Richardson, TX—The COVID-19 pandemic triggered innovations in delivering speech therapy to people with Parkinson’s Disease to regain and retain their voices—and a nonprofit speech therapy clinic in Texas is replicating its effective, clinically proven SPEAK OUT!® program across the country with its Campaign to Reach America.
Parkinson Voice Project of Richardson, Texas has raised more than half of its $20 million goal and plans to support its first 10 centers outside Texas in 2023.
“As loved ones gather during the holiday season, we want them to know there is hope for people with Parkinson’s to preserve their speaking abilities, stay connected to family and friends, and minimize life-threatening swallowing complications,” says Samantha Elandary, founder and CEO of Parkinson Voice. “Their voices don’t have to disappear.”
Parkinson’s Disease affects more than 1 million Americans and is the second most prevalent brain disease in the United States. About 90 percent of people with Parkinson’s are likely to develop speech and swallowing disorders. Without quality speech treatment, the voice becomes weaker and can result in life-threatening swallowing complications.
“The solution to preserving speech and swallowing,” Elandary says, “involves consistent vocal exercise and hard work.” SPEAK OUT! is a comprehensive speech therapy program that combines education, individual speech therapy, a specialized workbook, speech and singing groups, frequent reevaluations, and daily home practice.
Parkinson Voice Project developed SPEAK OUT! in 2010 and has trained more than 11,000 speech-language pathologists and graduate students in their treatment. The organization’s vision is to make SPEAK OUT! accessible to patients worldwide. People with Parkinson’s who consistently follow the SPEAK OUT! protocol have maintained their treatment results for 10+ years.
Breakthroughs sparked by pandemic
Elandary credits the COVID-19 pandemic for sparking the latest breakthroughs in effective treatment delivery—and Parkinson Voice Project’s drive to support treatment and research centers in every state that will provide online speech therapy at no charge to people with Parkinson’s across America.
The March 2020 pandemic lockdown forced Parkinson Voice Project to cancel in-person therapy sessions and groups, and the team began offering online speech practice sessions to help their patients maintain their voices while isolated at home. “We know if people with Parkinson’s miss practice or therapy, they will regress and run the risk of losing their speaking abilities,” says Elandary. “Even missing three days of vocal exercise could make a big difference.”
In the first week of online practice, there were 30 participants. Today, more than 2,500 people from across the U.S. and abroad practice with Parkinson Voice Project every day.
In May 2020, Parkinson Voice Project’s clinic transitioned to a “telepractice” and began providing speech therapy and groups online. “As we and the patients became more tech-savvy,” she recalls, “we realized we had crossed over to a more beneficial therapy approach for the Parkinson’s population.” The benefits of online therapy include no transportation issues and increased family involvement. In addition, homebound patients and those living in rural areas now have access to our treatment, she says.
This was good news for people with Parkinson’s in Texas, but not for the rest of America. Parkinson Voice Project can only treat patients in Texas due to speech pathology licensing. The organization needed to find a way to reach patients living outside of Texas.
Parkinson Voice Project launched a $20 million “Campaign to Reach America” that will support a Therapy & Research Center at 50 universities throughout the United States, one in every state. “Once we can replicate our free, online program in just one clinic in every state, that clinic can treat any person with Parkinson’s living in that state. Every person with Parkinson’s in America will have access to SPEAK OUT!” says Elandary.
Parkinson Voice Project has already raised over $10 million towards the campaign and plans to support 10 Therapy & Research Centers in 2023. For more information on the Campaign to Reach America, please visit www.parkinsonvoiceproject.org/Campaign-To-Reach-America.
About Parkinson Voice Project
Parkinson Voice Project is a nonprofit speech therapy clinic specializing in the treatment of speech disorders related to Parkinson’s and related movement disorders. Parkinson Voice Project treats people with Parkinson’s from throughout Texas from their clinic in Richardson, Texas. The team has also trained more than 11,000 speech-language pathologists in their SPEAK OUT® program. Since 2008, the clinic has not charged for its services and relies on charitable gifts and pay-it-forward donations from program participants. Parkinson Voice Project maintains a score of 100 on CharityNavigator.org.
About SPEAK OUT!®
SPEAK OUT! was developed by Parkinson Voice Project and is based on principles of motor learning and teachings of the late Daniel R. Boone, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. In the 1950s, Boone recognized individuals with Parkinson’s could improve their communication by “speaking with intent.” Later Parkinson’s research showed that 80 percent of a Parkinson’s patient’s dopamine production has been lost by the time the patient displays motor symptoms of the syndrome. Dopamine is a key ingredient in the neural pathway transmissions of the autonomic or automatic nervous system, which includes speech. The key, therefore, Elandary emphasizes, is to train Parkinson’s patients to shift speech from the automatic (Extrapyramidal) nervous system to the intentional (Pyramidal) nervous system. “Speaking with intent” is a cornerstone of the SPEAK OUT! approach.
The SPEAK OUT! program involves interlocking components, including education for both the patient and family, individual speech therapy, a specialized workbook, weekly speech and singing group sessions, daily practice, and frequent re-evaluations. People with Parkinson’s who adhere to the SPEAK OUT! protocol can regain and retain their speaking abilities and minimize future swallowing complications.
The SPEAK OUT! program involves interlocking components, including education for both the patient and family, individual speech therapy, a specialized workbook, weekly speech and singing group sessions, daily practice, and frequent re-evaluations. People with Parkinson’s who adhere to the SPEAK OUT! protocol can regain and retain their speaking abilities and minimize future swallowing complications.