An interventional study of Oromotor stimulation and Reading curriculum in Language Delay, Language Development and Feeding; Difficult, Newborn, sponsored by Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 23 Weeks to 30 Weeks, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-09-17.
Sponsored by Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This is a randomized controlled trial to study an oromotor stimulation in combination with a reading curriculum in the NICU among preterm infants using oral muscle exercises, Language Environment Analysis (LENA) recordings, linguistic feedback, and a language curriculum to improve the neonatal inpatient oral feeding and language outcomes for preterm infants.
This project aims to determine the effects of an oral motor stimulation combined with a reading curriculum vs an oral motor stimulation alone vs controls among preterm infants born 23-30 weeks gestation in the NICU. We hypothesize that the infants receiving an oral motor stimulation in conjunction with a reading curriculum will start oral feeding at an earlier age, have fewer days to full oral feeding, and fewer days in the NICU compared to infants receiving an oral motor stimulation and controls. We hypothesize that the infants receiving an oral motor stimulation in conjunction with a reading curriculum will have increased infant vocalizations, increased conversational turns, increased adult word counts, decreased maternal stress, decreased degree of post-traumatic stress post-discharge, improved receptive and expressive language development at 12 and 24 months, and improved parent reported behavioral outcomes at 24 months.
121 studies on the registry are indexed under Language Development Disorders; 49 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 124 is above the median of 74 across 106 interventional studies indexed under Language Development Disorders.
Browse Language Development Disorders studies →Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island is the lead sponsor of 93 studies on the registry; 25 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
1\. Obtain baseline LENA recording 2. Review language curriculum and provide LENA linguistic feedback 3. LENA recording every 2 weeks until 36 weeks corrected 4. Review age-appropriate language curriculum and provide LENA linguistic feedback from prior weeks 5. When reaches 33-34 weeks postmenstrual age and medically stable, occupational therapists will conduct 10-15 minute oral motor stimulation prior to a feeding time for 10 total days over a 2 week period 6. Final LENA feedback and PTSD screen Assessments: 1. PSS:NICU at 36 weeks corrected 2. PPQ screen at 7, 12, and 24 months corrected 3. Child Behavior Checklist at 24 months corrected 4. Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development at 12 and 24 months
Behavioral: Oromotor stimulation · Behavioral: Reading curriculum · Behavioral: LENA recording · Behavioral: LENA linguistic feedback
1\. Obtain baseline LENA recording 2. LENA recording every 2 weeks until 36 weeks corrected 3. When reaches 33-34 weeks postmenstrual age and medically stable, occupational therapists will conduct 10-15 minute oral motor stimulation prior to a feeding time for 10 total days over a 2 week period. 4. Final LENA feedback and PTSD screen. Assessments: 1. PSS:NICU at 36 weeks corrected 2. PPQ screen at 7, 12, and 24 months corrected 3. Child Behavior Checklist at 24 months corrected 4. Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development at 12 and 24 months
Behavioral: Reading curriculum · Behavioral: LENA recording · Behavioral: LENA linguistic feedback · Behavioral: No oromotor stimulation
1\. Obtain baseline LENA recording 2. LENA recording every 2 weeks until 36 weeks corrected 3. 6. Final LENA feedback and PTSD screen Assessments: 1. PSS:NICU at 36 weeks corrected 2. PPQ screen at 7, 12, and 24 months corrected 3. Child Behavior Checklist at 24 months corrected 4. Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development at 12 and 24 months
This will begin around 33 weeks corrected, the day following the first NTrainer measurements. The oral stimulation program will be modeled after the protocol designed and studied for preterm infants and will be implemented for a goal of 10 consecutive days within a 14 day period. This includes 10 minutes of stroking the cheeks, lips, gums, and tongue, and the final 5 minutes consisting of mid tongue stroking, eliciting a suck with gloved finger, and sucking on a pacifier provided in the NICU. This will occur 15-30 minutes before a scheduled tube feeding when the infant is tolerating bolus enteral feeds of 120 ml/kg/day for at least 48 hours. This will occur behind a curtain to ensure blinding of staff and parents. Modifications will be made for infants that remain intubated and only 10 minutes of the stroking of the cheeks, lips, gums, and tongue will occur. Stimulation will cease if episodes of oxygen desaturation and/or apnea/bradycardia occur during the stimulation.
Written packets with biweekly lessons. The first two lessons include how to begin to read and talk to their baby. The second two lessons include reading or talking about the day using infant directed speech. The final two lessons include continuing to engage with the baby through interactive reading.
The LENA device provides 24 hours of language recordings placed inside an infant vest. The recordings are uploaded to a computer which analyzes total adult word counts, infant vocalizations, conversational turns, background noise, and silence.
LENA recordings of adult word counts, infant vocalizations, and conversational turns will be provided in printed form after each recording with review of each recording and progress over time.
This will begin around 33 weeks corrected, the day following the first NTrainer measurements. The standard care group will not receive any stimulation but will have a study personnel present behind a curtain to ensure blinding of family, staff, and investigators. The study personnel will remain behind a curtain for 10-15 minutes prior to a feed for 10 days over a 14-day period beginning when the infant is tolerated 120 mL/kg/day for at least 48 hours.
Oral feeding measures
Days to first oral feeding, days to complete oral feeding, hospital days
Time frame: From date of birth to day of NICU hospital discharge
Number of adult, infant, and conversational turn word counts measured by LENA device
Adult word counts, conversational turns, and infant vocalizations from each recording
Time frame: From enrollment and biweekly until 36 weeks corrected
Maternal stress
Using the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) to understand the parents' perceptions of stress within the NICU using 46 questions on a Likert scale with a 5 as extremely stressful and 1 as not stressful at all. Not applicable is also an option as well.
Time frame: 36 weeks corrected
Maternal post traumatic stress disorder
Perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Questionnaire to measure maternal PTSD. PTSD symptoms of subjects will be measured with the modified PPQ, which consists of 14 items that measure three dimensions: unwanted intrusions or re-experiencing of delivery, avoidance or emotional numbing and hyperarousal. In the modified PPQ, each PPQ item is rated on five-point Likert scale (with a score of 0 indicating not sick to 4 indicating very sick). mothers with modified PPQ scores⩾19 and \<19 as having and not having PTSD, respectively.
Time frame: 7, 12 and 24 months
Child Behavior
Using Child Behavior Checklist to measure child behavioral and emotional problems in childhood
Time frame: 24 months
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Fourth Edition
Individual assessment used to assess development of infants between 1 to 42 months of age. Domains are as follows: cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, and adaptive behavior. Scores can be used to assess infants progress over time. Mean scores of 100 with 1 standard deviation below the mean indicating mild delay and 2 standard deivations below the mean indicating moderate to severe delay.
Time frame: 12 months and 24 months
Plan to share: No
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Language Development Disorders →
Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island