Telerehabilitation for Communication and Swallowing Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Communication and swallowing disorders are highly prevalent in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The negative impact of these disorders on the quality of life of the person with PD and their families cannot be underestimated. Despite a demand for speech-language pathology services to support people with PD, many barriers to services exist. Telerehabilitation provides an alternate and complementary approach to in-person therapy that is patient-centered, enables timely assessment and intervention, and facilitates continuity of care throughout the course of the disease. This review explores the telerehabilitation applications designed for the management of the communication and swallowing disorders in PD, addresses the benefits and challenges of telerehabilitation, identifies future research directions, and highlights the potential of new technologies to enhance the management of communication and swallowing disorders and quality of life for people with PD.