April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month, chosen because it is the birth month of James Parkinson, who first identified the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease more than 200 years ago. Since then, we have made considerable progress towards understanding what causes the motor symptoms we most associate with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and along the way, we have begun to appreciate a broad spectrum of non-motor symptoms that were not initially recognized as part of the disease.

For us and the one million Americans living with Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s awareness is more than a month. It’s about bringing attention to a life-changing disease that is on the rise and connecting people to critical resources.

This month-long campaign focuses on an important part of PD awareness —educating everyone on the many symptoms that impact daily life and how to address them. It’s also about helping people recognize the early signs that can lead to an earlier diagnosis and overall better quality of life.

• More information about Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) External Link
• Parkinson’s Disease resources from the American Parkinson Disease Association External Link
• Information from the Parkinson’s Foundation External Link

AgLearn Resources

• Course: Supporting Workers with Disabilities External Link
• Course: Disability Readiness for Leaders and Managers External Link
• Course: Inclusion and Equity for Workers with Disabilities External Link
• eBook: Disability Awareness: Working with People with Disabilities Study External Link
• eBook: Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century External Link