John’s Story
I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1996 after a friend noticed that I was swinging only one arm when I walked. The disease progressed to the point where, in 1990, I had trouble walking: my body would just freeze. So I looked for tools to help me concentrate on moving my legs. I had a little stuffed animal that I could kick along the floor, thus giving my feet a job to do.
More recently, my speech became more and more difficult for people to understand. It was a combination of stuttering, trying to get the words out too fast, and mixing words up. My speech therapist, Lauren Brock, MS, CCC-SLP, handed me
a popsicle stick with some
round Velcro dots on it and instructed me to speak one word as I touched each dot. Another tool. The stick had me slow down, think about each word, and talk (albeit slowly) so that I could be understood.
And that’s when a friend of mine, Art Lieberman, suggested that we should create talking sticks on his 3D printer for other people who have trouble forming their sentences. Thus: My Talking Stick™ was born.
Purchasing:
You may purchase My Talking Stick for $2 each. Payments can be made with PayPal, by credit card, or with a check.
Contact us at
Info@MyTalkingStick.com.
