NSDA WALK FOR TALK

October 11, 2021

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NSDA Walk for Talk on Camelback Mountain!

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The 2021 Walk for Talk is a 5 day event to benefit the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association (NSDA) with a goal of raising awareness of spasmodic dysphonia and raising money to fund research and find a cure. Whether alone or with a group, the “walkers” can decide on any sport, activity, or walk length (run, bike, hike, golf, surf, swim, team sports, etc.) all with the goal to support NSDA and all those people around the world who have spasmodic dysphonia.  In 2020, over $114,000 was raised (and matched) and so far the NSDA has funded two research grants with more applications in line for consideration.

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Just in case you haven’t heard of it, spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a task-specific focal dystonia impacting the muscles that control the larynx. The muscles only spasm when being used for speech/voiced tasks, and not when at rest. People with SD experience “breaks” or “spasms” in their voice, especially on specific sounds: often individuals with ADductor SD exhibit “breaks” on hard vowels/voiced sounds and those with ABductor SD exhibit “breaks” on breathier/voiceless sounds. The voice can sound strained, tight, strangled, breathy, or whispery. People with SD can also experience significant feelings of vocal effort, vocal fatigue, and also often demonstrate some compounding muscle tension/hyperfunction. Symptoms occur in the absence of any structural abnormality of the larynx. Currently, there is no cure for SD, but Botox injections are considered the gold standard treatment and often (most optimally) in conjunction with voice therapy. Per the NSDA website, SD is estimated to affect approximately 50,000 people in North America, but this number may be inaccurate due to ongoing misdiagnoses or undiagnosed cases of the voice disorder.

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I am grateful to be a part of the NSDA’s Valley of the Sun Spasmodic Dysphonia support group along with a colleague and friend of mine @scharns.  We provide the speech pathology viewpoints during the meetings and truly cherish the opportunity to get closer to the group’s incredible members each month. For this year’s Walk for Talk, we hiked Camelback Mountain and shared a message from the top! It is our honor to help patients with SD and be a part of such a wonderful group within the NSDA.

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