Different for Everyone: Our Campaign for Parkinson’s Awareness Month

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, with Parkinson’s Awareness Week falling on the 7th-13th of April and World Parkinson’s Day taking place on April 11th.

Our campaign for the month is ‘Different for Everyone’ and will launch on April 1st, to spread awareness about the many symptoms that come with Parkinson’s Disease and how everyone’s experience is unique. No one person has the same symptoms or journey.

The theme of the campaign stemmed from the awareness priorities identified by people with Parkinson’s, their families and care partners in a member survey. We ran this campaign in 2024 and it was nominated for an award at the Irish Healthcare Awards. We decided to build on it again this year with a focus on personal stories.

Over the past few months, people living with Parkinson’s Disease, their loved ones and health professionals have recorded videos for us explaining how Parkinson’s affects them. Each video will touch on a specific symptom, to portray to the wider public how different Parkinson’s Disease really is for each person.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our campaign to tell your story. Parkinson’s Ireland grateful to everyone who supports our work, so please share our campaign and spread the #DifferentforEveryone message this April.

Our Campaign Assets: Radio, Print and OOH

The theme of our campaign focuses on the 40+ symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and how PD is different for everyone. 

The ads we worked hard on, alongside creative company Havas, were on display across print, out of house advertising, radio and social media.

Our campaign was on display in The Irish Times and The Irish Independent in print during the first week of April and digitally during the second week of April.

On radio, our ad was played on RTE Radio One, Today FM and Newstalk.

Please keep an eye on our website, social media and weekly member newsletters for updates on our campaign and ongoing activities taking place for #ParkinsonsAwarenessMonth. Our campaign is supported by Abbvie, Bial and Clonmel Healthcare.

The content and views expressed are those of Parkinson’s Ireland and not of the sponsors.

Personal Stories

Throughout April, we shared 21 videos of stories from people with PD, loved ones and healthcare professionals to help you understand just how different PD is for each person.

Please click here to view the video of all the personal stories we gathered, or read below to watch each one individually.

Claire Boles is a 26 year old Irish Rugby Player, from Enniskillen in County Fermanagh.

Claire’s father, David Boles, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease fifteen years ago. Despite the challenges he faces, he remains her biggest supporter, his pitch side presence a reminder of resilience and strength. His ongoing battle is one that has deeply shaped Claire.

Claire will be joining us for our panel discussion at our national online conference on Saturday, April 12th.

Frank Mullen is 61 and was diagnosed with PD in 2023. One of the symptoms Frank was affected by was hallucination, which often involve the person seeing small animals, insects or other people in the room with them.

Thank you Frank for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentforEveryone

For more information on the 40+ symptoms of PD, please click here.

Annmarie O’Connor was diagnosed with early-onset PD in 2021 and a symptom that affected her was restless legs.

Restless legs syndrome is a condition that causes an overwhelming urge to move your legs and is a common symptom for people with PD.

Thank you Annmarie for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentforEveryone

For more information on the 40+ symptoms of PD, please click here.

Naomi Gleeson was diagnosed with PD in 2020 and a symptom that affected her was RBD sleep.

Up to 90% of people with Parkinson’s experience problems with sleeping at night.

Thank you Naomi for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentforEveryone

For more information on the 40+ symptoms of PD, please click here.

Muriel’s husband Derek was diagnosed with PD nine years ago and cognitive changes are something that affected him.

When facing a task or situation, someone with PD may feel overwhelmed and may also have difficulty remembering information or have trouble finding the right words when speaking.

Thank you Muriel for helping us raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

For more information on the 40+ symptoms of PD, please click here.

There are over 40 symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), one of them being impaired movement.

As PD progresses, some people may face problems with walking and feeling like their legs are heavy or dragging.

Frank O’Mara was diagnosed with PD when he was 48. In 2009, his foot began to drag while out running. Nine months later, he was diagnosed with PD.

Thank you Frank for sharing your story to help us raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

For more information on the 40+ symptoms of PD, please click here.

Anxiety and apathy are two very common non-motor symptoms.

Brenda O’Connell was diagnosed with PD in July 2023 and these are two symptoms that affected her. Brenda received help from Parkinson’s Ireland through our nurse led newly diagnosed programme to help manage these symptoms.

Thank you Brenda for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentforEveryone

For more information on the 40+ symptoms of PD, please click here.

Balance is a very common symptom for those with PD. The best way to improve your balance and to avoid freezing and falling is to engage in as much exercise as possible. This can include walking, yoga, physiotherapy and more.

Clare was diagnosed with PD in 2021 and balance is a symptom that affected her.

Thank you Clare for sharing your story with us to help us raise awareness on how PD is #DifferentforEveryone

There are over 40 different symptoms of PD, both motor and non-motor.

Surveys suggest that up to 90% of people with PD experience problems with sleeping at night. There are a variety of possible causes and therefore a variety of possible treatments. It is therefore important to discuss difficulties related to sleeping with a nurse or your GP.

Thank you Jerome for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

There are over 40 symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease, one of them being stiffness.

Stiffness can occur on one or both sides of the body and contribute to a decreased range of motion. This can lead to problems with achiness or pain in the muscles or joints affected.

