.
Erasable writing tablets, voice amplifiers, or other devices to help the person communicate if speaking becomes difficult. .
There are lots of other devices that can help with bathing, eating, dressing, and communicating. Talk to an occupational therapist for suggestions on what devices might be best and what changes to your home might make it safer and easier to live in for a person who has ALS.
Planning for the future.
if you have ALS (or someone in your family does), learn as much as you can about the disease and the options for care. As the disease progresses, you may have choices about care and treatment. As you face these decisions, remember that what's right for one person with ALS may not feel right for another person. What you value and want are important factors in making choices about care.
Some people want every possible medical treatment to sustain life, while others prefer measures to maintain their comfort without prolonging life. It may be helpful to think about what kind of medical treatment you want. Discuss and decide how aggressively you want to treat complications of the disease, such as difficulty breathing or eating or pneumonia. .
Description.
Lou Gehrig's disease occurs when specific nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement gradually degenerate. The loss of these motor neurons causes the muscles under their control to weaken and waste away, leading to paralysis. The disease manifests itself in different ways, depending on which muscles weaken first. .
What is it?.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells or motor neurons that control .
muscles. Motor neurons carry messages about movement from the brain to the muscles, but in ALS the motor neurons die; therefore, .
the messages are no longer able to get to the muscles. When muscles aren't used for a long time, they weaken, waste away (atrophy), and twitch under the .
