The Importance of Speech Therapy with Parkinson’s
Parkinson's and How It Impacts Speech
Understanding what causes some of the effects of Parkinson’s disease isn’t easy, as research is still ongoing. However, according to the NHS, “Parkinson’s disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in part of the brain (which) leads to a reduction in a chemical called dopamine. (This) plays a vital role in regulating the movement of the body.” While unsure what causes the loss of nerve cells, it’s this that’s responsible for many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s, including slurred and soft speech.
You may work with a speech therapist to help you coordinate more easily, and according to Parkinson’s UK, “Speech and language therapists specialise in all aspects of communication…They will help with any swallowing and communication problems you may experience.”
Why Speech Therapy Can Help
Parkinson’s speech therapy can benefit someone living with Parkinson’s because it will help them to communicate more effectively. This can reduce frustration and help them feel more included in the conversations around them, improving mental health. Speech therapists specialise in all aspects of communication, including “using technology and facial expression and body language,” part of the wider team of healthcare professionals who can help you live well with Parkinson’s. The therapist will want to help you communicate as well as possible, developing strategies and exercises to help you speak clearly and at an appropriate speed and volume. They’ll understand how your communication problems will affect your daily life and develop a personalised plan to suit your life and commitments. For instance, if you’re in an environment that means you’re struggling to make yourself heard, or you struggle to regulate the volume of your voice.
How to Start
Your speech and language therapist can also help you if you are struggling to swallow, or are experiencing drooling. Problems with swallowing are called dysphagia, and Parkinson’s “can cause the muscles used to swallow and chew in your jaw and face to become slower and stiff, or rigid” according to Parkinson’s UK. This can affect:
Swallowing & chewing
This can be difficult with Parkinson’s because of the stiffness of chewing and swallowing muscles
Food in your mouth
Muscles in the tongue and mouth can become slow as well as stiff which can make moving food difficult
Tongue dexterity
Tongue tremors or difficulty unsticking it from the roof of the mouth can affect chewing and swallowing
Throat muscles
Food and drink can be swallowed incorrectly and be at risk of entering the airway, causing choking
The Best Speech Therapy Exercises
Your speech and language therapist (SLT) will assess you to see how they can assist. They will work as part of your wider healthcare team, just as a Helping Hands carer can too. Your therapist will work on a personalised plan that will help you to minimise swallowing and speech problems, and will suggest ways to help, such as:
Changing your posture when you eat or drink. This may be all it takes to help you swallow better and avoid the risk of choking
Changing your diet to foods that are easier to swallow. Softer, moist or chopped food may help avoid choking risk
Sticking to the same consistency of food at a time, and sipping water in between bites of food may help too
Eating more slowly may help the mouth muscles to move the food around more effectively before swallowing
If food is too big to swallow, reducing the size of your bites may help decrease the risk of food going into the windpipe
Timing and doses of medication. Your healthcare team will advise you whether you can take it with food or not
The Use of Technology with Speech Therapy
Technology can benefit every aspect of your Parkinson’s journey and your speech therapist will be able to recommend technology that can support you to live well. Using a computer or mobile app, specially designed to help you undertake specific actions will make life easier, especially if you are struggling to communicate effectively. A voice amplifier may also help others to hear you speak louder, more clearly, or produce words and build sentences.
Furthermore, there are pieces of equipment available that may make it easier for you to eat and drink, reducing the risk of choking. These include adapted cups that prevent you from tilt your head to drink, which can help prevent the food from going down the windpipe (aspiration). Specially weighted cutlery may also promote independence and assist you to eat when living with tremors.
Tracking Progress
Your personalised support plan will be a ‘living document’, which means it will be flexible enough to be continually updated and edited with your progress. All of your healthcare team will contribute to your plan, whether that’s your SLT, physiotherapist, dietitian, Parkinson’s nurse, GP or carers. Your progress will be monitored continually so that medication, therapies and treatments can be changed if they’re not working for you the way they should be. Wearable technologies are also being used by the NHS to support people living with Parkinson’s disease. “These devices are worn at home over several days while they track and record your movement symptoms. This information is sent to your Parkinson’s health professional to interpret it and discuss any changes needed to your care and treatment.” This can prevent you from having to make so many trips to your healthcare practice or identify issues between appointments.
Explore all the Support you Need with Helping Hands
While living with Parkinson’s can present days that challenge, Helping Hands are best placed to support you across the UK. We’ve been supporting people to live as well as possible with Parkinson’s since we were established in 1989, and our expert reputation is well-known. We promote our customers’ independence above all else, developing their personalised care package and ensuring all of our employees share our values of excellence, which is why we’re the most trusted home care provider in the UK. We offer nurse-led, compassionate Parkinson’s care in the comfort of your own home, with familiar surroundings, beloved family members and precious pets close by. We can support you for a few hours a week, or you may discover that around-the-clock live-in care may be the perfect solution, all fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission and the Care Inspectorate Wales. Our experienced carers are carefully selected to support you, whether you’re at the beginning of your Parkinson’s journey or you’re approaching the end of your life.
