Introducing SPEAK OUT! For Parkinson’s Disease

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month!

What better time than now to announce that Aurora Speech Clinic is offering SPEAK OUT! and the LOUD Crowd!?

These individual and group speech therapy for clients with Parkinson’s Disease and related movement disorders.

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative condition that affects more than 100,000 Canadians.

Here at Aurora Speech Clinic, we offer adult speech-language pathology services for those with Parkinson’s disease.

Characteristics Of Parkinson’s Disease

In Parkinson’s disease, dopamine, a chemical that carries signals throughout the brain, becomes depleted.

Dopamine is vital to the brain’s extrapyramidal motor system, the system responsible for automatic muscle movements, like swinging your arms when you walk.

As a result, the primary symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are related to motor skills, which include:

• Tremors: involuntary shaking, in the hands, arms, legs, jaw, or head
• Slowed movement: this includes difficulty initiating voluntary movements, leading to challenges with tasks like walking, getting out of a chair, or performing fine motor skills tasks
• Muscle rigidity: muscles can remain contracted for an extended period of time
• Impaired balance: this leaves people with Parkinson’s disease at greater risk of falls

Other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease may include:

• Depression
• Sleep disturbances
• Sensory changes
• Cognitive impairment

From a speech therapy perspective, 89% of individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease experience speech, voice and swallowing difficulties, which are, for simplicity’s sake, largely automatic.

How Can SPEAK OUT! Help With Parkinson’s Disease?

SPEAK OUT! is an engaging and evidence-based speech therapy program that focuses on living (and speaking!) with INTENT.

It was created by the Parkinson Voice Project, a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to improving the communication skills of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.

The SPEAK OUT! program helps clients to regain and retain their speech and communication skills while minimizing swallowing difficulties.

They do this by converting speech from an automatic function to an intentional act.

It can only be provided by a speech-language pathologist who has received additional training and certification by Parkinson Voice Project.

We would be happy to forward additional information related to SPEAK OUT! and the LOUD Crowd or to answer any questions that you may have about therapy services for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease.

Book Your Appointment With Aurora Speech Clinic Today

If you or a loved one has Parkinson’s disease, SPEAK OUT! can help.

Services are offered in-clinic in Aurora or through speech teletherapy throughout Ontario.

Book your appointment with us today.