Parkinson Voice Project

Specialties

Texas Voice Project provides voice treatment to people with Parkinson disease and related neurological disorders. Patients are scheduled for a combination of individual and group sessions. With intensive voice sessions and daily practice, patients have reported improvements in breath support for speech, vocal volume, articulation, vocal quality, prosody of speech, a reduction in drooling, and an improvement in swallowing. All treatment is provided by master’s-level speech-​language pathologists who are certified by the American Speech-​Language-​Hearing Association.

History

Established in 2005.

In 1998, Medicare reduced reimbursement rates for rehabilitation services. As a result, services at many outpatient hospital clinics were reduced.

Because she felt her Parkinson’s patients could no longer receive adequate, affordable care, Samantha Elandary resigned from her position at a Dallas hospital in search of alternatives. Her patients needed both intensive therapy and ongoing support to improve their quality of life.

After 6 years of struggling to provide therapy on a volunteer basis in her home, the National Parkinson Foundation made a 3-​year commitment to help Samantha launch Texas Voice Project for Parkinson Disease.

TVP grew from 1 weekly speech maintenance group to 6 and from 2 speech-​language pathologists to 5. It was clear that TVP was outgrowing the space they shared with a physical therapy clinic. In early 2008, TVP moved into a new facility. In 2009, TVP and NPF fulfilled their 3-​year relationship, and TVP is now serving the needs of its community independently.

Meet the Manager

Samantha E.

Manager

The Executive Director and Co-​Founder of Texas Voice Project for Parkinson Disease, Samantha graduated from the University of North Texas with her bachelor’s in communication disorders and English and her master’s in speech-​language pathology. She worked for 6 years in a Dallas hospital where she treated speech and swallowing disorders in patients with neurological diseases. She developed a special interest in treating Parkinson’s patients and was fascinated that this population could make tremendous improvements if provided intensive therapy.

In 2005, with the support of her mentor, Jim West, and the National Parkinson Foundation, Samantha started Texas Voice Project for Parkinson Disease. Samantha is married and has two children. She enjoys cooking Lebanese and Italian food.