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Re: Parkinson and Stuttering

From: Shelley Brundage
Date: 18 Oct 2006
Time: 11:10:34 -0500
Remote Name: 128.164.247.162

Comments

Hello: I shared your post with one of my colleagues who does research on speech disorders in Parkinson's disease. Dr. Geralyn Schulz is an internationally-recognized researcher in the area of speech and parkinson's disease. Here is what she wrote in response to your post: Many persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have various voice and speech difficulties including a soft voice that others cannot hear, a monotone voice that lacks the typical variations in pitch and intonation, a harsh or rough vocal quality, imprecise articulation which can make you sound as if you have slurred speech, and either a slowed speaking rate or a faster than usual speaking rate. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been proven to be very beneficial for the motor problems of persons with PD. However, voice and speech functions often get worse following DBS, particularly if you have bilateral stimulators implanted, that is one stimulator on each side of the brain. Most times people with PD who have a faster than typical speaking rate also have imprecise articulation and the combination that results can sound like stuttering. It is not the same kind of stuttering exactly that happens in people who have a fluency disorder in the absence of PD but it can sound very similar. Many of the voice and speech problems that persons with PD have can be helped by receiving speech therapy. There are many different types of speech therapy that you could receive but one form in particular is called the “Lee Silverman Voice Treatment” (LSVT®) and it has been proven to be very effective in helping alleviate the many voice and speech difficulties (and even some swallowing problems as well) in persons with PD. Studies are underway right now to determine whether LSVT® would benefit those who have had DBS but since it has helped so many who have not had DBS there is a good chance that it could be helpful for those who have had the DBS. More information on LSVT can be obtained at: www.LSVT.org Geralyn (and Shelley)


Last changed: 10/23/06