Patient Mark Wilson approached Weston General Hospital because he is due to give the traditional Father of the Bride’s speech at his daughter’s wedding in August – and was worried that his stammer would prevent him.
A stammer is an unfortunate symptom of Parkinson’s disease for some patients and in Mark’s case was particularly pronounced.
Speech and Language Therapist Mike Richards was aware of an electronic technique called Delayed Auditory Feedback, which can help some Parkinson’s patients to improve their speech/hearing feedback pattern sufficiently to speak more normally. Unfortunately, the electronic devices on the market can cost up to £2,000 each.
It was while researching these machines on the internet on Mark’s behalf that Mike stumbled on the £7.50 iPhone app which claimed to have the same benefit and which he then downloaded and tried on Mark – with miraculous results.
Mark said: “It was like flicking a switch. As soon as I put the earpiece in my ear and started using the app, I sounded perfectly normal again. To me it sounds in my ear as if the device is repeating what I say back to me, but to the listener, it just sounds as if I am speaking perfectly normally.
“It is a minor miracle and has given me my old self back again.”
Mark, from Churchill, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 14 months ago, aged just 52, and has since had to sell his transport café business in Bristol and take early retirement. The disease had had an effect on his personality too.
He said: “I have always been a quick-witted person – always ready to come in with a funny response or a joke, but my stammer was making me keep quiet because I couldn’t get my words out in time.
“Now I have my confidence back and speaking at my daughter’s wedding holds no fears for me now – I’ll be fine.”
Speech and Language Therapist Mike Richards said: “We must stress that this technique does not work for everyone with a stammer – probably about a third of such patients – but when it works, as it did in Mark’s case, it is instant – just like flicking a switch and the difference is immense.
“It was fantastic to be able to track down something so innovative and inexpensive that has changed my patient’s life so drastically – it has made me very proud to be a speech and language therapist at Weston General Hospital and of the difference we can make.”
Weston Area Health NHS Trust Speech and Language Therapists are taking enthusiastic part in the Giving Voice Campaign, which is running throughout 2011 and is organised by their Royal College.
Communication impairments and speech therapy have been very much in vogue so far this year, largely because of the Oscar-winning success of the film The King’s Speech, which tells the story of how King George VI overcame his stammer with the help of his speech therapist Lionel Logue.
Speech and language therapists (SLTs) are specialists who enable people to develop or regain vital communication and swallowing skills. SLTs enable people to express themselves, to listen to and understand others.
Giving Voice aims to increase understanding of the role of speech and language therapy (SLT) and to show how SLT transforms lives, and releases value for Government, society and the economy.
Mike Richards said: “Speech and language therapists make a significant contribution in tackling many challenges and adding quality to life.
“Helping people with speech, language, communication and swallowing problems can have a far-reaching effect on health, wellbeing, educational attainment, reablement and reintegration into society.
“The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' Giving Voice campaign provides an ideal platform to champion the role of speech and language therapists.”
Further information on the campaign is available at www.GivingVoiceUK.org
For further information, please contact Caroline Welch, Head of Communications, on 01934 647091