Tamplin, J; Vogel, A; Marigliani, C; Baker, FA; Davidson, J; Morris, ME; Mercadal-Brotons, M; Clements-Cortes, A
(World Federation of Music Therapy, 2017)
Communication impairment is one of the most common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, significantly impacting quality of life (Miller, 2012). Speech characteristics may include a soft, monotone, breathy or hoarse
voice quality, imprecise articulation, dysprosody and dysfluency (Skodda et al., 2013).
These characteristics, combined with reduced nonverbal communication, cognitive-linguistic impairment and poor self-perception of speech, make communication difficult and lead to self-consciousness, reduced likelihood to participate in conversation, and the avoidance of social interaction that requires speaking. Communication difficulties can compound issues of depression and related social isolation (Miller et al., 2006).