Category: Parkinson’s Disease

We welcomed Physical Therapist Yuliya Jackson to our March 6 Zoom meeting to speak to us about preventing and minimizing falls. As a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy and a Vestibular-Certified Specialist who is LSVT-BIG certified, she is well-versed on the topic. According to Yuliya, falls are a big problem! About 60% of people with Parkinson’s experience a […]

Falls. Always on our minds. During our Just-Us Share Time meeting in September of 2022, when we talked about fears, all of us mentioned fear of falling as one of our biggest fears. Not so much the act of falling itself, but what could happen—and has happened to some of us—as a result of a fall. Some of […]

We welcomed Occupational Therapist Donna Jackson to our February 7 in-person meeting in Reston. Donna has worked as an OT for over 25 years, both in outpatient clinics and as a visiting home health therapist. She currently divides her week between home visits (three-days-a-week) and a clinic setting (two-days-a-week). Home health occupational therapy is covered […]

Many of us have worked with physical therapists to improve our strength, balance, coordination, and movements, as well as speech therapists to address soft voice, swallowing and communication issues. Some of us have also participated in the LSVT BIG and LSVT LOUD programs, developed specifically for Parkinson’s. What about Occupational Therapy, often referred to as OT. Where does […]

We are all too familiar with the major motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, the ones that affect our physical movement and function: bradykinesia (slow movements), resting tremor, muscle rigidity, and posture and balance issues. These symptoms are what originally drove most of us to seek a diagnosis and ultimately, to learn how to live with and […]

It was great seeing all of you who were able to attend December’s holiday lunch meeting, where we welcomed two new women to our group. One who was diagnosed just a few months ago commented, “All I’ve been hearing and reading about is exercise is good and everyone’s experience is different.” That about sums it […]

I don’t know about you, but having five Thursdays in November has really thrown my internal schedule off. Thanksgiving felt like it came early and our upcoming December meeting date has crept up on me and is suddenly a week away. Hopefully you already have the 2023/2024 meeting dates marked on your calendars. We are planning on a […]

Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Aviva Ellenstein, M.D. Ph.D., a Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Neurologist at Washington Brain and Spine Institute. She will speak to us via Zoom from 1:00-2:00 p.m. followed by Just-Us Share Time for the rest of our meeting.   Please plan to sign in 10-15 minutes prior as Dr. Ellenstein will begin […]

Meeting Details: Date: Wednesday, October 4 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm Place: Our usual classroom location Topic: Just-Us Share Time OUR PERSONAL PARKINSON’S JOURNEY. NIH defines Parkinson’s as “a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by both motor and non-motor features.” That’s a pretty vague definition, if you ask me. So I googled Parkinson’s symptoms for more specifics […]

It was so great to be together in the Zoom room on Wednesday, September 6. Our guest speaker was Speech-Language Pathologist Susan Wranik, whose years of experience and extensive knowledge informed her talk on the swallowing challenges and vocal issues of Parkinson’s. She shared her enthusiasm, passion, and positivity with us, as well as her […]