Advocating for the ALS Patient with Your Doctor

What should we expect regarding a timeline and how the patient’s symptoms might manifest? 

What are the major decisions the patient will have to make regarding their treatment as their symptoms evolve? 

• Medication
• Wheelchair 
• Wheelchair van 
• Feeding tube
• Tracheostomy + ventilator

Since this disease impacts all areas of life, we would like to talk with the following practitioners: 

• Respiratory therapist
• Speech therapist
• Occupational therapist
• Physical therapist
• Nutritionist
• Psychologist 
• Social worker

What is the schedule for their treatment plan? How often will we see the practitioners listed above? 

What are the things the patient can do, or we can do as a family, to improve their quality of life? 

What is available to us for community support? 

What is hospice and when should we engage with a hospice agency? 

If I’m interested in Medical Aid in Dying, where do we get information? 

Does your clinic support assisting ALS patients with Medical Aid in Dying, if we are interested? If so, do you have additional parameters outside of the law that we need to be made aware of or do you follow the law precisely?