Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Overview for Speech-Language Pathologists

Outline:

Section 1: What Is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?

ALS Overview

Test Your Knowledge

Key Takeaways

Section 2: Signs, Symptoms, and Stages

Initial Symptoms

Disease Progression

Stages and Classifications

Function-Based Stages

Test Your Knowledge

Key Takeaways

Section 3: ALS Management

Your Role

A Multiprofessional Approach

Insurance Coverage and Financial Considerations

Test Your Knowledge

Key Takeaways

Section 4: Case Example

Robert

Section 5: Conclusion

Course Summary

Course Contributors

Resources

Nicole Fogarty holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Northeastern University. She has experience treating patients with cardiopulmonary, orthopedic, and neurological impairments in the inpatient setting. She also has experience in outpatient orthopedics. She has additional training in medical screening, lumbopelvic examination and treatment, and treatment of patients with cardiopulmonary diseases. Nicole enjoys using her clinical experience and interest in current rehabilitation research as a Physical Therapy writer for Relias.

Susan Almon-Matangos, MS, CCC-SLP, is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist with over 40 years of experience. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Jacksonville State University and her Master of Science degree in speech-language pathology from The University of Alabama. She has provided care to clients across the lifespan with diverse diagnostic conditions in school, hospital, skilled nursing facility, outpatient clinic, and home health settings. In her previous role as a national clinical director for a contract therapy company, she developed training programs for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology focusing on clinical rehabilitation needs of older adults in post-acute care. Currently, she serves as the Lead Subject Matter Expert Writer for Speech-Language Pathology at Relias, where she leverages her clinical expertise and analysis of published research. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association.