SPEAK OUT!® & The LOUD Crowd®
Speak-Out! ® and Loud Crowd® therapy is currently provided at the Robert L. Douglass Speech-Language Clinic located in the Department of Communication Disorders at Cal State LA.
What is SPEAK OUT!® & The LOUD Crowd®?
SPEAK OUT!® is a therapy regimen tailored to people with Parkinson’s disease to improve their voicing, and in turn, their swallowing. In this program, speech is transformed from an automatic function to an intentional task. SPEAK OUT!® is usually completed in 12 sessions spanning four to six weeks based on the needs of individual clients. After clients have participated in SPEAK OUT!®, they transition to the LOUD Crowd®. The LOUD Crowd® is the group therapy portion of the program and meets once weekly. The sessions provide maintenance for skills obtained during SPEAK OUT!® and are a source of camaraderie for the members. During their involvement in both individual and groups therapy, clients report improvement in their speaking, their ability to be heard, and their overall quality of life.
Both SPEAK OUT!® and the LOUD Crowd® were developed at Parkinson Voice Project in Richardson, TX. You can visit their website here.
When and where can I receive services?
SPEAK OUT!® is generally offered on Tuesday-Thursday mornings between 9:00 am and noon, but schedule changes may occur across different semesters. The LOUD Crowd® is offered on a weekly basis and is typically scheduled on a Tuesday or Thursday afternoon. Please contact the Robert L. Douglass Speech-Language Clinic for specific scheduling information. All sessions take place either in our on-campus clinic or virtually through telehealth.
SPEAK OUT!® and the LOUD Crowd® treatment programs at the Robert L. Douglass Speech-Language clinic are offered in both Spanish and English. All sessions are conducted by graduate student clinicians and supervised by Masters and Ph.D. level clinicians, all of whom hold the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
You can locate the application for services here (Clinic Adult Application – SO.LC (Fillable PDF).
I have Parkinson’s disease. When should I begin seeing a speech therapist?
According to studies, up to 89% of people with Parkinson’s disease develop difficulty communicating and up to 95% develop difficulty swallowing. To postpone and prevent this decline, it is optimal to begin speech therapy as soon as possible. Participation in SPEAK OUT!® and the LOUD Crowd® can change the effects that Parkinson’s disease has on your voice. Muscles become weak because they are not used to their full capacity, not because Parkinson’s is making them weak. SPEAK OUT!® and the LOUD Crowd® require clients to use the muscles for speaking and swallowing to their full potential to prevent decline.
What costs are associated with these services?
The Cal State LA Robert L. Douglass Speech-Language Clinic received a grant from the Parkinson Voice Project® to implement SPEAK OUT!® and the LOUD Crowd® therapy programs via teletherapy at no cost.
