Find Your Voice: Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®)
Nearly every person (89%) with Parkinson disease will have problems with speech that start early in the disease process and progressively diminish quality of life:
· Soft Voice
· Mumbled speech
· Monotone speech
· Hoarse voice
· Decreased vocal stamina
Medicine and surgery may dramatically improve the other symptoms of Parkinson disease, but they don’t help speech disorders. The only way to improve speech is by speech therapy.
The LSVT ® is an intense 1 hour a session, 4 times per week, 4 week course of therapy that teaches people with Parkinson disease to develop the strength required to speak at a normal vocal loudness. (may be modified to fit your schedule)
LSVT® teaches self-empowerment by improving the ability to communicate and thereby enhancing quality of life.
The strong theoretical and clinical research base behind LSVT® has demonstrated substantive results:
o Improved vocal loudness
o Improved intelligibility
o More facial expression
o Improved ability to swallow
o Better neural functioning (PET)
For more information, visist: www.lsvt.org and to schedule an appointment, call 208.489.5060
Allison Berglund, MS, CCC-SLP
Filed under: Neurological Rehab, Speech-Language Pathology