Speech and Voice in Parkinson’s disease
89% of people with Parkinson’s disease have difficulties with voice and speech (Ramig, Fox & Sapir, 2008). Motor speech disorders occur as a result of neurological injury to the motor speech system. Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder characterised by changes to the subsystems of speech affecting respiration, resonance, prosody, phonation and articulation (Colton & Caspar, 1996). Dysarthria results in abnormalities in strength, speed, range, tone or accuracy of speech movements (Duffy, 2005).
Hypokinetic dysarthria is a form of dysarthria commonly seen in people with Parkinson’s disease (Duffy, 2005). Hypokinetic dysarthria is associated with neurodegenerative changes resulting from basal ganglia control circuit dysfunction (Duffy, 2005). Speech is characterised by:
- Slow individual movements
- Reduced pitch and loudness
- Reduced force and excessive tone (Duffy, 2005)
Paradoxically, speech can also become fast, accelerated and repetitive. Vocal qualities can be affected by changes to respiration, phonation and prosody. Specifically, patients with Parkinson’s disease often present with voice changes characterised by reduced loudness and stress, monopitch, monoloudness and breathiness (Ramig, Fox & Sapir, 2008).
Therapy for communication disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Our Speech Pathologists are trained in the LSVT LOUD program which offers gold standard treatment for people with communication difficulties associated with Parkinson’s disease. For more information on LSVT LOUD® click here.
Parkinson’s Disease Voice Problems Treatment
Mr Eugene Pillay and Ms Jenna Butterworth are qualified and accredited Speech Pathologists. They are Australian trained speech pathologists who work as speech therapists for adults. Eugene and Jenna are both Speech Pathology Australia members and have many years of experience managing adults with speech and language problems. Committed to providing personalised and evidence-based treatment, they tailor their therapy to each person’s individual needs.
Results focused speech therapy
ENT Clinic have created comprehensive speech pathology resources, that together with our speech pathologists consultation, can be used to create a customised treatment plan. This will ensure that you will experience results focused, effective speech therapy!
To make an appointment with Eugene and Jenna, Contact Us Today!
