Several years ago, when hosting monthly podcasts, I interviewed Carol Walton, CEO of the Parkinson Alliance, and Dr. Jeffrey Wertheimer, a neuropsychologist, who helps to design and interpret the Parkinson Alliance surveys which are distributed bi-annually to persons with Parkinson’s disease.
In that interview, we discussed two subjects which had been investigated: exercise and patience. Now, while exercise is clearly important to any of us who hope to reduce the effects of aging and chronic disease on health, it was the survey on patience, which was of most interest to me.
We don’t typically associate patience as a trait that has much to do with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but according to survey respondents (approximately 1400) patience was identified as one of several important coping strategies that come about as a result of living with PD. Patience was defined by Dr. Wertheimer as:
“The propensity of a person to wait calmly in the face of frustration, adversity, or suffering … enacted across a wide range of circumstances and timeframes.”
Whether the result of bradyphenia (slowness of thinking) and/or bradykinesia (slowness of movement), individuals who describe themselves as patient, seem to have an overall higher level of optimism.
Many survey respondents indicated that exercise had a role in contributing to patience. Mindfulness and prayer were also cited as contributing to increased patience, and when Dr. Wertheimer spoke about mindfulness, there was a phrase he used several times:
“Where the attention goes the emotion flows.”
Put a different way: “what we dwell on in mind is what manifests in our life.” What we give our attention to is often what we get more of in our lives, and it is also the challenge of not thinking about something we don’t like or want.
Since that podcast aired, the news is filled with daily reminders of how unpredictable, chaotic, and unsettling our world can be at times. And even during the holiday season, when our thoughts and actions should be about goodwill, standing in line or getting caught in a traffic jam can try our patience.
So, as we celebrate the holiday season together let’s try to block out the seemingly endless negative chatter on the air waves and sometimes in our own minds, and instead try a little patience.
To listen to the full podcast on your computer, phone or tablet, go to:
Are You a Florida Snowbird? New Speech Classes Starting January 2020
Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s is sponsoring Speak Easy 4 PD, a Fun and Interactive class for people with Parkinson’s who want to improve their speaking skills. I will be conducting this class in Port Charlotte, Fl., on the second and fourth Thursday of the month January through April 2020 from 11:00-12:15. There is NO CHARGE for the class and no pre-requisite, however, we ask participants to commit to all 8 sessions of this pilot program and to RSVP. Participants must be independent in activities of daily living. For additional information and to register for the class please contact: chelsea@neurochallenge.org
Visit the Neuro Challenge website to see a listing of all upcoming programs and events: https://www.parkinsonsneurochallenge.org/
Speech at the Beach 2019!
The Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte LOUD Crowd began its 3rd year in October 2019, and we are bursting at the seams. This group of dedicated people completed SPEAK OUT! speech therapy and now come together like our own Toastmasters group to practice each week. Dr. John, one of our members said: “Loud Crowd is the most helpful event that I attend, given my own priority ( ie. Voice & swallowing ) My other priority challenge is that of avoiding falling and balance.”
Donate Your Voice
I just signed up for a very interesting voice project with Mozilla/Firefox, and I think it could provide some interesting voice practice for everyone at home. The project is a part of Mozilla’s mission in making voice data richer for everyone to use and helping innovation in speech recognition. The more different voices and the more of your voice, the better!
You will be able to record as many sentences as you want, review, and upload. What a great way to practice reading out loud AND speaking loud and clear. Learn more: https://voice.mozilla.org/en
Give Someone with Parkinson’s the Gift of FUN Home Practice
It’s almost Christmas, and it’s not too late to send someone you love some home practice tools. Visit our website to learn more.
International customers: did you know that several of the Voice Aerobics® products are available as downloads? That means you pay NO SHIPPING! To order, visit us now: https://voiceaerobicsdvd.com/
My MissionTo enlist individuals in their treatment, and help them express their personality & spirit through voice. To educate and empower. Mary Spremulli, MA, CCC-SLP * FiTOUR® Group Exercise Instructor * Voice Aerobics® A Whole Body Approach to Voice Practice
Voice Aerobics the heART and Science of Voice Practice