Experts in the field of therapy for patients with Parkinson’s disease spoke on Thursday evening, July 11 at the Gary Abrahamson, Jr. Memory Care Center.
LSVT, which stands for Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, is a highly effective treatment approach for people with speech and voice issues related to Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Damon Hastings, Physical Therapist and Rehabilitation Services Lead for OSF Healthcare, and Danielle Way, Speech Language Pathologist for OSF Healthcare, were guest speakers at the Memory Care Center, located at 2635 1st Ave. So., Escanaba.
Hastings’ presentation, entitled “LSVT Big”, and Way’s presentation, LSVT Loud,” focused on the LSVT Therapy for PD, and therapies people can use in dealing with PD.
LSVT Big is an intensive, amplitude-focused physical and occupational therapy approach developed from principles of the effective Parkinson’s specific speech treatment LSVT Loud.
LSVT Loud is the first speech treatment with level one evidence and established efficacy for treating voice and speech disorders in people with PD with application to other neurological disorders. Both LSVT programs have been developed and scientifically researched over the past 25 years with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Research on the LSVT Big Program has documented improved ratings on tests of motor functioning in people with PD following treatment, including faster walking with bigger steps, improved balance, increased trunk rotation, improvements in activities of daily living, such as bed mobility, and improved UPDRS Motor Score.
Similarly, research on the LSVT Loud Program has documented improved impact on multiple levels of functioning in Parkinson’s patients following treatment, including increased vocal loudness, improved articulation and speech intelligibility, improved intonation, improvements in facial expression, and changes in neural functioning related to voice and speech.
Working with these programs, both professionals have seen extremely positive results after working one-on-one with their patients.
“I love the LSVT Loud Program, because we see a lot of progress with patients,” Hastings said.
“The reason I like this program so much is because it is functional for the patient,” Way agreed. “And since it can be personalized and tailored for each individual patient, it’s even more effective.”
Parkinson’s disease afflicts approximately one million Americans. Symptoms include tremors and other motor symptoms, which the LSVT Big program helps in treating. Patients with PD also often have symptoms of soft, mumbled voices; the LSVT Loud Program helps patients to speak clearer and louder, Way said.
Their presentations included an open discussion, in which those present were given the chance to comment on the subject and ask questions. Sister Gloria Schultz, Sister Dorothea Jang, Sister Marie Kim Nguyen, RN, and Sister Estela Garcia, all of the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres, were present for the presentation.
In partnership with Community Action Adult Day Services Program, the Gary Abrahamson, Jr. Memory Care Center serves individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, PD, and dementia-related illnesses. The Center also hosts monthly guest speakers like Hastings and Way to meet the needs of many caregivers and others seeking help in the community.
For more information on the LSVT Big or Loud programs, contact Damon Hastings DPT, CSCS, CFCE or Danielle Way, MS, CCC, SLP, at (906) 233-4141.
