Case Report: Effect of Intensive Voice Therapy on Speech Intelligibility in a Patient with Juvenile Parkinson Disease

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common nervous system disorders which may result in articulatory problems and consequently decrease in speech intelligibility. The reduction in the rate and the range of the articulators are main problems observed in patients with Juvenile Parkinson Disease (JPD). Such disorders may cause disturbances in the exact articulation of consonants and vowels. Changes in formant structures، in terms of time and frequency، are suitable tools to present the dynamicity of the articulatory system، especially tongue. Therefore، articulatory movements of patients with JPD can be analyzed and investigated through this way. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) is an intensive behavioral voice treatment which has been designed exclusively for patients with JPD. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of voice treatment on improving articulatory skills and the effect of improving articulatory skills on speech intelligibility in a patient with JPD. Methods and Materials: The patient was a 35 year old male، who was suffering from JPD which his speech was declined in intelligibility. An acoustic assessment and speech intelligibility tests before and after the treatment were conducted. Intensive voice therapy program includes 16 one-hour individual sessions، based on the principles of LSVT. Post-intervention، a significant increase in the voice intensity loudness، the duration of F2 formant transition and the patient`s speech intelligibly were observed. The effect of intensive voice treatment based on the LSVT principles are beyond the vocal intensity. Patients with JPD may receive benefits in their voice quality، articulation and speech intelligibility.