COVID-19 won’t stop Parkinson Voice Project from helping people with Parkinson’s preserve their speech and swallowing, representatives from the organization note in a media release.

“We knew that people with Parkinson’s were going to need our help to maintain their speech and swallowing during this crisis,” says Samantha Elandary, founder of Parkinson Voice Project. 

Elandary, who is also a speech-language pathologist, has scheduled Facebook LIVE “SPEAK OUT! Home Practice Sessions” Monday through Friday at 10 am CT and Tuesdays at 6 pm CT on the Parkinson Voice Project Facebook page.

A large percentage of individuals with Parkinson’s are likely to experience speech difficulty. If left untreated, the speech muscles become weaker and the disease starts to affect the ability to swallow. These issues can lead to serious, life-threatening complications. Aspiration pneumonia accounts for 70% of the mortality rate in the Parkinson’s population, the release suggests.

“We want people with Parkinson’s to know that our organization is committed to helping them keep their voices strong during COVID-19,” Elandary assures.

[Source(s): Parkinson Voice Project, PR Newswire]