I sat in on a webinar with my husband that addressed the need for a Speech Pathologist to work with people who have Parkinson’s Disease. The presentation was about both speech and swallow challenges and was going really well until they hit us with some cold hard facts, statistics that I had not encountered before. The presenter, Doreen Nicholas who is a professor at Eastern Washington University, said that 90% of people with Parkinson’s will develop speech disorders. She then went on to say that 70% of all deaths related to Parkinson’s can be attributed to aspiration pneumonia. This is the complication that took my father from us 30 years ago.

She works with a program called the Parkinson’s Voice Project. Eastern Washington University is one of 15 grant funded sites that provide speech therapy free as part of a national study. The program she uses is called Speak Out and is based on speaking with intention. She shared a few details about how the sessions are designed, but the bottom line was that they help if someone is willing to do the work. Following a 4 to 5 week program with a therapist, my husband would need to do daily practice if he wants to maintain his new skills.

My husband and I were both surprised by these statistics. He is constantly being reminded to exercise his body, we just didn’t realize that his throat and mouth needed to be included in the workout. He is now on a waiting list for the next session with Professor Nicholas. In the meantime, he has committed to doing what he can on his own to strengthen his voice and throat muscles.  

If you want to check this out for your loved one, visit parkinsonvoiceproject.org. They describe the program and can help you find a provider in your area. You can even try out their daily on-line lessons to see if it is a good fit.