Disability- Parkinson’s Disease By Michaela, Chloe and Megan

What is Parkinson's disease? Parkinson’s disease is caused by people not having enough of a certain chemical called dopamine. This happens because some of their nerve cells in their brain have died. There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s as researchers do not know why people get the condition. As sufferers don’t have enough dopamine their movements become slower this results in it to taking them longer to do things. Parkinson’s disease itself doesn’t cause people to die however the symptoms get worse overtime (1).

How to communicate with people with Parkinson’s disease? Sitting or standing comfortably can help, as can speaking slowly and clearly. A service provider may find it easier to use other forms of communication, such as email or the internet. Occupational therapy can help with problems with writing. An occupational therapist can also advise on practical ways to make communication easier, such as customising a computer. Physiotherapy may help improve body language

How does Parkinson’s effect communication? - Speech Parkinson’s disease can effect someone’s speech, writing and non-verbal communication. An individual may have slurred speech, husky, unsteady, or quieter voice. Their voice can also sound monotonous, all of these speech problems can make everyday activities such as; talking to friends, and using the phone. They can find it hard to control how quick they speak, and they also struggle to interrupt conversations and follow fast changing topics and this can lead to minimal responses.

How does Parkinson’s effect communication? - Writing People who have Parkinson’s disease can experience problems with their hand writing, it can become spidery and/or difficult to read. Sometimes their writing can start off normal but become smaller and smaller the more they write, this is known as micrographia. Someone who was diagnosed with Parkinson's said her handwriting used to be fine but when she was diagnosed it became almost impossible to read , therefore she now uses a computer because it allows her to keep communicating.

How does Parkinson’s effect communication? – Non-verbal communication Facial expressions and body language are forms of non-verbal communication, and people can pick up a lot of information about someone from their expressions and body language. But these can be affected by Parkinson’s, people may misinterpret your feelings or mood due to reduced facial expressions and or altered hand gestures and body posture. For some people these problems can be permanent, but for others it may only be at certain times.

Bibliography 1) 20th April 2015 http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/content/what -parkinsons WWW page 2) 20th April 2015 parkinsons.org.uk