Listen to the amazing Larry Gifford, found of the PD Avengers – a patient-led organization, united in the purpose of ending Parkinson’s disease. We raise awareness, engagement and hope. This site has an enormous collection of resources and hope for folks with PD. Larry has had an extraordinary life in sports radio broadcast in the US and Canada. When he was diagnosed his life stopped, but only momentarily. He started learning Improv at the TightRope theatre in Canada. He recently had DBS, Deep Brain Stimulation, which has helped him regain many of the abilities he lost with PD. He is truly an inspiration and a real hero!
After working as a clinical social worker for over 30 years, I discovered the joy of Improvisational Theatre Games. Before that I presented classes and workshops on "The Healing Power of Laughter and Play" throughout the US and abroad. Since the 1970's I was trained as a New Games Referee from the New Games Foundation. But when I had my first class in improv I realized how therapeutic it is and began using improv in my clinical practice and special groups such as Improv for Anxiety and Improv for people with Parkinson's disease. In addition, I created class for several National Association for Social Workers (NASW) conference such as Fl. NASW, NJ NASW, OK NASW and corporations. There is viable research showing that improv helps with cognitive functioning, memory, decrease of anxiety and socialization. I'm delighted to teach folks of all ages this wonderful way to chase the blues away!
