Experiences of group intervention for speech in PD (Körner Gustafsson & Schalling, 2025)

Purpose: This study aimed to explore and describe subjective experiences and feelings related to speech and communicative function for a group of individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and whether these changed after participation in HiCommunication, an intensive group intervention program focusing on speech and communication for individuals with PD.

Method: Seven individuals who had completed the 10-week program participated in individual semistructured interviews that were transcribed and analyzed with content analysis.

Results: Eight subthemes grouped into three main themes emerged during the analysis, including communication challenges, insights from treatment, and practical considerations.

Conclusion: The overarching theme, speech and communication training as a tool to respond to communication difficulties, describes that a group speech and communication treatment program, HiCommunication, may help individuals with PD form and implement strategies to maneuver negative emotional stress related to communication and decrease the risk of social isolation.

Supplemental Material S1. COREQ (COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research) Checklist.

Körner Gustafsson, J., & Schalling, E. (2025). “It is no solution to sit and keep quiet”: Experiences of communicative function in people with Parkinson’s disease following participation in a group intervention for speech and communication. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-24-00222