We did it…without the ice :) We took the challenge and donated. We laughed at our friends and colleagues dowsing themselves in freezing, cold water. We laughed a lot. We still laugh at the new posts, but after the laughter, there is still the underlying fact that ALS is a devastating disease, which led us to this post.
ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. Motor neurons that run from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles in the body begin to degenerate. Initially, individuals with ALS have variable symptoms, with nearly 60% having some type of muscle weakness such as tripping, dropping things, arm/leg fatigue, slurred speech, and twitches. As the motor neurons continue to degenerate and die, advanced stages of the disease include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and swallowing. Eventually, the brain is no longer able to control muscle movement, leading to possible paralysis and eventually death. According to the ALS Association, nearly 5,600 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year with a life expectancy averaging from two to five years from the time of diagnosis.
If ALS is a degenerative disease, then what role does a speech-language pathologist play? ASHA shares that direct speech intervention is not recommended due to fatigue (and resulting difficulty in using communication in other settings after therapy), the possibility of quicker advancement of deterioration, and a reminder of the ongoing loss of skills. Instead, they share that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is a means for people to maintain their lines of communication. In general, individuals in the initial stages of ALS prefer using light tech AAC aids to communicate basic wants and needs and as the disease progresses they prefer to use high-tech aids to express more detailed wants and needs.
What can you do to help? Donate. We challenge YOU! And if you want to do the ice thing too, go for it! Here are a few of our favorites!
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