Eileen O’Sullivan was diagnosed with early-onset PD in March 2023 and stiffness was a symptom that affected her.

Thank you Eileen for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

There are over 40 symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease. Small, cramped handwriting, called micrographia, is often one of the early symptoms.

In addition to words being generally small and crowded together, the size of your handwriting might get progressively smaller as you continue to write.

Richelle Flanagan is a dietician and micrographia is one of the first symptoms she experienced. Richelle manages this symptom through her medication and exercise.

Thank you Richelle for sharing your story with us to help raise awareness and to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

There are over 40 symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease, one of the lesser known ones being low blood pressure or a drop in blood pressure.

If medication is being taken to lower blood pressure, it is advisable to have it checked as this, combined with the effects of Parkinson’s disease, may be making blood pressure too low.

Thank you Anna for helping us raise awareness to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

PD can cause the muscles used to swallow and chew in your jaw and face to become slower and stiff. This may make it more difficult to swallow, chew or move food around in your mouth.

PD can also cause problems in your tongue muscles, such as a tremor in your tongue, or trouble unsticking your tongue from the roof of your mouth.

PD may weaken the muscles in your throat, which affects how effectively you swallow.

Thank you Donal for helping us raise awareness to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

Up to 50% of people with Parkinson’s disease experience depression at some point. According to Parkinson’s Foundation, people that experience more movement symptoms and women are at greater risk for depression in PD.

If you are experiencing mood changes or are feeling depressed, please talk to your healthcare team.

Thank you Sinead for telling your story to help us raise awareness to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

The same stiffness and slowness that can impact motor symptoms can also reduce facial expressions.

Facial masking can affect how we communicate. When the facial muscles are stiff or take longer to move, it can be hard to smile, frown, raise your eyebrows or others. If you are experiencing these changes, please contact your healthcare team.

Thank you Marie for sharing your story to help us raise awareness to show how Parkinson’s Disease is #DifferentForEveryone

People with Parkinson’s disease are more likely to suffer from bowel and bladder issues, particularly constipation.

There are two main problems that can occur with the bladder in Parkinson’s– an overactive bladder, and difficulty in emptying. With bowel problems, it is important to make sure that you drink enough and eat a diet with plenty of fibre, such as fruit, vegetables and whole meal bread and cereals.

Dr Conor Fearon is a neurologist and movement disorder specialist at the Mater and St Vincent’s University Hospitals and explains that you should always speak to your medical team if you are experiencing bladder or bowel issues as they will be able to provide advice on any additional support available to you.

Thank you to Dr Fearon for helping us raise awareness to help others understand that PD is #DifferentforEveryone

Freezing is the temporary, involuntary inability to move. Not all people with PD experience freezing episodes, but those who do have a greater risk of falling.

People may feel as though their feet are stuck to the ground. It also commonly occurs when trying to turn in small spaces or when walking through doorways. If you experience “freezing”, make sure those who care for you know about this symptom, as there may be things they can do to help you when it happens.

Thank you Eileen for sharing your story with us to show how PD is #DifferentforEveryone

Speech changes are a very common symptom in Parkinson’s Disease.

Some people with PD may speak quietly and in one tone and speech may sound breathy or hoarse. People with PD might slur words, mumble or trail off at the end of a sentence. Most people talk slowly, but some speak rapidly, even stuttering or stammering.

Parkinson’s motor symptoms, such as decreased facial expression, slowness and stooped posture, may add to speech problems. Speech issues can also make it difficult to communicate with loved ones or health professionals.

Speech therapy is the main way to treat any speech changes, such as the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment. Singing is also a great way to exercise your voice, and Parkinson’s Ireland offers singing via Zoom on Tuesday mornings with Dara MacMahon.

Thank you Sinead for helping us raise awareness to show how PD is #DifferentforEveryone

One of the 40+ symptoms associated with PD is dyskinesia.

Dyskinesias are involuntary movements which may cause rapid jerking or slow and extended muscle spasms. They can often be caused by a complication from some Parkinson’s medications.

If you are experiencing these changes, please contact your healthcare team. You can call 1800 359359 to talk to one of our PD Nurse Specialists.

Thank you Breda for helping us raise awareness to show how PD is #DifferentforEveryone

There are over 40+ symptoms of PD, including fatigue. Up to 50% of people with PD experience fatigue in some form.

Natasha is a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist at St. James’s Hospital in Dublin. Natasha explains that it is important to recognise fatigue as it can be addressed by making healthy lifestyle changes. You should always contact your healthcare team if you need advise on how to make these changes.

Thank you Natasha for helping us raise awareness on how PD is #DifferentforEveryone

There are over 40 symptoms associated with PD. Up to 70% of people experience a tremor as one of them.

Jackie was diagnosed with PD in 2021 and a tremor in her right hand was the first symptom she experienced.

Tremors tend to occur in the hands but they can also appear in other parts of the body, including the lower lip, jaw or leg. Fatigue and stress can often make tremors worse. Exercise and medication are the best way to control your symptoms, but please consult your healthcare team before making any changes.

Thank you Jackie for sharing your story with us to show how PD is #DifferentforEveryone