Welcome to Living Healthy Chicago.
Thanks so much for being here.
Now, we all know a key part of living a healthy life
is being able to communicate with the world around you,
but for those living with Parkinson's disease,
this can be a real challenge.
So let's meet a woman who says
learning how to get loud has helped
make sure she's understood.
Linda Partyka has always enjoyed
staying social and on the move.
- Just love to talk to people, so.
A pair of jacks.
- [Woman] Alright, two pairs.
- Who asked you?
I've gotta put my two cents in whenever I can!
- [Jane] But about 20 years ago,
she found herself slowing down
and noticing some changes.
- I noticed my right arm was not swinging as I was walking,
and this was kinda weird.
And people kept saying, what, what,
are you trying to say something?
So realizing that people are not understanding
what you're saying is very frustrating.
You realize that there is a problem here.
- [Jane] Linda saw her doctor
and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
- Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder,
which means that it's a disorder
that develops due to loss of brain cells over time.
It's progressive; in particular,
it affects cells in the basal ganglia,
which is the part of the brain that modulates movement,
but it also affects speech in much of the same way,
so it causes speech to become slower, softer,
sometimes more mumbling or stuttering,
it's harder for patients to get their words out,
and that affects their ability
to communicate with family, with others,
can lead to social withdrawal.
- I really didn't know too much
about the disease at the time.
I was not aware that language was such an issue with it,
'cause I was not having a great time with people
expressing myself at all.
Nobody could understand what I wanted to tell them,
my husband became a translator for me.
It's annoying, believe me!
- [Jane] That frustration left her looking for answers.
In addition to medication and deep brain stimulation,
Linda learned to get loud.
(upbeat acoustic music)
(all vocalizing loudly)
- The Loud Crowd is part of our two-part therapy program.
It's structured very similar
to their individual therapy,
and it's really a exercise group
to continue to combat some of the changes with Parkinson's.
- Folks with Parkinson's don't actually realize
that they're speaking quietly,
they feel like they are speaking
at a normal volume and a normal level,
so what speech therapy does is
it trains them to adjust the effort required
to produce a normal-sounding voice.
(all vocalizing)
- There's two motor paths in the brain:
There's the intentional path,
and there's the automatic pathway.
And the automatic pathway is disrupted in Parkinson's
because they lack the neurotransmitter, dopamine.
When we encourage them to use the intentional path
and speak with gusto and intention and deliberation,
they sound louder and clearer,
their voices have better quality,
they have more inflection in their voice,
the individuals are able to be understood.
- [Jane] Linda says an additional benefit of the group
is the support of her peers.
- It's a great bunch, it really is.
The most part of just speaking together
is it's so nice to see there's a bunch of people around us.
When you walk out, you feel better
because you know that you've done exercises.
- It gives them an opportunity
to communicate with a variety
of different communication partners,
and they really support one another.
- We can definitely see an improvement in the office
in our patients who are participating.
Improving the speech tends to have
a lot of indirect benefits as well.
It certainly affects quality of life.
- [Jane] That's a change Linda has definitely noticed.
- Everything's much better.
You get your self-confidence back.
- She's really benefited from using intention.
Sometimes people forget that we
have to exercise the muscles of our voice,
and they're important so you can communicate
what you want and so you can continue
to swallow and have your voices heard.
- [Jane] Linda hopes her story
will help encourage others living with Parkinson's disease
to take charge of their health.
- You can always live a normal, great life
if you have it, it's no big deal.
So you've just gotta get out there and keep trying.
- Don't give up, don't withdraw,
don't stop fighting the Parkinson's disease,
and engage with others to help you with that fight.