The Full Story
Improving quality of life for people with and affected by Parkinson's disease.
We've learned a lot since my dad's diagnosis in 2001. In order to take this knowledge and pay it forward, I went back to school. I graduated with a PhD from the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences department at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. My dissertation focuses on the effect of improvisation and storytelling have on quality of life measures for people with and affected by Parkinson's disease. I have run feasibility tests and clinical trials for two novel, online programs that have received great feedback from participants. They are:
Yes, And...eXercise!
Yes, And...eXercise is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Our mission is to provide safe, fun and kind place for people with and affected by Parkinson’s disease to connect, empower and enhance their lives through improvisation and storytelling. Improvisation has been shown in clinical trials to improve creativity, communication, and confidence. We employ the Pay it Forward model, meaning we don't charge for our Jam for Joy classes and we don't bill insurance.
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Please click here for more information and to sign up to play.
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Yes, And...eXercise is a proud sponsor of
Boys of Summer. We also offer another program called "Day One: PD Superheroes" (see below).
Day One:
PD Superheroes
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Day One: PD Superheroes is a novel, online intervention that aims to improve quality of life measures for people with Parkinson's. We completed the six-month pilot program in April 2021, with 16 participants from across the US and UK. The qualitative feedback was excellent, with all participants requesting a continuance and expansion of the program. We completed the second round of the program began in May 2022! We were funded for both programs by a generous community grant from the Parkinson's Foundation.
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We are now preparing for the latest iteration of the program: Day One: the Parkinson's Prison and the Hero's Journey to Escape!
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For more information, testimonials and interviews, please click on this link.