SPEAK OUT! Voice Therapy Program for Individuals with Parkinson Disease

SPEAK OUT! is typically completed in 12 sessions consisting of two or three 30- to 45-minute individual speech therapy sessions a week over a continuous four-week period. Individual sessions may be supplemented with free online SPEAK OUT! video sessions available from Parkinson Voice Project based on the needs and preferences of the individual client.

Following the individual SPEAK OUT! sessions, the client is transitioned to The LOUD Crowd for weekly group sessions. The LOUD Crowd meets once a week and assists in providing maintenance of the skills learned in SPEAK OUT! while also providing a sense of community for its members. 

Importantly, by exercising and thereby strengthening the voice mechanism of individuals with Parkinson Disease by participating in SPEAK OUT! and The LOUD Crowd, the swallowing mechanism of clients is also strengthened.

In individuals with Parkinson Disease, the muscles used in speech and swallowing become weak, not because of the disease, but because they are underused. The voice exercises and therapy provided by SPEAK OUT!, and, later, the LOUD Crowd, teach clients to use the muscles required in communication and swallowing to their full extent, thereby reversing and preventing the deterioration of the speech and swallowing mechanism.