RICHARDSON, Texas, Jan. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Parkinson Voice Project is now accepting applications through its website for the SPEAK OUT!® and LOUD Crowd® Grant Program Honoring Daniel R. Boone, PhD, CCC-SLP for 2019. This year, in addition to awarding grants to clinics across the United States, Parkinson Voice Project plans to award grants to five international speech therapy clinics. The grant is now open to any clinic globally able to utilize therapy materials in either English or Spanish. Grant applications are being accepted through March 1, 2019. Grant recipients will be announced in April 2019 during Parkinson's Awareness Month.
The grant program launched in 2018 with 92 grants awarded to speech therapy clinics throughout the United States. 34 of the grant recipients were university speech therapy clinics. More than 900 speech-language pathologists and graduate students were trained in SPEAK OUT!® & LOUD Crowd® therapy protocols through the 2018 grant program. Grant recipients received free SPEAK OUT!® & LOUD Crowd® training, speech therapy supplies, funding to support their groups, and a trip to Dallas-Fort Worth to visit Parkinson Voice Project's clinic for hands-on training.
Universities, hospitals, and nonprofit Parkinson's organizations interested in bringing Parkinson Voice Project's unique speech therapy program to their communities are encouraged to apply. Applying entities must have the physical space and clinical staff needed to provide both individual and group speech therapy to people with Parkinson's. 2018 grant recipients are also eligible to apply again to sustain their programs. Full eligibility requirements are available at http://www.parkinsonvoiceproject.org/GrantProgram.
"Our grant program was a huge success in 2018. We're excited to expand it this year, growing our international footprint. Parkinson's affects more than one million people in the U.S., and an estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide. 89% of people with Parkinson's are at high risk of losing their ability to speak and swallow. Our goal is to make quality speech treatment available to those living with Parkinson's around the globe," said Parkinson Voice Project's CEO & Founder Samantha Elandary.
The grants are being offered in honor of Dr. Daniel R. Boone, a world-renowned speech-language pathologist and voice expert, and a former president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Parkinson Voice Project's speech therapy program is based on Dr. Boone's teachings that individuals with Parkinson's can speak louder, clearer, and more expressive when they use intention and deliberation. Dr. Boone passed away in October 2018.
Parkinson Voice Project is the only nonprofit organization in the world solely dedicated to preserving the voices of those with Parkinson's and related neurological disorders. Parkinson Voice Project has developed an effective two-part speech therapy program combining one-on-one speech therapy (SPEAK OUT!®) with on-going, weekly group speech therapy (The LOUD Crowd®).
Together, the patient and the speech-language pathologist work their way through a series of speech, voice, and cognitive exercises outlined in a specialized workbook provided to every patient as a gift from Parkinson Voice Project. The program emphasizes "speaking with intent" and converts speech from an automatic function to an intentional act. Since the muscles used for speaking are the same used for swallowing, speech therapy affects more than just one's ability to communicate. SPEAK OUT!® and The LOUD Crowd® impact the quality of life for everything from conversing with family and friends, talking on the phone, and dining out at a restaurant.
Parkinson Voice Project raised more than $2 million this past holiday season in order to continue treating patients at its clinic in Dallas-Fort Worth and fund the grant program.
ABOUT PARKINSON VOICE PROJECT:
Parkinson Voice Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Parkinson Voice Project does not charge for its services or bill insurance. The organization was founded in 2005 and runs a speech therapy clinic in Dallas-Fort Worth, where SPEAK OUT!® and The LOUD Crowd® are available to anyone diagnosed with Parkinson's and Parkinson's-Plus Syndromes. The organization has been successfully funded through donations and the Pay It Forward concept since 2008. To date, Parkinson Voice Project has trained more than 1300 speech-language pathologists in its two-part therapy approach across the United States. Its international reach already includes clinicians trained in: Australia, Canada, Finland, Greece, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and New Zealand.
http://www.parkinsonvoiceproject.org/GrantProgram
SOURCE Parkinson Voice Project
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