CRC empowering adultsliving with Parkinson’s

Nagpur: April 11 was celebrated as World Parkinson’s Day. People with Parkinson’s might slur words, mumble or trail off at the end of a sentence. This is because the prevalence of speech disorders among individuals with Parkinson’s disease has been reported to be as high as 89%.
Speech impairment is the outcome from a combination of motor and no motor deficits. On Parkinson’s Day, TOI spoke with the officials of the Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in Nagpur which is running a special clinic to treat adults with Parkinson’s having problems with their speech.

“Despite the high prevalence of speech disorders in PD, only 3-4% receive speech treatment,” said L Anuroopa, assistant professor, speech and hearing department, CRC.
“Parkinson’s speech problems may also include slow speech, rapid rushes of speech, decreased vocal loudness, monotone voice and imprecise articulation. These can all impede intelligibility,” she said, adding, a speech-language therapist can treat speech and voice problems accurately.
“Speech language therapists are specifically trained to diagnose and treat speech, language and swallowing disorders. Speech pathologists help people with Parkinson's speak clearly, loudly and with intent,” she said.
“At CRC Nagpur, we have a multidisciplinary team and we have dedicated one day in a week especially for treating, rehabilitating and empowering adults with disability like aphasia, dysphagia, Parkinson’s or any neurological conditions,” informed Prafull Shinde, director of CRC.
“Management of Parkinsonian dysarthria is clinically challenging. Speech treatment is a part of a multidisciplinary approach to patient care,” he added.
Speech therapy at CRS includes respiration (breath support) which controls the power necessary for speech loudness. Therapists also help with resonance — how air is shaped by oral and nasal cavities. They can also help with prosody — rhythm, melody and intonation of speech. Doctors said that adults with PD have shown very promising results.
Parkinson’s disease is a type of nervous system disorder that affects the movement along with the ability to perform daily activities. It tends to slowly damage the central nervous system comprising of the brain and spine thus affecting the motor system of the patient’s body.