Group-based intervention of participants with Parkinson disease: Findings from a 6-month LOUD Crowd® program

Purpose: Approximately 70–80% of individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) experience some change in voice, and about 55% experience changes in articulation with disease progression. Although an extensive literature exists about the benefits of well-known treatment programs such as LSVT LOUD® and LSVT BIG®, limited studies are currently available that shed light on possible benefits of relatively new programs called SPEAK OUT!® and LOUD Crowd® across both speech and non-speech dimensions among participants with PD. Therefore, the current study examined the possible benefits of a group-based LOUD Crowd® program among participants with PD across multiple speech and non-speech domains (i.e., voice, swallowing, cognition, self-reported depression, and VRQOL) during six months. Methods: Participants included six individuals with PD in the treatment (TX) group who participated in a weekly hour-long LOUD Crowd® program. In contrast, the control (CN) group included three individuals with PD who did not receive any speech or cognitive treatment specific to their PD symptoms before or during the study. All participants were within mild-moderate severities of hypokinetic dysarthrias. Results: No statistically significant group differences were observed between the TX and the CN groups at the end of six months. However, descriptive analyses suggested that the TX group demonstrated improved performance for different areas, including the vowel space, live loudness levels, cognitive performance, swallowing abilities, and VRQOL scores compared to the CN group. Conclusions: The current study suggests possible benefits of a group-based LOUD Crowd® program among participants with PD for a variety of speech and non-speech areas of functioning.