Speech therapy for Parkinson's disease.
Twenty-six patients with the speech disorder of Parkinson's disease received daily speech therapy (prosodic exercises) at home for 2 to 3 weeks. There were significant improvements in speech as assessed by scores for prosodic abnormality and intelligibility' and these were maintained in part for up to 3 months. The degree of improvement was clinically and psychologically important, and relatives commented on the social benefits. The use of a visual reinforcement device produced limited benefit over and above that from prosodic exercises alone, except to patients with severe speech disorder.
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013070:Speech Therapy