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Seminar offers help for Parkinson's sufferers Michael Ferraresi The Arizona Republic Jul. 24, 2003 12:00 AM SCOTTSDALE - Parkinson's disease patients, their families and their personal caregivers have the opportunity to learn from experts on the illness Friday during a free seminar in Scottsdale. Speech clinicians trained in the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, a therapy developed at Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, will host a workshop at Scottsdale Chaparral Suites Hotel from 12:30 to 3 p.m. to benefit Parkinson's patients whose voices and swallowing have been affected by the neurological disease. It affects the part of the brain that is involved with movement. Most Parkinson's patients suffer from inhibited speech or voice. LSVT founder Dr. Lorraine Ramig and 12 expert clinicians will work with patients Friday. The seminar is limited to 100 people, but reservations are still available. The workshop is a two-day event, with the first day focusing on training Arizona clinicians and speech therapists. The second day will begin with a lecture on the treatment, followed by a hands-on therapy session. The technique, named after Lee Silverman of Scottsdale whose family owns Chaparral Suites, is more intensive than other Parkinson's therapies. Unlike other speech therapy programs for Parkinson's patients that may only involve two or three sessions, the LSVT program involves about 16 voice therapy sessions in the course of a month. The techniques give patients practical information about how to speak more loudly and articulate more clearly. Patients will also learn exercises they can practice at home. "It's kind of an empowering way of dealing with one aspect of their disorder," Ramig said. SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZ http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0724neparkinsons24.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn