UCA speech-language pathology students will gain specialized clinical experiences to treat Parkinson’s patients with the help of a recent grant awarded to the Speech-Language-Hearing Center.

Associate professor of communication sciences and disorders Towino Paramby applied for the Parkinson’s Voice Project grant on behalf of the SLHC at the beginning of the year and the grant was awarded to UCA April 1, 2022. The Parkinson’s Voice Project grant was given to 439 total universities, hospitals, clinics and private practices. UCA was chosen among two other institutions in the state, the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. 

With the grant, the SLHC received a free SPEAK OUT! & LOUD Crowd Training program for speech-language pathologists and graduate students that will prepare them for being able to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease.

“After receiving training, speech language pathologists and graduate students will be able to provide voice treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease,” Paramby said. 

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders professor and department chair Dee Lance said that this grant for the SLHC not only impacts pathology students but also the community. 

“All students enrolled in the [master’s] speech-language pathology program now have access to free training in the Speak Out therapy program. Speak Out is an evidence-based voice treatment program for use with individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, the SLHC can now provide Speak Out clinical services for individuals in the community with Parkinson’s disease. This is much needed in the community and will provide UCA’s speech-language pathology students with specialized clinical experiences,” Lance said. 

The SLHC is part of the Integrated Health Sciences Building on campus and serves as an outpatient clinic for both children and adults in the community with communication, cognitive and swallowing disorders. Students in the master’s speech-pathology program work under the direct supervision of certified speech-language pathologists and audiologists to give them experience and preparation for beginning internships or work in the field. 

The Parkinson’s Voice Project is a nonprofit organization and the purpose of the grant was to make quality speech treatment accessible worldwide, according to their website. 

“This grant program honors the late Daniel R. Boone, Ph.D., a world-renowned speech-

language pathologist who recognized in the 1950s that individuals with Parkinson’s could

improve their communication by ‘speaking with intent.’ Parkinson Voice Project’s highly effective speech therapy program is based on Boone’s teachings and combines education for the patient and family, along with individual and group speech therapy,” the website said. 

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. The disease is progressive and puts up to 90% of people with Parkinson’s at risk of losing their ability to speak, and 70% of the disease’s mortality rate comes from complications with swallowing, according to their website. 

This grant provides the Conway and Central Arkansas community with a program to help treat patients with Parkinson’s disease and teach speech-language pathology students and current pathologists how to provide voice treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease.