Life with Parkinson's is doable—if you know neurobehavioral strategies.

If you have Parkinson's, stop fighting your body. Treat it as your brain's partner.

If you're still looking for a Parkinson's cure, you will be disappointed.

When I learned I had Parkinson’s at 77, I went from envisioning myself as a new Tesla to a rusted-out 1940s jalopy. I was stuck in a “twilight zone,” not ready for symptom-relieving drugs like Levodopa or medical devices like DBS. The neurologist wasn’t amused when I asked if he was going to wait until I got worse before doing anything to make me better.

Fortunately, I not only knew of effective strategies, but was responsible for developing and using them in the area of communication disorders for 50 years. Here are ten that will help you get through a “Parkinson’s day.”

1. Slow Down. This is the simplest and most effective strategy since it realigns the speed at which your brain processes information with the speed at which you expect it to function. The estimated lag time between the brain sending a signal and a muscle responding is between 20 and 100 milliseconds. If the connection between the brain and a muscle group becomes unstable—as it does with Parkinson’s—increases in the delay can be catastrophic, e.g., not reacting quickly enough when walking is abruptly stopped. Slowing down all of your movements can reduce the lag time.

2. Don’t Fight the Odds; Reduce Them. Most physical problems associated with Parkinson’s stem from a cluster of factors ranging from........

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