Parkinson Voice Project Grant Program

Speak Out!® & The LOUD Crowd®

The University of Mary’s Speech-Language Pathology Department received a grant through the Parkinson Voice Project Grant Program, which provides our students and faculty the opportunity for SPEAK OUT!® and LOUD Crowd® training, therapy materials, and ongoing support/funding to help individuals with Parkinson's disease improve their communication skills.

About the Therapy Program

SPEAK OUT!® is a therapy program for individuals with Parkinson’s disease that targets improved vocal loudness/quality, and, in turn, swallowing abilities. In this program, speech is transformed from an automatic function to an intentional task. The program is usually completed in 12 sessions spanning four weeks.

Upon completion of SPEAK OUT!®, the client transitions 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!®.

Up to 90% of people with Parkinson’s are at high risk of losing their ability to speak, and swallowing complications account for 70% of the mortality rate in this patient population. Our vision at Parkinson Voice Project is to make our highly effective speech therapy program accessible to people with Parkinson’s worldwide.

Samantha Elandary, Parkinson Voice Project’s Founder and CEO

This grant program honors Daniel R. Boone, PhD, CCC-SLP – a world-renowned speech-language pathologist and voice expert – who recognized in the late 1950s that individuals with Parkinson's could improve their communication by “speaking with intent." Parkinson Voice Project’s program combines individual and group therapy to convert speech from an automatic function to an intentional act.

About the Parkinson Voice Project

Parkinson Voice Project is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the world solely dedicated to helping individuals with Parkinson’s improve their speech and swallowing. The organization runs a speech therapy clinic in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and hosts the World’s Largest Parkinson’s Chorus.

Parkinson Voice Project hosts daily online speech practice sessions to support and encourage people with Parkinson’s globally. These sessions are available on the organization’s website.

Parkinson Voice Project has trained more than 3500 speech-language pathologists in its SPEAK OUT!® & LOUD Crowd® program, including clinicians in Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Greece, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Schedule an Appointment

The clinic is located in the School of Health Sciences on the university’s main campus in Bismarck. To schedule an appointment, call 701-355-8288 or email the clinic.

Email the Clinic