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LSVT® (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) Introduction Virtually every person with Parkinson's Disease will have problems with speech that start early in the disease process and progressively diminish quality of life including: Medicine and surgery may dramatically improve the other symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, but they do not help speech disorders. The only way to improve speech is by speech therapy. Experimental data from more than 15 years of research funded by the National Institute of Health has documented that one Parkinson-specific speech therapy, the LSVT® is effective. The results of the treatment last up to two years, making LSVT® the "gold standard" in treating speech disorders in people who have Parkinson's Disease. Features The LSVT® approach centers on a very specific therapeutic target: increased vocal loudness. This key target acts as a "trigger" to increase effort and coordination across the speech production system. This focus provides a comprehensive motor organizing theme that impacts multiple levels of the motor output process in patients while limiting cognitive load, as individuals with neurological disorders often have difficulty with attention-demanding, complex tasks. At the end of one month of treatment, patients are able to self-generate treatment strategies resulting in dramatically improved functional communication. Quality of life is considerably improved with this intensive but rather short duration therapeutic intervention. LSVT® empowers individuals by enabling them to maintain or regain functioning in their workplace or home environment. The strong theoretical and clinical research base behind LSVT® has demonstrated substantive results: New England Rehab Hospital has Certified Speech Language Pathologists who administer LSVT®. Indications
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