White Noise in SLD and ADHD (WHITE NOISE)

January 26, 2026 updated by: IRCCS San Raffaele Roma

Effects of White Noise on Academic Skills in Children With ADHD and Specific Learning Disorders: New Perspectives for Personalised Rehabilitation and Educational Intervention

White noise has been shown to improve working memory and attention in children diagnosed with ADHD . These cognitive abilities are fundamental to the acquisition of reading and writing skills. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of white noise on reading and writing performance in children with a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) attending the first and second cycles of primary school.

The study is a randomized crossover clinical trial comprising five sequential phases. Each participant completes two standardized assessment sessions, one with white noise and one without, in a randomized order, separated by a four-week interval.

  • Phase I (Recruitment and Screening): potential participants are identified and assessed for eligibility at the Centro di Riabilitazione San Raffaele Pisana in Rome.
  • Phase II (Diagnostic Grouping): eligible children are assigned to one of two diagnostic groups based on their clinical profile (Group SLD + ADHD or Group SLD-only).
  • Phase III (Randomized Sequencing): Within each diagnostic group, participants are randomly allocated to one of two exposure sequences to counterbalance order effects (White-noise → No-noise, or No-noise → White-noise).
  • Phase IV (First Assessment Session): standardized assessment under randomized conditions, with or without white noise.
  • Phase V (Second Assessment Session): standardized assessment, conducted four weeks later, with or without white noise according to the previous randomization.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • RM
      • Rome, RM, Italy, 00166
        • IRCCS San Raffaele

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Intelligence Quotient (IQ), assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WISC-IV), ≥ 70.
  • Age between 8 and 13 years.
  • Diagnosis of SLD, with or without comorbid ADHD according to DSM-5 criteria.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Genetic disorders or sensory deficits.
  • Pharmacological treatments that could interfere with task performance (including methylphenidate or specific ADHD treatments).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: ADHD
Subjects are enrolled according to the following criteria: Intelligence Quotient (IQ), assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WISC-IV), ≥ 70. Age between 8 and 13 years. Diagnosis of ADHD according to DSM-5 criteria.
Other: White noise
Reading and writing standardized assessment with white noise. The white noise, created for this study by an audio engineer, is played through a speaker positioned approximately 1 m from the participant, at an intensity of 60-65 dB within the designated testing environment. At the start of each session, participants are informed of its presence to prevent any potential discomfort. This adaptation phase lasts approximately 2-3 minutes.
Other: No white noise
Reading and writing standardized assessment in the absence of white noise.
Experimental: ADHD + SLD
Subjects are enrolled according the following criteria: Intelligence Quotient (IQ), assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WISC-IV), ≥ 70. Age between 8 and 13 years. Diagnosis of SLD with comorbid ADHD according to DSM-5 criteria.
Other: White noise
Reading and writing standardized assessment with white noise. The white noise, created for this study by an audio engineer, is played through a speaker positioned approximately 1 m from the participant, at an intensity of 60-65 dB within the designated testing environment. At the start of each session, participants are informed of its presence to prevent any potential discomfort. This adaptation phase lasts approximately 2-3 minutes.
Other: No white noise
Reading and writing standardized assessment in the absence of white noise.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Reading speed
Time Frame: 4 weeks
For the passage-reading test and the word- and nonword-reading tasks: reading speed, expressed in syllables per second (syl/sec) was calculated by dividing the total number of syllables in the stimulus by the total reading time, measured in seconds.
4 weeks
Reading Accuracy
Time Frame: 4 weeks
For the passage-reading test and the word- and nonword-reading tasks reading accuracy was defined as the total number of errors produced.
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
IRCCS San Raffaele Roma

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 23, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 17, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 137/SR/24

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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