LSVT LOUD Speech Therapy for Parkinson disease

LSVT treatments help patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease (PD), can affect the ability to speak and be understood by others, and the ability to use the body in activities of daily living. There are effective treatments for PD used by Speech and Occupational Therapists at Rehabilitation Services. LSVT LOUD is an evidence-based, intensive speech treatment program, and LSVT BIG trains to improve movements for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.

Named for Mrs. Lee Silverman (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment), a woman living with PD, LSVT was developed by Dr. Lorraine Ramig and 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.

LSVT LOUD improves communication by helping PD patients speak with a voice and volume that's easy for others to hear and understand. The treatment is built on tailored exercises that strengthen the voice box (larynx) and speech system. The main focus of the treatment is to “speak LOUD!” , without shouting. The treatment is delivered during hour-long sessions, four times a week for four weeks. These sessions stress the idea of "thinking loud in order to speak loud" and uses exaggerated motions and behaviors.

LSVT BIG effectively trains improved movements for any activity, whether small motor tasks like buttoning a shirt or large motor tasks like getting up from a sofa or maintaining balance while walking. The treatment improves walking, self-care, and other tasks by helping people “recalibrate” how they perceive their movements with what others actually see. It also teaches them how and when to apply extra effort to produce bigger motions – more like the movements of everyone around them.

The founder of LSVT, Dr. Lorraine Ramig, started Parkinson's Disease rehabilitation research in 1983 while serving as Assistant Professor on tenure track in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Ramig was approached by a colleague who requested her assistance in treating a friend, Mrs. Lee Silverman. Dr. Ramig officially founded the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment program LSVT Global in 1985 in honor of the first patient who died before research was officially published and recognized as a medical discovery.

Want a better look?

WATCH THIS: LSVT LOUD Speech Therapy for Parkinson disease

This video clip is of a woman with Parkinson disease immediately before and after receiving LSVT LOUD speech therapy. LSVT LOUD is an effective speech treatment program with over 20 years of research. LSVT LOUD is delivered by speech clinicians who have been specially trained and certified in the LSVT LOUD program. LSVT LOUD is intensive (4 days/week for 4 weeks, one hour sessions) and focuses on training healthy vocal loudness and helping people with Parkinson disease relearn the sensory perception of normal vocal loudness.

Looking for LSVT LOUD Speech Therapy?

CCH is here for you. Speech Therapist Shelbi Polvado is the most recent member of the Rehab Services team to be certified in LSVT LOUD treatment. Wendy Echols, a Speech Therapist, is also certified in LSVT LOUD. Laura York, an Occupational Therapist, is certified in LSVT BIG.

CCH Rehabilitation Services has the most comprehensive rehabilitation services in the region, treating patients in their homes, in the hospital, and in our outpatient facilities, including the only therapeutic pool in the community. Learn more at cchwyo.org/physical-therapy.