Effectiveness of occupational therapy intervention in young onset Parkinson’s Disease: A case report.

Abstract

This is a case study of 32 year old Mrs. M, a case of Young Onset Parkinson's Disease (YOPD) with hypothyroidism. With informed consent, Mrs. M was selected for the case report because Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease is a rare diagnosis. She was assessed using MDSUPDRS pre- and post-intervention .She was provided Occupational Therapy intervention using the Person-Environment-Occupation Model for a period of three months and has shown significant improvement in UPDRS scores. Her primary diagnosis is Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease, secondary diagnosis being hypothyroidism.The patient, being in her early 30s, many of her life roles were altered. The patient’s main concerns are that she has difficulty in performing her basic and instrumental ADLs and difficulty in caring for her loved ones. Mrs. M was treated on weekly basis for an intervention period of three months using the Person Environment Occupation Model and assessed using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale; pre and post treatment. She was in stage 3 of Hoehn and Yahr scale of classification of Parkinson’s Disease. Scores were assessed on Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, pre and post three months of intervention; showed improvement in non motor and motor aspects of experiences of daily living, motor examination and motor complications. Component scores were decreased dramatically especially in the areas of anxious mood, fatigue, tremors, posture and bradykinesia which revealed that functional levels improved following intervention.