Parkinson’s Foundation Care Partner Program
Taking Care of Care Partners A big part of making life better for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is taking care of the people who care for them.
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Heather Simpson, OTR/L
Heather Simpson graduated with a B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science with a minor in Early Education from the University of Florida in 2007. Following her Bachelor’s degree, Heather received a Master’s in Occupational Therapy, in 2009, from the University of Florida. Since completion of graduate school, she has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient neurology, inpatient physical rehabilitation and pediatric rehab. Currently, Heather splits her time between Shands Rehab at UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration and Shands Rehab for Kids at Magnolia Parke.
Heather provides occupational therapy evaluations and treatment for patients seen in the Ataxia clinic and Muscular Dystrophy clinics. She also evaluates and treats a variety of other movement disorders diagnoses including Parkinson’s, Parkinsonisms, Dystonia, Essential Tremor and Tics/Tourette’s Syndrome.
Heather has received specialized training for LSVT BIG ® and Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT).
Romance and Intimacy in Parkinson’s Disease
February is known as the month of love. With the popular holiday, Valentine’s day, this month often encourages people to express their love for their loved ones and reminds romantic partners to re-focus on their relationships. However, research shows that a diagnosis of a neurodegenerative condition, such as Parkinson’s disease…
Managing Freezing of Gait
Written by : Ali Kraus, PT, DPT, NCS and Kim Patton, PT, DPT, modified from original post of Meredith Defranco, PT, DPT What is Freezing of Gait Freezing occurs when…
13-year-old aspiring sportscaster interviews his heroes to raise awareness of Tourette syndrome
Advocacy and Awareness Interview with Soccer Star Tim Howard Noah Schlicksup, a teen living with Tourette syndrome and a patient at UF Health, uses his social media platform to interview…
The Mediterranean Diet and Parkinson’s Disease
Written by: Elena Smith, UF Dietetic Intern, Carley Rusch, MS, RDN, LDN & Matthew Beke, MS, RDN, LDN If you or someone you know has Parkinson’s disease (PD), you may have wondered what the best diet is for a person with PD. The 2015-2020 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans…
Caregiver Digest July-August 2020
Contributed by Kathy Mason Coffee Break: The emotional Roller coaster of Caregiving According to AARP, six in 10 caregivers provide care for adults with a long term physical condition such…
Returning to School with TS during COVID
It can be difficult for children with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and the co-occurring conditions to handle transitions and changes in their daily life, and transitioning back to school can be particularly hard. Historically, the start of the school year can lead to an increase in tics, anxiety or other TS-related…
Caregiver Digest June 2020
Contributed by Arlene D’Alli, MSW, LCSW and Kathy Mason It’s been said that PD is a “snowflake disease” as no two patients present the same. However, there are many similarities in the caregiver’s journey of how to most successfully deal with it. Caregivers of PD patients are resilient. They…
The Importance of Oral Care in Parkinson’s Disease
By: Lindsay Arena, MA, CF-SLP Swallowing dysfunction is frequent in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is commonly associated with aspiration pneumonia, which is the leading cause of death in PD. Aspiration pneumonia is a bacterial infection in the lungs that occurs when saliva, food, liquid, or regurgitated material enters the…
Insights from a PD Caregiver
Caregivers Count Written by Kathleen Mason Between 1990-2015, those diagnosed with PD grew from 2.6 million to 6.3 million worldwide. Currently, in the U.S., 34 million care for an adult over 50, more than half with a neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s. You are not alone! Behind each of…