%0 Journal Article
%T The Dysarthria Impact Profile: A Preliminary French Experience with Parkinson¡¯s Disease
%A Alban Letanneux
%A Margaret Walshe
%A Fran£¿ois Viallet
%A Serge Pinto
%J Parkinson's Disease
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/403680
%X This preliminary study aimed to adapt the Dysarthria Impact Profile (DIP) in French and to confirm its relevance for the assessment of the psychosocial impact of dysarthria in Parkinson's disease (PD). The DIP scale was administered to 10 people with PD and 10£¿age-matched control subjects. The DIP psychometric properties were calculated (discriminant validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity), notably by using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) for interscale comparisons. The French version of the DIP discriminated people with PD from control subjects ( test, ). Good internal consistency was observed in both populations (Cronbach¡¯s for PD people and for control subjects). The DIP was highly correlated with the VHI (Spearman¡¯s , ), confirming the external validity of the scale. There was no direct relationship between PD speech and quality of life as assessed by the Parkinson¡¯s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). Our preliminary data suggest that the French version of the DIP has the potential to make a useful contribution for the assessment and outcome management in acquired dysarthria for both clinicians and researchers. 1. Introduction Improving quality of healthcare and encouraging clinicians to adopt a more holistic approach to the assessment and treatment of patients were significant contributions of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF), promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the 2001 international conference in Geneva [1] to the field of speech sciences. Since the adoption of this framework, considering patients¡¯ personal feelings regarding physical, psychological, and social domains has received increasing interest over the last decade. Classical assessment procedures now aim at including evaluations of quality of life and well-being in populations with communication impairments [2]. However, the few tools available for the investigation of the psychological and social impact of oral communication deficits mainly focus on voice and speech production disorders [3¨C6]. Hypokinetic dysarthria in Parkinson¡¯s disease (PD) is a motor speech disorder that arises as a consequence of a neurodegenerative process. Around 70% of people with PD are affected to some degree by voice and speech impairment [7], leading one to consider that communication impairment is highly prevalent and debilitating in this population. Indeed, people with PD are less likely to participate in conversations, or to have confidence in social interactions [8]. Several studies suggest that as PD progression is associated
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/pd/2013/403680/