteria, then they will be enrolled Always talk to your doctor about whether this trial is right for you.

Original Eligibility Criteria

View original clinical language

Inclusion Criteria: Speakers with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (PALS-people with ALS) * diagnosis of ALS following the revised EL Escorial criteria * no history of other neurological conditions (e.g., stroke) * no cognitive impairment assessed by Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (mini MoCA) * detectable speech disturbance according to the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) * the ability to produce single words * being a native speaker of American English (AE). Caregivers * being a caregiver of a participant with ALS * being a native speaker of American English (AE). Exclusion Criteria: \- None - if volunteer meets the inclusion criteria, then they will be enrolled

Treatments Being Tested

BEHAVIORAL

Structured Communicative Interaction

Two interlocutors, one with ALS and their caregiver will work together. Each participant in the pair will view the same set of words on their screens. After one second, one of the words will be highlighted on the speaker's screen, they will say the word in the phrase "Click on the \_\_\_\_ this time", and the listener will click on it. After the listener has made their selection, both participants will receive feedback on trial success.

BEHAVIORAL

Unstructured communicative interaction

Two interlocutors, one with ALS and their caregiver will work together. The pairs will be presented with two different versions of the same picture with eight differences chosen to elicit the same target segments (e.g., "hid", "ship", "net"). These pictures will be modified from the LUCID corpus. In total, pairs will complete four picture sets per session. Pairs will be given 5 minutes for each picture set.

Locations (1)

Speech Core, Pennsylvania State University

University Park, Pennsylvania, United States