SPEAK OUT!® is a therapy program tailored to people with Parkinson’s disease to improve their voice, speech, and overall communication skills. In this program, speech is transformed from an automatic function to an intentional task. SPEAK OUT! is usually completed in 8 sessions spanning four weeks, in person or via Zoom. In this four-week period, clients report improvement in their speaking, their ability to be heard, and their quality of life. Following this, individuals transition to the weekly SPEAK OUT! Group to maintain their communication skills. The group meetings also serve as a source of camaraderie for the members.

SPEAK OUT! was developed at Parkinson Voice Project in Richardson, TX.

At present, the pay-it-forward SPEAK OUT! program is being offered at no cost through participation in a research study investigating the effectiveness of this treatment on speech intelligibility and communicative participation. This means that clients are encouraged to make a donation to help future clients benefit from our program.