Is Your Patient a Candidate for Speech Vive a Wearable Device

Reduced speech intensity (hypophonia) is one of the cardinal motor speech features associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Hypophonia in PD is an important contributor to decreased intelligibility and has been attributed to vocal fold stiffness or weakness, reduced...

Swallowing Problems and Parkinson’s: Inevitable or Avoidable?

Several weeks ago, Ed Steger, President of the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders (NFOSD), joined my weekly Parkinson’s LOUD Crowd class I host on ZOOM. I asked members to serve as a focus group for Ed who was interested in learning more about...

Prime Rib at the Funeral: Can We Plan for Death?

I had a call yesterday from the spouse of one of my recent patients letting me know that he had died following complications from Covid and pneumonia. He also had a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease which is how I had come to know him. Over the time of knowing him, I...

Is Telepractice the Best Option for Your Speech Therapy?

Telepractice, involves the use of telecommunications technology to deliver professional services at a distance, and since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 it has become an increasingly popular way of delivering certain health care services, including medical visits,...

Hi-VOLT voice-on-light Buy Now: Att Alimed customers

Over the last week, I have had several email and phone calls from customers of Alimed, with questions about the availability of the Voice Aerobics Hi-Volt®. While Alimed will no longer be distributing the product, it remains available through our website and you will...

When Medications Become Unaffordable

This week a patient with Parkinson’s disease told me that his insurance would not pay for a much needed medication. This is not the first time I have had a patient tell me that a necessary medication has become unaffordable. It just so happened that this week I...