Providence Health and Services Offers SPEAK OUT!® & The LOUD Crowd® for Parkinson’s Disease

Is Parkinson’s Disease affecting you or your loved one’s ability to speak clearly? Providence Health and Services is pleased to offer a two-part speech therapy program to help individuals with Parkinson’s regain and maintain effective communication: SPEAK OUT!® followed by The LOUD Crowd®.

This program is offered at various Providence locations throughout the Portland metro region as well as at Providence Medford in the southern part of the state. SPEAK OUT!® places emphasis on speaking with intent and converting speech from an automatic function to an intentional act. Together, patients and their speech-language pathologists work through a series of speech, voice, and cognitive exercises outlined in a SPEAK OUT!® Workbook.

Upon completion of SPEAK OUT!®, patients transition to The LOUD Crowd®. This maintenance program consists of weekly group sessions led by a speech-language pathologist. The SPEAK OUT!®exercises are performed, and group members provide support, encouragement, and accountability to one another.

Participation in The LOUD Crowd®, along with the daily home practice, has been shown to help patients maintain their communication skills throughout the progression of Parkinson’s. For more information about SPEAK OUT!® and The LOUD Crowd® contact Karen Smith, Speech- Language Pathologist at 503-215-1576. To schedule a speech evaluation, please speak with your physician to obtain a referral.

Article Provided by:
Providence NE Rehab
503-215-1576
Oregon.Providence.org