4 Easiest Exercises to speak Clearly in Parkinson’s

Slurred speech, reduced voice power, and increased rate of utterance are common among Parkinson’s fighters. This can further result in poor precision and strength of pronunciation, and reduction in expressive language complexity. Result? Difficulties in communication and reduced social interactions.

Worry not! Help is at hand. If you want your voice to be louder and stronger with better quality, attempt these exercises from the comfort of home. In fact, you can perform these exercises anytime, anywhere.

1 | Blowing through lips and tongue

Blow through lips. You can use your voice doing this, or you can perform this without making any sound. Subsequently, blow through your tongue. Shake out your face to end the exercise.

2 | Tongue exercises

(1) Make your tongue touch your teeth, on the front, top, the back top, the front bottom, and the back bottom. Initially, do this slowly. With practice over time, you can go faster. At the end of the exercise, blow through your lips and tongue.

(2) Bring your tongue tip to your alveolar ridge (little gum ridge right behind your front teeth). Now make the sound of “la” and bring the tongue tip down. Next, make the sound of “la, le, li, lo, lu” and you rest your tongue behind your bottom teeth each time.

3 | Lip movement 

Isolate your lip corners and bring them straight back. And then go into relaxation. Now bring them forward and return to neutral position. Repeat until you are tired.

4 | Yawning

Yawning works on your soft palate and contributes to better articulation in Parkinson’s. First, yawn on the right side and then yawn on the other side. If it helps, use your hands while yawning from different sides. Before ending the exercise, yawn on both sides.

Note: 

If performing any of these exercises get challenging, use a mirror. Watch yourself doing each exercise.

Since each individual’s Parkinson’s is different, above-mentioned exercise regime cannot be prescribed to everyone. Consult with a speech therapist beforehand.