[Speech disorders in Parkinson patients]

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is not only a disorder affecting locomotion, but often also causes speech problems. Functional impairment of articulation, phonation, prosody and also respiration may occur. Speech disorder is frequent in Parkinson's disease and often has an impact on the quality of life. Speech therapy is by no means offered as a matter of course to these patients. This article outlines the different approaches of speech therapy regarding respiration, loudness, articulation, prosody, and intonation. Speech therapy seems to be useful in patients with Parkinson's disease only if there is no cognitive impairment; success also depends on motivation and eventual frequent repetition of therapy series.