Stanford PD Community Blog

Parkinson’s Foundation hosted a webinar in mid-September 2020 on Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD) and how it affects people and their families. The speaker was Allison Allen, social worker with Parkinson’s Foundation. She discussed the difference between PD and Young Onset PD, interdisciplinary care, and steps to living well with YOPD. 

Parkinson Society of Southwestern Ontario hosted a webinar in mid-September 2020 on communication strategies for caregivers when speaking with people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The speaker was Kerry King, speech-language pathologist at Connect Speech Therapy Center in Ontario, Canada. She discussed common caregiver concerns around communicating and PD, provided strategies for improving communication, and answered questions from the audience.

On November 19-20 the Upper Midwest Chapter of the APDA hosted a Parkinson’s Symposium.  On the second day, movement disorders specialist Dr. Lynn Struck spoke about the What and Why of Parkinson’s Medications.  She gave a quick summary of every medication related to treatment of Parkinson’s symptoms, including the mechanism of operation, what it is best used for, side effects, and dosages.  If you have ever been confused about why you are taking one thing and another person with PD is taking something different, watch this webinar!

On January 6th the Parkinson’s Foundation Wellness Wednesday topic was Thinking Changes in Parkinson’s – Engaging Neuropsychology. This was the first in a short series of Wellness Wednesdays focusing on cognition.  The new cognition series will be the first Wednesday in January, February, and March.  

In this talk Travis Turner, PhD, explained why you might be referred for a neuropsychological evaluation, what is done during such an evaluation, how the information learned during an evaluation is used, and tips for performing your best during an evaluation.  After the talk he answered several questions about coping with cognitive changes when you have PD or are caring for someone with PD.

CurePSP hosted a day-long conference in mid-November. One of the topics covered was nutrition, including weight loss, dysphagia (swallowing problems), and healthy eating for us all. Much of the lecture notes are of interest to those dealing with Parkinson’s disease (PD), not just progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). However, the short sections on frontotemporal dementia and impulsive eating do not apply to PD.