If you or someone you love is living with Parkinson’s disease, you already know how the condition can affect daily life, from the way a person walks and speaks to how they feel emotionally from one day to the next. Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT™) is an evidence-based approach that can support movement, speech, and overall wellbeing for people with Parkinson’s, and it can be delivered through telehealth from home.
What Is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that occurs when the brain produces insufficient amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in smooth, coordinated movement. Common symptoms include tremors, muscle rigidity, slowness of movement (bradykinesia), and difficulty with balance. Parkinson’s can also affect the voice, often causing softer and more monotone speech, as well as mood and cognitive function over time.
Approximately one million people in the United States are living with Parkinson’s disease, with tens of thousands of new diagnoses each year. There is currently no cure, but a growing body of research points to therapeutic interventions, including music therapy, as a way to support function and quality of life alongside medical care.
Neurologic Music Therapy™: A Research-Based Approach
Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT™) refers to a set of standardized clinical techniques for sensorimotor, speech-language, and cognitive training. NMT™ is grounded in research on how the brain processes rhythm and music, and how those processes can be applied in a therapeutic context.
Two NMT™ techniques are commonly used with Parkinson’s disease:
Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP) for motor control. TIMP involves playing musical instruments to exercise and retrain fine and gross motor skills. The rhythmic structure of music offers a predictable framework for practicing movements such as reaching, grasping, finger dexterity, and bilateral coordination, skills that carry over into daily activities. Playing a drum, keyboard, or simple percussion instrument in a structured way can support the motor pathways affected by Parkinson’s.
Vocal Intonation Therapy (VIT) for voice and communication. Parkinson’s disease can cause hypophonia, a softening and flattening of the voice that makes communication more difficult. VIT uses structured vocal exercises within a musical framework to strengthen respiratory support, increase vocal volume, and support the natural rise and fall of speech. Many clients describe singing as an approach that feels natural and helps them feel more able to communicate.
Why Telehealth Can Make This More Accessible
For people with Parkinson’s, getting to regular therapy appointments can be difficult, particularly as the disease progresses. Transportation and fatigue can make in-person visits harder to manage.
Key Takeaways
- Parkinson’s disease can affect movement, voice, mood, and cognition, and Neurologic Music Therapy addresses several of these areas.
- Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance (TIMP) and Vocal Intonation Therapy (VIT) support motor control and voice, respectively.
- Telehealth NMT™ is available to clients throughout the US through Middleton Music Therapy.
If you would like to learn more about how Neurologic Music Therapy might support you or someone you care about, Middleton Music Therapy offers a complimentary phone consultation. You can schedule one at www.middletonmusictherapy.com.