HUNTSVILLE — They’re known as the “Loud Crowd.”
But, they’re loud in a good way.
Loud Crowd classes and Speak Out! services are part of the speech therapy program provided by the Huntsville Hospital’s Parkinson’s Care Clinic.
“They’re like an add-on to speech therapy,” said Clinic Director Erin Edmundson. “It’s a group exercise for your voice.”
Exercise is a key part of therapy for Parkinson’s disease patients. While there is no known cure for Parkinson’s, regular physical, occupational and speech therapy is thought to slow the progression of symptoms.
“Exercise is everything,” Edmundson said. “Arms, legs, your mind, voice.”
And that includes vocal exercises. The program is designed to help those with Parkinson’s preserve their voices.
“With Parkinson’s, everything is going to slow down,” Edmundson said. “The volume of the voice gets lower, slower.
“A lot of times people don’t realize their voice is lower.”
Edmundson said the exercises use the same muscles as swallowing and a lot of Parkinson’s patients die from respiratory problems.
“That’s the importance of Loud Crowd,” she said.
There are clinics in the Huntsville Hospital Medical Mall and at the Madison Wellness Center. The program focuses on the individual patient needs through continual reassessment, treatment and support across the lifespan of the disease.
Patients have access, with physician referral, to these specialized services:
- Evaluation and Needs Assessment
- Fitness Assessment
- Health Screenings
- Nutritional Consultation
- Evaluation and Treatment:
- Physical Therapy
- Aquatic Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech Therapy
“The healthier a person is, the better they take care of themselves,” Edmundson said. “They an advocate for themselves.”
Edmundson said that is the reason Huntsville Hospital started the Parkinson’s Care Clinic six years ago.
“It started with just me and now we have a team of 15,” she said. “We utilize the team approach. You can come in and see a physical therapist, speech therapist, have a fitness assessment.
“It’s one-stop shopping.”
Edmundson said the team also goes on the road to “outlying areas.”
Through a grant from the Parkinson Foundation, the interdisciplinary clinics are able to provide services beyond Huntsville and Madison.
“We get out to reach people who don’t have access,” she said.
Edmundson said there will be a mobile clinic June 9 in Guntersville at the Marshall Medical Center North on U.S. 431. For information, email her at [email protected] or call the Marshall Center at 256-571-8857.
“We want to make it easy for the patients,” she said.
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