Single Case Research Design: Deaf Children's Language Outcomes

NCT ID: NCT06722261

Last Updated: 2025-11-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 8 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-08-01
• Study Completion Date: 2026-11-30

Brief Summary

Eight deaf children in kindergarten to 3rd grade classes will be randomly selected for single case research. Their language skills will be monitored and assessed daily. Using a noncurrent multiple baseline design (Single Case Research Design or SCRD), Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction (SISI) will be administered to two children in each of four classes.

Detailed Description

A randomized selection method will be employed to select deaf children to participate in single case research. Two children will be selected from each age group between 5 and 10, making a total of eight students. Their language skills will be closely monitored and evaluated over the course of the year. Following the noncurrent multiple baseline design, in succession across 8 child participants in 4 classes, 2 SCRD participants in a class will begin receiving SISI while other children remain in the baseline for 3 weeks. Brainstorming occurs on Monday and the final sign language composition is shared on Friday. At the end of each day's intervention, child participants will independently narrate their expressed message recorded on videos. A score of 1 (applied correctly), 0.5 (applied but incorrectly), or 0 (omitted) will be given to their inclusion of target sign language skills, which is converted into percentages. If a child receives 100% on their target SL skill for 3 consecutive days (3 data points), Teacher 1 will select a new sign language skill to target. If the child receives 0% or 50% on their target sign language skill, Teacher 1 continues to focus on the same sign language skill.

Conditions

Language Development

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Single Case Research Design: Phase 1

A randomized selection method will be employed to select deaf children to participate in single case research. Two children will be selected from each age group between 5 and 10, making a total of eight students. Their language skills will be closely monitored and evaluated over the course of the year. Following the noncurrent multiple baseline design, in succession across 8 child participants in 4 classes, 2 Phase 1 participants in a class will begin receiving SISI while other children remain in the baseline for 3 to 9 weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Evidence-based instructional methods, grounded in cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic theories, are applied to interventions that support sign language development in deaf children.

Single Case Research Design: Phase 4

A randomized selection method will be employed to select deaf children to participate in single case research. Two children will be selected from each age group between 5 and 10, making a total of eight students. Their language skills will be closely monitored and evaluated over the course of the year. Following the noncurrent multiple baseline design, in succession across 8 child participants in 4 classes, 2 SCRD participants in a class will begin receiving SISI while other children remain in the baseline for 3 weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Evidence-based instructional methods, grounded in cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic theories, are applied to interventions that support sign language development in deaf children.

Single Case Research Design: Phase 2

A randomized selection method will be employed to select deaf children to participate in single case research. Two children will be selected from each age group between 5 and 10, making a total of eight students. Their language skills will be closely monitored and evaluated over the course of the year. Following the noncurrent multiple baseline design, in succession across 8 child participants in 4 classes, three weeks after Phase 1 participants have begun SISI, Phase 2 participants in a class will begin receiving SISI while other children remain in the baseline.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Evidence-based instructional methods, grounded in cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic theories, are applied to interventions that support sign language development in deaf children.

Single Case Research Design: Phase 3

A randomized selection method will be employed to select deaf children to participate in single case research. Two children will be selected from each age group between 5 and 10, making a total of eight students. Their language skills will be closely monitored and evaluated over the course of the year. Following the noncurrent multiple baseline design, in succession across 8 child participants in 4 classes, 2 SCRD participants in a class will begin receiving SISI while other children remain in the baseline for 3 weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Evidence-based instructional methods, grounded in cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic theories, are applied to interventions that support sign language development in deaf children.

Interventions

Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction

Evidence-based instructional methods, grounded in cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic theories, are applied to interventions that support sign language development in deaf children.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Deaf children in kindergarten to 3rd grade class in a school for the deaf

Exclusion Criteria

• Non-deaf children

• Minimum Eligible Age: 4 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

R21DC021024

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

478857

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id