05/11/2024
My sister (in the photo, far right) was diagnosed in 2015 with early onset Parkinson's Disease (PD). PD is one of the conditions we often disucss during NSLHM. It affects the nervous system making it difficult for the motor signals to tell the body to stop moving when it wants (tremors) and start moving when it wants (hesitations, freezes). It can affect all the muscles in the body, although not everyone with PD is affected in the same way. There can also be cognitive difficulties associated with the disease. However, it is not a fatal condition. It can be managed. My sister likes to remind everyone, "You do not die FROM Parkinson's, you die WITH Parkinson's."
As an SLP I treat speech, voice, swallow, and cognitive processing difficulties caused by PD. The approach used often in therapy is to train patients to do manually what their bodies and minds used to do automatically. For example, exercises for safely speaking loudly, deliberately, and strongly can train someone who mumbles at a whisper, to use clear, normal voice and speech. It is most successful when the exercises are started early in the disease process and continued vigorously as part of an ongoing daily exercise routine.
Therapies and techniques like this are improving and evolving thanks in part to a variety of charitable organizations who support research and effective treatment. One of the most well-known is the The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. The photo of my sister and her friends was taken during a bike ride fundraiser. Other reputable organizations include the Parkinson's Foundation, LSVT Global and Parkinson Voice Project.
If you or someone you know has Parkinson's or would like more information, please reply or DM me. If you would like to join or support my sister Fran Mironchik in her fundraising efforts this month in Sacramento, please visit
https://movingdaywalk.org/event/moving-day-sacramento/event-information/
Thanks and be well!