Ashland group prepares for Parkinson ‘s awareness month

A local group is increasing its outreach starting next month to better educate people on the effects of Parkinson's disease.

The Ashland Parkinson's Support Group will have two displays set up at the community center and the public library in April for Parkinson's Awareness Month.

"We want to share that this is a serious disease that needs energy put into it to find a cause and a cure," said Martha Budding, the group's coordinator.

The displays will include posters, fliers and facts about Parkinson's, a degenerative movement disorder. According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, as many as 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's annually.

Founded a year and a half ago, the Parkinson's Support Group meets once a month at the community center. Speakers present different Parkinson's-related topics, such as treatment and resources. As many as 20 people attend the monthly presentations, and the group also hosts two exercise programs a week for people with Parkinson's.

"We are beginning to see the benefits of the exercises and the topics we have," Budding said. "We are learning more and we are more empowered than we were before."

Local resident Malcolm Smart is putting the library display together, which Library Director Paula Bonetti said she expects will be up sometime next week.

"(Parkinson's) is something that is out there and we want people to understand how to deal it and cope with it," said Smart.

The group will also have a spot at the community center to display information, which Smart says is crucial because the Ashland Senior Center is housed there, so information will be readily available for local seniors. But he added the information will be for young and old patients, as well as family members of patients.

And the suuport groups outreach won't stop at the end of April. The group will have a table at Green Up Ashland in May, and members are planning to walk in the American Parkinson Disease Association's Massachusetts walkathon in June.

Go here to see the original:
Ashland group prepares for Parkinson 's awareness month