A Free, Brief Guide to Parkinson's Disease for Patients and Family: with video illustrations

Joseph Friedman

Feb 2020 · Joseph Friedman

About this ebook

A free guide to help patients and family members learn about and understand what a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis might mean for them, presented by Dr. Joseph Friedman, an expert in the field for over thirty years.

Ratings and reviews

Dr. Friedman's book is outstanding! It reads like a manual for PD. It is written in easy to understand PD terms that are very helpful. It has given me a better understanding of my husband's PD. We can easily relate to so much of the information he has presented in this book. I strongly recommend this book to anyone dealing with PD. Thank you, Dr. Friedman!

This is the most incredible book for the person with Parkinson's Disease and for the family members. Every question I have ever thought of was addressed with the most simple explanation and although I just finished reading this guide I will return to view all the videos. I do not know how to thank Dr. Friedman for his expertise and loving concern for the PD community!

wonderfully informative book. as newly diagnosed Parkinson's patient, this gave me a lot of information I needed in an easy to read format

About the author

Joseph H. Friedman, MD, has the Stanley Aronson Chair in Neurodegenerative Disorders at Butler Hospital, and is Professor and Chief, Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He has been clinical director of the American Parkinson Disease Association Information and Referral Center for over 30 years, and was President of the Rhode Island Chapter of the APDA for five. He served on the editorial boards of Movement Disorders, Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, Clinical Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, Rwanda Medical Journal, and has provided peer review for over 90 international medical journals and clinical research granting agencies. He is the author or co-author of hundreds of papers, book chapters, and several books and was elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association and to membership in the International Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders Association. 

Leslie Mahler, PhD: Dr. Mahler is an Associate Professor in Communicative Disorders and Director of the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Mahler began her professional career as a speech-language pathologist working with adults with neurological disorders in a medical setting before completing a dual doctorate in Speech and Hearing Sciences and Neuroscience from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2007. The main focus of Dr. Mahler’s research is to rigorously evaluate the impact of clinical treatments for specific populations of people with neurological diagnoses and translate those findings to clinical practice. Her research includes translating how principles of neural plasticity can be applied to the treatment of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. She has multiple published peer-reviewed articles and has presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Mahler is the principal investigator for LOUD for Life, a group for people with PD, and facilitator of a PD support group for the Rhode Island chapter of the APDA. 

Cristina Colón-Semenza, PhD, is a Research Scientist in the Center for Neurorehabilitation where she focuses upon studying behavior change related to exercise for individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Colón-Semenza has extensive experience working as a physical therapist across the spectrum of neurological disorders and across practice settings. Additionally, she is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy. She recently received herPhD from the program in Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University under the mentorship of Dr. Terry Ellis. Dr. Colón-Semenza’s dissertation work was focused upon motivation for exercise in people with Parkinson’s disease. Prior to her graduate work, Dr. Colón-Semenza practiced at the University of Connecticut’s Nayden Rehabilitation Clinic where she specialized in the evaluation and treatment of individuals with neurological diseases and disorders. She received her Master of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Delaware and her Bachelor of Science from Rutgers College. 

Dr. Colón-Semenza has published several peer-reviewed articles and has presented both regionally and nationally on topics related to neurologic physical therapy practice. Dr. Colón-Semenza is an active participant of the American Physical Therapy Association, both locally and nationally. She is a delegate to the House of Delegates for the state of Connecticut and is a chairperson of the Special Interest Group focused upon Neurologic Physical Therapy through the CT American Physical Therapy Association. She is a board member of the Connecticut chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association.