Objective: SPEAK OUT!^® and LOUD Crowd^® programs target the communicative functioning of people with Parkinson disease (PD). The current study includes findings from a year-long LOUD Crowd^® program for people in early to mid-stages of PD.

Background: Each year approximately 60,000 people are newly diagnosed with PD. About 70-80% of people with PD experience some degree of change in voice and about 55% experience changes in articulation during the disease progression (Miller, 2012). Currently limited studies exist that have reported 6-months or longer duration effects of SPEAK OUT!^® and LOUD Crowd^® programs on voice & communicative functioning of people with PD.

Method: The study included two groups- a treatment (TX) and a control (CN) group (of participants waitlisted to be enrolled in the SPEAK OUT!^® & LOUD Crowd^® program). All participants were recruited from a hospital & outpatient clinic referrals based in Burnet (Texas). The average age range for both groups was 70s. Average disease duration for both groups were comparable with TX group at 4.5 years and CN group at 4.8 years. At baseline, both TX and CN groups included 6 male and 3 female participants. Three CN participants moved to the TX group at 1 month after baseline testing. All participants were found to demonstrate mild to moderate disease severity as assessed by the Modified Hoehn & Yahr scale. Participants completed the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS-2), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) at baseline, 6-months, and at the end of 12-months. The current study includes comparisons between baseline and 12-months.

Results: All raw test scores were first converted to z-scores due to different scaling of instruments. The baseline and 12-month scores were compared using non-parametric tests due to a non normal distribution of the sample. Although Wilcoxon signed ranking test indicated no statistically significantly group differences between baseline and 12-months (p > .05), participants in the TX group showed trends of either similar or improved scores for BDI-II, DRS-2, SDQ, and VHI at the end of 12 months when compared to the CN group.

Conclusion: The current study limitations included a small sample size. Additional studies with larger set participants and disease duration and variability can be helpful to best determine the possible long-term benefits of a LOUD Crowd^® program on people with PD.

References: Miller, N. (2012). Speech, voice and language in Parkinson’s disease: Changes and interventions. Neurodegenerative Disease Management, 2(3), 279-289. Parkinson’s Foundation. (2021). Retrieved on March 6, 2021 from https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/findings-from-a-community-based-loud-crowd-program-for-people-with-parkinson-disease/