South County Home Health BIG & LOUD

For individuals with Parkinson's Disease or other neural conditions - Keep Your Movement Alive!

South County Home Health offers both physical/occupational therapy (LSVT BIG) and speech therapy (LSVT LOUD) programs for individuals with Parkinson's Disease or other neural conditions. South County Home Health staff are certified professionals in the LSVT BIG and LOUD programs.

LSVT® BIG

Research on LSVT BIG has documented improved ratings on tests of motor functioning in people with Parkinson's Disease following treatment. LSVT BIG will teach you how to avoid inactivity and keep your movements ALIVE during everyday activities. It will help you participate fully and improve the quality of your life!

Improvements include:

• Faster walking with bigger steps
  
  
• Improved balance
  
  
• Increased trunk rotation
  
  

LSVT BIG treatment consists of:

• 16 sessions: 4 consecutive days a week for 4 weeks
  
  
• Individual 1 hour sessions
  
  
• Daily homework practice
  
  
• Daily carryover exercises
  
  

LSVT BIG treatment:

• Trains a single target of amplitude (bigger movements)
  
  
• Drives intensive and high-effort practice
  
  
• Teaches the amount of effort required to produce normal movements
  
  
• Translates bigger movements into real-world, everyday activities
  
  
• Empowers people with Parkinson's Disease with their potential to improve!
  
  

LSVT (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT®) BIG is a research-based exercise approach developed from principles of the effective Parkinson's specific speech treatment LSVT Loud. LSVT BIG is a standardized treatment protocol that will help you establish a life-long habit of BIG practice!

The LSVT Programs have been developed and scientifically researched over the past 20 years with funding from the National Institutes of Health. Research suggests that you should NOT wait until you begin to experience disability, impaired function or loss of balance to start exercise-based physical and occupational therapy.

LSVT® LOUD

Virtually every person (89%) with Parkinson Disease will have problems with speech that start early in the disease process and that will progressively diminish their quality of life.

Common speech problems include:

• Soft voice
  
  
• Mumbled speech
  
  
• Monotone speech
  
  
• Hoarse voice
  
  

Medicine and neurosurgery may dramatically improve other symptoms of Parkinson Disease, but they typically don't help speech disorders. The most effective way to improve speech is through speech therapy.

LSVT LOUD is:

• One month
  
  
• One hour per day
  
  
• Four days per week (16 individual treatment sessions)
  
  

LSVT LOUD research has demonstrated:

• Improved vocal loudness
  
  
• Improved speech intelligibility
  
  
• More facial expression
  
  

In addition, research has documented a positive impact on neural functioning.

Today LSVT LOUD is being delivered in 40 countries by more than 4,000 LSVT certified clinicians.

Tips to Maximize Communication

• Unless you think you are speaking too loudly, you are probably not talking loud enough.
  
  
• See a speech therapist:
  
  

1. Get a baseline assessment of your speech as soon as possible

2. Learn to increase loudness in a healthy way without straining your voice

3. If you cough or choke while eating, have a swallowing assessment

• Don't trust your brain to tell you when you ar speaking loud enough. Parkinson Disease and other neurological conditions can often cause faulty feedback
  
  
• Your speech will become louder and easier to understand when you learn LSVT LOUD.
  
  

For more information about the LSVT® BIG and LOUD programs visit www.LSVTGlobal.com.