The University of Utah’s Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic will offer groundbreaking online treatment for patient with Parkinson’s in the D.C. area—for free.
Thanks to a grant from the Parkinson Voice Project, the clinic is providing SPEAK OUT!® Therapy to patients across Utah and beyond. The program is growing to include Virginia and Washington D.C., and Utah’s clinicians will take the successful telehealth model to a new region.
Parkinson’s disease is the second-most prevalent brain disease in the U.S. and includes symptoms like speech changes, muscle stiffness, tremors, and difficulty swallowing. The Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic is one of the nation’s SPEAK OUT!® Therapy & Research Centers, using a highly effective, research-based speech therapy protocol that can enhance communication and minimize the risk of life-threatening swallowing complications.
Thanks to this grant and collaboration, the clinic commits to provide SPEAK OUT!® Therapy at no cost to any person in the D.C. area diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The clinic specializes in online delivery of these therapeutic services and is actively conducting efficacy research on this therapy.
“We have a mission to provide affordable services to patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” says College of Health associate professor and clinical lead Brett Myers, PhD, CCC-SLP. “We are excited to offer these services as the SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Center for Utah, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.”
The entire program takes place online, so patients can participate from home as long as they have an Internet connection. During eight one-on-one sessions, they will learn exercises from the clinic’s expert practitioners and graduate students. SPEAK OUT! patients then continue in online group therapy to maintain their skills.
“We selected the University of Utah’s Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic because of their compassion and their commitment to serving their Parkinson’s community,” says Samantha Elandary, founder and CEO of the Parkinson Voice Project.
“These new SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers will eliminate the barriers currently preventing thousands of people with Parkinson’s from receiving speech treatment.”
Like many healthcare providers, the Parkinson Voice Project pivoted to telehealth services when the pandemic hit the U.S. in 2020. Elandary and her team found that patients did better with online therapy—it removed barriers that had previously prevented patients from receiving speech treatment. Now the nonprofit has the goal to replicate this online speech therapy program in university speech therapy clinics across the United States.
The expansion news means that people with Parkinson’s in more states now have access to valuable speech therapy, regardless of location, transportation, insurance, or financial challenges.
If you would like to schedule an evaluation for someone with Parkinson’s living in Washington, D.C., please call the University of Utah Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at 801-581-3506.