Many people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) have soft voices, hoarseness, monotone voices, reduced sound precision, and can be excessively fast or slow in their speech. The LSVT LOUD® speech treatment, named for Mrs. Lee Silverman, a woman living with PD, trains people with PD to use their voice at a more normal loudness level while speaking at home, work, or in the community. The program has been scientifically studied for over 25 years with support from the National Institute for Deafness and other Communication Disorders within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other funding organizations.
As an LSVT LOUD® certified clinician, Randy has treated hundreds of patients in all stages of PD. Intensive training is given to patients with the goal of assisting people to use their voices at a more normal loudness level, improve inflection and articulation, and increase facial expression. As suggested by prior research, the LSVT training as delivered by Randy has also demonstrated improved swallowing in patients.
Starting to work on voice before a patient notices significant vocal changes yields the best results, but improvement can be made at any stage of PD. All training is done on an individual basis with all exercises personalized to the interests and personal goals of the patient. Individual training typically lasts for four weeks, with individual checkups as needed, and access to ongoing practice through LSVT Grad Group Classes.