Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 5-4-07
GREENSBORO, NC – Triad residents with communication, hearing, balance and swallowing disorders have a new alternative for diagnosis and treatment: the Speech and Hearing Program at Gateway University Research Park, which will hold an open house 4-7 p.m. May 10.
Millions of Americans suffer from these disorders as a result of stroke, cancer of the throat or Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s can cause sufferers, often unknowingly, to speak more quietly and less distinctly. Michael Jacobson, who has Parkinson’s disease, recently completed a four-week program of voice therapy at the clinic.
Working with Director Michael Campbell, Jacobson strengthened his voice during rigorous, hour-long exercise sessions four days each week. “It was like training for track, but training the voice,” said Jacobson, 49.
He repeated functional phrases, while Campbell monitored his decibel level. “What’s the homework situation?” was a phrase inspired by his 12-year-old son. Several of the others were in German to help prepare for his family’s upcoming move to Switzerland.
His graduation exercise included carrying on a conversation during lunch at a noisy restaurant, something he couldn’t have done four weeks earlier. That’s the kind of success story the clinic is shooting for.
“We’re looking at helping patients who have a decline in their communication skills and abilities,” Campbell said. “We’re striving to keep them at their maximum level of performance for as long as possible.”
Operated as part of the UNCG School of Health and Human Performance’s Healthy Aging and Living Initiative, the program is located at 5900 Summit Ave., Browns Summit, in the Mericka Building at the tree-shaded research park. In one room, microphones and computers chart the volume and pitch of a subject’s voice. The data can identify specific weaknesses, track changes between visits and design an effective treatment program.
A smaller room nearby has a dentist’s chair and a flexible endoscope, a slender piece of tubing equipped with fiber optics, to examine the delicate web of tissue in the larynx. Along with speech pathologists’ offices, the program offers a resource library and meeting space for patients, family members and support groups.
For now, the program is working with patients and their families at the research park. Beginning as soon as the fall, Campbell said, its staff could use web cams to provide remote consultations and therapy sessions.
“There’s nothing more rewarding to me than to help people communicate,” Campbell said.
The program’s hours are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Handicapped parking is available next to the building. For more information, call (336) 217-5120 or visit the program’s web site.
According to School of HHP Dean David Perrin, the program is the first phase of the Healthy Aging and Living Initiative. “The Initiative will provide a variety of health services currently limited or unavailable to the Triad’s aging population,” Perrin said.
It is based at the Gateway University Research Park off U.S. 29 near Bryan Park. The research park is a not-for-profit partnership between UNCG and NC A&T for economic development in the Triad. In addition to Gateway’s North Campus, home of the program, there is a South Campus near E. Lee Street and I-40.
