An interventional study of Sit Together and Read (STAR) and Monetary Reward in Developmental Language Disorder and Reading; Difficult, sponsored by Ohio State University. Active, not recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 48 Months to 71 Months. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-03.
Sponsored by Ohio State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The goal of this study is to examine the impact of a caregiver-implemented shared reading program, Sit Together and Read (STAR), on children ages 4 to 5 with developmental language disorder. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Caregiver participants will be assigned to either a control group or one of three STAR groups. Children's skills related to literacy and learning will be assessed before the intervention starts, at the end of the intervention, and every six months post-intervention for two years.
Researchers will determine the short term and long term impacts of STAR compared to the control group. Researchers will compare the three STAR conditions to see if the rewards or encouragement helped parents to follow through with completing more STAR sessions.
121 studies on the registry are indexed under Language Development Disorders; 49 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 320 is above the median of 74 across 106 interventional studies indexed under Language Development Disorders.
Browse Language Development Disorders studies →Ohio State University is the lead sponsor of 663 studies on the registry; 148 are open to participants now.
Of its 67 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 49 (73%) have results posted.
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:
No known additional diagnoses causal of developmental language disorder including
Caregivers read to child as usual over 15 week period.
Typical implementation of Sit Together and Read (STAR)
Other: Sit Together and Read (STAR)
Typical implementation of Sit Together and Read (STAR) plus additional small monetary incentives for caregivers
Other: Sit Together and Read (STAR) · Behavioral: Monetary Reward
Typical implementation of Sit Together and Read (STAR) plus caregivers receive encouraging text messages
Other: Sit Together and Read (STAR) · Behavioral: Text Encouragement
Sit Together and Read (STAR) features an explicit, systematic sequence of 15 objectives that target four dimensions of print knowledge: print organization, print meaning, letters, and words. These objectives are explicitly targeted in the context of repeated adult-child shared reading sessions and are systematically cycled over an intervention period so the child has repeated opportunities for acquiring the targeted print objectives. STAR is a manualized 15-week intervention.
Also known as: STAR Read-Aloud Practices, Read-Aloud Practices
Caregiver receives a monetary reward of $0.50 for each session logged (up to 60 sessions) and audio-recording completed (up to 15 audio recordings).
Caregiver receives three tailored encouraging text messages specific to each week of the Sit Together and Read intervention.
Also known as: SMS Messaging
Preschool Word and Print Awareness (PWPA)
Standardized criterion-referenced measure of children's knowledge of 15 basic print concepts
Time frame: Pretest before intervention and post-test immediately following intervention
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS): Alphabet Knowledge and Name Writing
PALS-Preschool is a scientifically-based phonological awareness and literacy screening and progress measure that assesses preschoolers' developing knowledge of important literacy fundamentals. The assessment reflects skills that are predictive of future reading success. We administer two subtests that measures name writing ability and upper-case and lower-case alphabet recognition.
Time frame: Pretest before intervention and post-test immediately following intervention
The Reading House (THR)
A direct screening tool developed for use with pediatricians that allows a variety of providers to identify children who may be at risk for reading difficulties. It is a direct, book-based screener grounded in the concept of emergent literacy. TRH assessment examines 1) print knowledge, 2) alphabet knowledge, 3) letter-sound knowledge, 4) phonological awareness, 5) vocabulary, and 6) emergent writing.
Time frame: Pretest before intervention and post-test immediately following intervention
Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement- IV (WJ-IV): Word Attack and Letter-Word Identification
We administer two subtests of the norm referenced, standardized WJ-IV, Word Attack and Letter-Word Identification. Measure of child literacy and reading skill. We will explore avenues for data reduction, including use of a latent-variable modeling strategy.
Time frame: Completed at all assessing timepoints. Pretest, immediate post-test, 6 month follow-up, 12 month follow-up, 18 month follow-up, 24 month follow up.
Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement- IV (WJ-IV): Spelling, Passage Comprehension
We administer two subtests of the norm referenced, standardized WJ-IV, Spelling and Passage Comprehension. Measure of child literacy and reading skill
Time frame: 6 month follow-up, 12 month follow-up, 18 month follow-up, 24 month follow up.
Started Apr 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jul 2028, 51 months after the start.
Of 72 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Language Development Disorders, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 19 and three quarters within 57. This study's planned 51 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 72 studies reached it within 30 months; a quarter within 19 and three quarters within 57.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Language Development Disorders →