Day One:

PD Superheroes!

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. Please click on the videos below for interviews with participants from the initial study. This program was made possible by a generous grant from the Parkinson's Foundation.Principal Investigator, Dr. Gabriele Wulf, and Robert Cochrane, PhD student at UNLV, are looking for persons with Parkinson’s disease to participate in an online research study of heroic narrative upon Parkinson’s disease. Study participants will be asked to share their perceptions and experiences about Parkinson’s from the time they were diagnosed to today, and how they feel about their future quality of life expectations. They will be taught heroic storytelling structure and practical tools of how to explore and incorporate it into their own lives. Heroic storytelling is based on the works of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. Campbell’s work is broken into a 12-step journey for this class that participants will follow and use to write their own heroic journey with Parkinson’s disease. Participation in this study will require completion of 12 sessions, meeting once a week on Saturday mornings from 9a-10:30a (Pacific Time). Participants will also be required to write a one-page personal assessment each week outside of class. Finally, online surveys at the beginning, middle and end of the 12-session period will be required.

All sessions will take place online via Zoom. All sessions will be recorded. Participants must have a WiFi enabled device in a safe location (e.g. participants’ home) for these sessions. Sessions will include writing, theatrical improvisation and lectures from guest subject matter experts in fields such as dance, art and mythology.

We are recruiting male and female persons diagnosed with idiopathic (unknown cause) Parkinson’s disease between and fit ONE of the following criteria:

·       They have been diagnosed within the last year,

·       are early onset (diagnosed before the age of 50)

·       are active or former members of the U.S. military.

Participants must be between 1-3 on the Hoehn and Yahr scale. This assessment should be given by participants' neurologist or movement disorder specialist prior to acceptance into the program. We cannot accept persons who have an inability to communicate verbally, are uncomfortable writing, or are unable using the Zoom platform.

Please email Robert Cochrane at cochra58@unlv.nevada.edu with questions or to express your interest in participating.

This program was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation.