Hi everyone
I am working with a man with PD. His voice is very quiet and it can take him a while to start speaking. This is a problem when he answers the phone. Sometimes it takes him so long or his voice is so quiet that they hang up on him.
Has anyone come across something that will tell the person on the other end that he has difficulties with speech and they need to be patient?
I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem and how you have got round this?
Hi, @Minou84. Firstly, a warm welcome to the community. I hope you find it useful and supportive.
Thank you for sharing this. It sounds like a really frustrating problem, and hopefully others here will be able to share anything that has worked for them.
It may also be worth speaking to his Parkinson’s nurse or specialist about a referral to a speech and language therapist. They can offer advice on speech difficulties and recommend technology or communication aids that might help, including options that could potentially be useful when using the phone.
You may want to check out a page on the website which covers speech and communication for people with Parkinson’s in great detail.
It also might be worth mentioning that our Tech Guide features a Speech Assistant AAC. It’s a text-to-speech app that lets you prepare frequently used phrases and can be used during phone calls. You can check it out here.
I hope this is helpful but you can also ask our trained experts for their advice on this via our free helpline : 0808 800 0303 (open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm and Saturday, 10am to 1pm).
Take care 
Parkinson’s UK Moderation Team
@Minou84 I am in a Parkinsons choir. Singing helps keep the voice strong. Maybe he could look for a local group?
Hi Minou, one idea: he could record a short message to play when he answers, like “please bear with me, I have a speech difficulty and may take a moment to respond.” Might take some pressure off that first moment. Hope he finds something that helps.
I hate making and answering calls, I never know what my voice and speech are going to do at that time, sometimes I stutter and know what to say but the words just wont come out in full sentences and have to change what I am trying to say, so I avoid phones if I can, luckily my wife understands what I am trying to say most of the time but it is very frustrating so I have full sympathy for anyone with this problem … Take care and wobble on regardless 