Speech treatment for Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Researchers estimate that 89% of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have speech and voice disorders including disorders of laryngeal, respiratory and articulatory function. Despite the high incidence of speech and voice impairment, studies suggest that only 3–4% of people with PD receive speech treatment. Here, we review the literature on the characteristics and features of speech and voice disorders in people with PD and the types of treatment techniques available (medical, surgical and behavioral), with a focus on behavioral therapies. We provide a summary of the current status of the field of speech treatment in PD and recommendations for implementation of the current efficacy of treatment interventions. Directions for future research, including a speculative viewpoint on how the field will evolve in 5 years time, are discussed.

Keywords::

• dysarthria
• hypokinetic
• hypophonia
• LSVT^®
• neural plasticity
• Parkinson’s disease
• speech and voice disorder
• speech and voice treatment

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Lorraine Ramig is a Professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, Senior Scientist at the National Center for Voice and Speech (Denver) and Adjunct Professor, Columbia University, New York City. Cynthia Fox is a Research Associate at the National Center for Voice and Speech in Denver and Research Lecturer in the Department of Neurology at the University of Arizona. Shimon Sapir is an Associate Professor at the University of Haifa. This research has been funded in part by NIH grants R01 DC1150 from National Institutes of Deafness and other Communication Disorders (Ramig, Fox and Sapir).

Lorraine Ramig receives a lecturer and travel honorarium from the LSVT Foundation (nonprofit organization), a consulting honorarium from the Kinetics Foundation, receives a lecture honorarium and has intellectual property rights and ownership interest in LSVT Global LLC (for-profit organization that runs training courses and sells products related to LSVT Treatment).

Cynthia Fox receives a lecturer and travel honorarium from the LSVT Foundation (nonprofit organization), receives lecture honorarium and has intellectual property rights and ownership interest in LSVT Global LLC.

The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.