Therapy for Reading Problems in Adults After Brain Injury

August 13, 2014 updated by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Cognitively-based Treatments of Acquired Dyslexias

Adults who sustain brain damage due to stroke, head injury, or traumatic surgery may develop difficulty reading. This study examines the effectiveness of behavior-based programs to improve reading ability in these individuals.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Acquired disorders of reading (acquired dyslexia) are common in patients with aphasia subsequent to left hemisphere stroke. Even when language functions recover sufficiently to enable the patient to return to work, continuing dyslexia often interferes significantly with job performance. This study will evaluate cognitive therapies for the treatment of acquired dyslexia.

Each therapy is based upon a cognitive neuropsychological model of reading; the therapies target specific types of reading deficit and stem from the question of re-learning versus re-organization of function. The therapies focus on dyslexic disorders stemming from the following underlying deficits: 1) impaired access to the orthographic word form from the visual modality (pure alexia); 2) impaired orthographic/phonologic connections (phonologic/deep dyslexia); and 3) decreased ability to hold phonologic codes in memory (phonologic text alexia).

Participants in this study will undergo a comprehensive and detailed battery of reading and reading-related tests to determine the underlying impairment causing the reading deficit. Based upon the results of these tests, the patient's dyslexic disorder will be characterized and, if appropriate, the patient will be assigned to one of the treatment programs devised specifically for that type of deficit. Treatment programs are evaluated for efficacy by comparing the accuracy and speed of reading pre- and post-treatment.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

58

Phase

  • 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

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20057
        • Georgetown University Medical Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria

  • Reading deficit subsequent to stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain surgery, or other brain damage
  • Ability to attend 2-3 sessions per week for several months at Georgetown University in Washington, DC

Exclusion Criteria

  • History of developmental dyslexia or learning disabilities
  • Best corrected vision less than 20/40
  • Less than 10 years of formal education
  • Significant memory or comprehension problems

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Improved accuracy and/or speed of reading individual words aloud.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Improved accuracy and/or speed of reading text aloud.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rhonda B. Friedman, Ph.D., Georgetown University Medical School

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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

August 1, 2002

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 14, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 14, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

July 15, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 15, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 13, 2014

Last Verified

April 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01HD036019 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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