THE power of music will help locals suffering from Parkinson’s Disease manage their symptoms when the Southern Grampians Parkinson’s Peer Support Group starts their ParkinSong classes tomorrow.

The classes will begin tomorrow at the Lutheran Church Hall and will be run with assistance from Beth Tonissen, from the Hamilton Singers who will handle the musical aspect, Morna Semmens, an ex-speech pathologist, and Alannah Clarke and Claudia Napoli, who are speech pathologists from the Western District Health Service.

Southern Grampians Parkinson’s Peer Support Group founder, David Rendell said the singing program would be “a fun professional speech therapy session”.

“It’s a structured way of improving posture, breathing, and voice control,” he said.

“It’s been proven by various studies to benefit communication and physical talking but also benefits a whole range of other things including mental wellbeing.

“Depression is very common in people with Parkinson’s and so is anxiety, so singing has marvelous benefits.”

According to Melbourne University, ParkinSong is a singing-based program involving music therapy and speech pathology principles that can assist people suffering from Parkinson’s to speak louder and clearer.

The therapy works by strengthening participants’ voice and breathing, which improves their speech clarity, and increases their confidence.

ParkinSong was developed by Parkinson’s Victoria and researchers at the National Music Therapy Research Unit at the University of Melbourne, with over 300 people across the state now participating in the therapy.

Mr Rendell said the program had been in the works for a while and he was excited to finally bring it to the group.

“It’s more about improving some skills for life, and the singing is just a side part,” he said.

“It is both fun and very, very beneficial, a bit like a toothpaste with a flavour in it.”

Group volunteer, Morna Semmens said the singing sessions would also assist people with Parkinson’s disease to improve their gestures and facial expressions, which is another symptom of Parkinson’s.

Mr Rendell said there was a similar ParkinSong singing group in Warrnambool that has run for several years, which inspired him to bring the same therapy to locals.

“At the moment the group in Warrnambool has been very popular,” he said.

“We’re inviting people along with any neurological disease … it won’t be exclusively for Parkinson’s.

“I’m very confident if we can get people there, they will enjoy it.”

The Parkinson’s Peer Support Group received funding from a grant that went towards purchasing new music stands, percussion instruments, and running costs of the sessions.

“We’ve got music stands so people don’t have to hold the music and sing, as some of the participants have walkers, and we have percussion instruments for everyone to have,” Mr Rendell said. 

According to Parkinson’s Australia, Parkinson’s Disease is a complex progressive neurological condition that can affect anyone, with symptoms beginning when the brain can’t make enough dopamine to control body movements properly.

The condition is the second most common neurological condition in Australia and can have a variety of symptoms including muscle tremors and rigidity, pain, and sensory changes.