PD Apps
A good App should make your life easier, educate, entertain, inform, or enlighten. For someone with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who is seeking relief from a wide range of symptoms (voice, balance, tremor, gait, and memory to name a few) there just may be an App for your iphone or smart phone–and it may even be FREE!
The following are a just a few Apps that I have uncovered and use. While I have no medical data or solid evidence that they are making any real change, all I can do is suggest that you give it a try and see if they work for you. Here you go:
1) Voice Recorder – The voice recorder on the Ipod touch and Iphone is a marvelous tool to test the quality, strength, and loudness of your voice. The Program is simple to use and a great way to get instant vocal feedback on your own.
2) Speechie- Is a free text to voice App. The Program provides the user with a choice of 5 different voice options. All that is required is for the user to type in what he/she wants the voice to say, tap the button and the voice speaks what you wrote. It’s that easy! If you want to complicate it, the Program allows you to alter the speed and pitch of the voice. Speechie may be helpful for anyone who can still type but has difficulty with speech.
3) Sound Level-is a free App(or pay for a version) that monitors the loudness of sounds–it’s your own portable sound meter. This may just help you monitor and maintain a louder voice and keep people from asking you to speak up.
4) Lists-I love a good list and I find that a list can often help keep me organized. Lists is an organizational genie as it allows lists with sub-lists within sub-lists. The App is easy to use and worth the time!
5) Sleep Machine-has a free and paid App (paid App has more sounds) made to lull you to sleep. Select from a variety of sounds to send you off to lala-land. Crickets, wind chimes, and pouring rain are just a few of the many soothing sounds from which to choose. PD patients can face sleep problems that only exacerbate our symptoms when we aren’t totally refreshed. Now, there may be a free App to relax you and help you get a few more winks.
If you have any favorite PD related Apps, let me know!
I need all the help I can get. Thanks Karl.
Years ago (15 years ago!) just after my Mum died from MSA (although we thought it was PD) I wrote a communication app for the Apple Newton. It was designed for people who were having real problems communicating, had 3 different modes depending on how on/off the person was at the time etc.
I wonder if it isn’t worth resurrecting for the iPad, which seems it could be the dream device for such an application… no time to do anything at the moment, but I am keeping an eye out to see if anyone else has done something like it.
I am very interested to read this. My friend was diagnosed with PD about 18 months ago. She’s never been a computer user, but suddenly wants an iPhone. I was concerned that the tremor would make it difficult for her to use the touchpad interface of the phone, but it sounds like maybe that’s not such a worry.