Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists best practice guidance for Parkinson's

This best practice guidance for speech and language therapists working with people with Parkinson's was jointly produced by Parkinson’s UK and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT). 

Last reviewed
Topic
  • Access to multi-disciplinary teams
Resource type
  • Publications
Profession
  • Speech and language therapist
Stage
  • Complex
  • Diagnosis
  • End of life
  • Maintenance

This guidance, developed collaboratively by Parkinson’s UK and the  Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), is intended to support speech and language therapists (SLTs) in the assessment and management of communication, eating, drinking, swallowing, and saliva issues in people with Parkinson’s. 

The guidance aims to support equality of access to effective therapies, encourage multidisciplinary working, and promote service development for specialist care. It highlights the importance of:

  • equality of access to therapies with good evidence
  • understanding the risks of deviating from the guidance for the care of people with Parkinson’s
  • supporting service development for specialist clinical care provision
  • acknowledging ‘red flags’, including when to refer patients on
  • encouraging the development of multidisciplinary working practices
  • identifying areas of further development, both clinically and in research.
Read the guidance

A collection of additional resources has also been developed to support speech and language therapists. 

Read resources for supporting people with Parkinson’s

Information for professionals to share with patients has also been produced. 

Access information for patients

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