CASANA's Childhood Apraxia of Speech Treatment Research
Grant Program

History

The Board of Director's of CASANA established the organization's Treatment Research Grant program in 2006 in response to the American Speech Language Hearing Association's (ASHA) Childhood Apraxia of Speech Ad-hoc Committee Report.  This report, while reviewing all scientific data regarding apraxia in children, noted a profound and significant lack of treatment efficacy data.  It is CASANA's experience that families are most interested in understanding which speech therapy approaches are likely to help their child's speech skills as quickly as possible.  Additionally, insurance funders also seek such data as do practicing speech-language pathologists who provide therapy to the children. 

After consultation with its Professional Advisory Board, CASANA determined that its program should start by funding pilot treatment research grants that would produce data which would hopefully lead to researchers being able to secure larger grant funds.  Our focus for the grant program is on research projects and designs which go beyond the lowest level of evidence (case studies) and instead use experimental or quasi-experimental design.

Grant Process

The CASANA Treatment Research Grants will be awarded annually as funds are available.  A "Request for Applications" (RFA) is issued advertising the open grant application process and the directions for submissions of proposals from researchers.  All proposals which meet the technical requirements are judged by a panel of external reviewers with expertise in children's speech sound disorders.  Additionally, a consumer advocate is a member of the review committee to assure relevance.  Reviewers are unaware of the identity of the proposal authors and their institutions as they judge and score the scientific merits of the proposals and rank order them.

Grants are awarded for a one year period and all funds must be spent on direct costs and will not support indirect costs (overhead). 

2009 Apraxia Treatment Research Program Request for Applications

CASANA will award one Treatment Research Grant in 2009.  The Request for Applications is available as of May 13, 2009 and proposers have until August 1, 2009 to submit.  For questions regarding the process and for submissions, please contact Ruth Stoeckel, Ph.D. at research@apraxia-kids.org .
Click here for 2009 Apraxia Treatment Research RFA

Prevoius Grants

2008
"Practice Schedule and Feedback Frequency in Treatment for Childhood Apraxia of Speech"
Principal Investigators:  Edwin Maas, Ph.D. & Kim Farinella, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ

This project will examine the effects of practice schedule and feedback frequency – two of the most-studied and most powerful practice factors in nonspeech motor skill learning – on speech motor learning in treatment for CAS.