Date/Location:

January 4 – February 15, 2021

Description:

Adapting a living environment for people with ALS may become a necessity as the disease progresses. Environmental modifications can help keep a person safe and help people retain independence for as long as possible. Home modifications can also lower a caregiver’s risk for injury by making tasks such as assisting with transferring and repositioning less physically taxing. Modifying a home does not always require breaking down walls or adding an extension to a home. There are various assistive technology devices that can be used in the home to make the house accessible and keep both the patient with ALS and the caregiver safe. These products, that to not require structural changes, are often temporary (since we are dealing with a progressive disease) and can be low-tech or extremely sophisticated. Some are easy and inexpensive to implement; others require slight renovations and can be costly. Many families rely on a range of solutions to meet their needs. It is important for allied healthcare professionals working with the ALS population understand the disease process, the average lifespan, and recognize assistive technology devices can supplement expensive and time consuming structural changes to a person’s home. Prioritizing needs and identifying solutions that work within the family budget helps with financial planning and also gives families the necessary lead time to implement any planned changes.

Speakers:

Alisa Brownlee, ATP, CAPS, CLIPP

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify the home access needs of people with ALS.

• Describe (3) different assistive technology devices that can be used to modify a home instead of making constructional changes to the home

• Explain why using assistive technology devices for home modifications will benefit people with ALS and their caregivers due to the progression of the disease

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CEUs This activity is offered for up to 0.1 CEUs (1 hour of instruction). To register for CEUs:  

Download and complete the following forms.

Save the files names: 2021_ALSA1_Lastname_Firstname

Send both files to ceus@aacinstitute.org

Upon completion of the two forms and passing the quiz, a CEU certificate will be sent

Note: If any difficulty is encountered in using this form, write to ceus@aacinstitute.org to request an alternative file format.