For people living with Parkinson’s, changes in speech and communication can be challenging. It’s important to watch for communication changes and take proactive steps to reduce their impact.
How Parkinson’s affects communication
Communication is multifaceted and includes speaking, writing, and body language. People living with Parkinson’s may experience changes to how they speak, the words they use, how their face and voice show emotion, and their handwriting.
While not everyone with Parkinson’s will experience communication difficulties, many do. Changes you may notice include:
- Quiet or hoarse voice
- Slurred speech
- Changes to rate of speech
- Reduced intonation
- Difficulty in expressing thoughts and ideas
- Needing more time to process information
- Difficulty paying attention
- Reduced facial expressions and body language
- Small, spidery handwriting
- Increased effort and fatigue when communicating
Helpful tips for improving communication:
- Stay relaxed
- Speak louder and slower
- Maintain good posture
- Take a deep breath before speaking and take top up breaths in long sentences
- Emphasise key words
- Use gestures
- Reduce background noise
- Seek advice from a speech pathologist for tailored strategies
Tips for maintaining communication skills
- Speech and communication skills require ongoing practice.
- Stay socially active – join a social or singing group, Fight Parkinson’s runs free Online Singing sessions fortnightly
- Maintain existing social activities and be creative to keep doing the things you enjoy, for example if evening fatigue is hard, meet for brunch instead of dinner
- Practice techniques learned in speech therapy
- Discuss new or changing challenges with your loved ones and health team
Inform yourself, inform your team
Parkinson’s affects everyone differently, sharing your experiences with your health team helps them provide the best support.
Speaking openly with your speech pathologist about changes in your communication will put them in the best position to give the advice that is most helpful for you. Consider sharing feedback from your friends and family about your communication as well as any changes you have noticed yourself.
It’s important to keep practicing your new strategies at home and to remember that some days will feel easier than others. On the harder days, it is key those around you know how to support you in making sure you’re not left out of the conversation.
Tips for communicating with someone living with Parkinson’s
Below are some tips you can share with your family, friends, and carers so that they can better communicate with you
- Be patient
- Allow extra time for responses
- Face the person you’re speaking with
- Use simple language where appropriate
- Check you have the listeners attention before you begin
- Take care not to misinterpret reduced facial expressions as disinterest
- Be honest when you haven’t understood something
- Remind the speaker of their strategies
- Be careful not to speak across them instead of to them
- Openly discuss communication challenges
Keep these tips on hand
Fight Parkinson’s has several downloadable resources that can help you remember these tips and strategies.
Feel free to share these sheets with your friends and family to ensure that you are not left out of the conversation.
The Fight Parkinson’s multi-disciplinary health team includes a speech pathologist.
Speak with us to explore the benefits of adding a speech pathologist to your health team. The Fight Parkinson’s team can also help you in finding peer support and singing groups that suit you. Call the Fight Parkinson’s information line on (03) 8809 0400.
