Debra Belfanti, MS, CCC/SLP/L, a speech pathologist at Allied Services in Scranton, Pennsylvania, spoke about Lee Silverman Voice Treatment or LSVT LOUD at Allied Service’s “Managing Parkinson’s” presentation on August 24, 2010.
Background on Lee Silverman Voice Treatment
According to The National Center for Voice and Speech, LSVT is named after Mrs. Lee Silverman, who had Parkinson’s. Her family had difficulty hearing her speak. The purpose of the therapy is to encourage people to speak louder automatically in their daily communication.
Belfanti mentioned Parkinson’s disease affects people’s sensory systems and they feel as though they are already speaking loudly, even when they are not. She added Lee Silverman Voice Treatment attempts to get people to speak at a healthy vocal intensity.
Belfanti noted 89 percent of those with Parkinson’s disease have disordered speech, and only around four percent receive treatment to improve their speech.
Lee Silverman Voice Treatment encourages people to concentrate on one aspect of speech, loudness, instead of focusing on several areas, which can lead to cognitive overload. Belfanti said by speaking louder, people automatically take a deeper breath, open their mouths more, articulate better, and might also speak more slowly. Additionally, pitch can improve, as well as posture. People will sit up straighter and relax their shoulders. Also, the person can experience improved respiratory support.
Studies Investigating the Effects of LSVT
A study entitled “Swallowing and Voice Effects of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT): A Pilot Study” tested idiopathic Parkinson’s disease patients before and after receiving treatment, including assessments of their swallowing. The research concluded LSVT can be a helpful form of treatment for both improving vocal intensity and swallowing.
Another study called “Speech Loudness and Quality 12 Months after Intensive Voice Treatment (LSVT) for Parkinson’s Disease: A Comparison with an Alternative Speech Treatment” found that a year after receiving LSVT, the speech samples of participants were more likely to be perceived as “louder” and “better quality” than at pretest.
Length of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment
Patients go for treatment four days a week for four weeks. This leads to a total of 16 one-hour sessions. In addition, they are given daily homework, as well as daily carryover exercises. Belfanti noted Lee Silverman Voice Treatment is a high intensity program, and people must be willing to practice. Belfanti said the program is more than telling people to speak loudly. It teaches them how to speak loudly by practicing daily loudness exercises. She said they also teach patients how to calibrate themselves, adding it is easy for people to forget what level standard loudness is after they begin thinking their low intensity speech is normal.
According to The National Center for Voice and Speech, LSVT is used by patients in over 40 countries.
Sources:
National Center for Voice and Speech. “The LSVT Story…”
Sapir, Shimon, Lorraine Olson Ramig, Patricia Hoyt, Stefanie Countryman, Christopher O’Brien, and Margaret Hoehn. “Speech Loudness and Quality 12 Months after Intensive Voice Treatment (LSVT) for Parkinson’s Disease: A Comparison with an Alternative Speech Treatment,” Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica Vol 54(6) (2002): 296-303.
Sharkawi, A El., L. Ramig, J. A. Logemann, B. R. Pauloski, A. W. Rademaker, C. H. Smith, A. Pawlas, S. Baum, and C. Werner. “Swallowing and Voice Effects of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT): A Pilot Study,” J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 72 (2002): 31-36.
Anne Marie Coar - Anne Marie graduated with a degree in communication arts and minors in psychology, journalism, and business. Some of her articles have ...
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