A series of podcasts have been specially recorded to assist younger people with Parkinson’s get access to advice from people living with the condition.
For those that have been on a Fighting Fit weekend you will recognise me as one of the co-founders and facilitators of FF. I also work with the Younger Parkinson’s Alliance (YPA) who have been busy during lockdown making this series of podcasts.
The YPA is a group affiliated to Parkinson’s UK who meet regularly to further the needs of pwp who have been diagnosed under 50yrs old, referred to as young onset Parkinson’s disease (YOPD), which brings a whole new set of additional challenges.
We try to answer the questions “How do I manage this situation and do it well over several decades. I have a life to lead, family to support, job to do…. and I’m under 50 with Parkinson’s…….help!”. YPA tries to give people in this position practical advice from experts and people who are living with the condition.
Coping with all the pressures of normal life (and Covid!) has been broken down into 6 key topics as follows:
- Diagnosis
- Medication
- Exercise
- Finances (Release shortly)
- Employment (Release May 2021)
- Relationships (Release July 2021)
For each topic there is a 45 – 60 minute podcast with 3 panelists who each have YOPD. They share their real-life experiences, tips, things to avoid and “must dos”. We have also involved experienced, subject-matter experts. The podcasts are both light hearted with practical discussions between pwp from different backgrounds and different parts of the country.
Each episode is self contained and you can listen to them in any order. You may want to listen regardless of your age – the information is useful to all pwp.
The YPA website address where all the released Podcasts can be found is as follows: www.youngerparkinsonsalliance.org
Happy listening!
Pat Salter