6 Adaptive Devices and New Technologies for Veterans with ALS

While the past few years have brought a lot of chaos, they have also ushered in an era of new health technology. Many of these advancements focus on improving the lives of others and helping those with disabilities engage in the activities they love. As a result, there is a growing number of equipment that caters to those with specific cognitive or physical needs.

Assistive technologies and adaptive devices are especially helpful for populations living with conditions that impact their activities for daily living, such as those living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Veterans and those serving in the military are twice as likely to be diagnosed with ALS compared to civilians. ALS is a service-connected condition which means that veterans with ALS can receive healthcare services and equipment through the Veterans Administration to help with symptoms such as progressive muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, and difficulty speaking. Depending on the progression of the disease and the specific tasks that need assistance, a veteran who has ALS might benefit from several adaptive devices such as the ones listed in this post.

For more information about which adaptive devices are available to you through your VA benefits, please reach out to your VA clinical therapy team. Thank you for your service!

Speech-Generating Devices

Communication is not only vital for veterans to convey their most basic needs, but it’s also an important part of self-expression that can be closely related to a person’s identity. This is why speech-generating devices, also known as SGDs, were developed to allow non-verbal or minimally-verbal veterans with ALS to interact with others without speaking or writing.

For veterans with ALS who have severe communication deficits, SGDs can entirely replace the need to speak, which makes them a type of augmentative and alternative communication system. If a veteran with ALS has motor function in their arms, they can use their SGD through a tablet that speaks as a result of the buttons they press. Veterans with more profound ALS symptoms might be unable to activate their device in the traditional way. In this case, they would need an SGD with eye-gaze technology so they can use their vision to identify the words they wish the device to speak aloud.

How to get a SGD for a veteran: Contact your VA clinical team, such as your Speech and Language Therapist (SLP) to assist in procuring a Speech-Generating Device.

Obi Adaptive Eating Device

Veterans with ALS commonly struggle with upper body limitations that prevent them from using their arms and hands. This can cause a lot of difficulty with essential self-care tasks, including eating. Obi is an adaptive eating device that allows veterans with ALS and other upper extremity disabilities to eat independently. With a range of customizable accessibility switches, Obi can take food from four different areas of the plate to better meet the needs and preferences of someone with ALS. By using an intuitive adaptive eating device such as Obi, individuals with ALS can focus on spending time with others during meals rather than relying on others to help them eat. Obi increases independence, social interaction and joy during mealtime.

How to get an Obi for a veteran: Obi is available to qualifying veterans through the VA. Learn more about Obi at https://meetobi.com/obi-users/veterans/ or request to try Obi in the comfort of your home here. You can also speak to your VA clinical team, such as your Occupational Therapist (OT), to see if Obi is right for you!

NeuroNode

Many people living with ALS and other progressive neurological conditions benefit from forms of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). One of the leading devices in this category is the NeuroNode, which can be paired with assistive devices that individuals cannot control on their own. For example, if someone struggles to press buttons that control a motorized feeding device, they can pair their unit with the NeuroNode. This sensor-based, wearable technology can operate in two ways. The first is the electromyography (EMG) function that detects slight muscle movements in a body location of the user’s choosing. This allows settings to be adjusted to a person’s changing abilities. The second is spatial control, which picks up on cues from certain patterns or gestures. The spatial control function might allow someone to begin a conversation after they pull their wheelchair up alongside a person. Such settings offer veterans with ALS assistance with a variety of tasks, including feeding, communication, leisure, and more.

How to get a NeuroNode for a veteran: Contact the NeuroNode team at Control Bionics here or contact your VA clinical team, such as your Speech and Language Therapist (SLP).

Message Banking

In some cases, veterans with ALS may experience limited or strained speech as a result of their condition. Message banking is a great technique that helps minimize the impact of these concerns. Individuals can use this program to create memos with their natural voice, then store, organize, and send those messages for any purpose. In this way, veterans with ALS can preserve some or all of their communication abilities and, therefore, their independence. Individuals whose ALS has severely impacted their speech can utilize voice banking, or synthetic voice messages that can be created and personalized to match anyone’s natural voice.

Those looking to begin using message or voice banking should begin the process of creating these memos gradually over several weeks or months. This helps their bank grow extensively enough to allow for effective communication that is as natural as possible.

How to get Message Banking for a veteran: Contact your VA clinical team, such as your Speech and Language Therapist (SLP), to see if your VA Benefits may cover Message Banking. Veterans who are unable to pay for these services or get them reimbursed can look into financial assistance from Team Gleason. This organization offers assistive technology funding for all individuals in the United States who are living with ALS.

Power Wheelchairs

Power wheelchairs are another important piece of equipment that allow veterans living with ALS to independently navigate their environment despite mobility limitations. Power wheelchairs are especially accommodating of persistent muscle weakness since they can be operated using a joystick or puff mechanism. These are adaptations that allow individuals to utilize the fine motor skills in their hands or their oral-motor strength by blowing on a sip-and-puff mouthpiece. Joysticks and sip-and-puff switches send motion signals to the wheelchair’s control unit to move it forward.

Regardless of whether or not a veteran with ALS needs help getting into their power chair, they will have free reign of their environment once they are in motion. Power chairs allow veterans with ALS to easily move across flat and uneven terrain both indoors and outdoors to engage with others and do what they love.

How to get a Power Wheelchair for a veteran: Contact your VA clinical team for assistance with Power Wheelchairs for Veterans with ALS.

Hospital Beds

Standard hospital beds have three jointed sections, side rails, and are partially electric. These features can be helpful to a veteran living with ALS who has difficulty getting in and out of bed. Hospital beds can be made even more accessible by adding pressure-relieving mattresses and padding that prevent injuries such as pressure sores. The electric controls on a standard hospital bed typically adjust the head and foot of the bed. The other portions of the bed are adjusted with a crank, which must be operated by a caregiver.

A veteran who has severe weakness from ALS will likely require more specific adjustments offered by a total, or fully-electric, hospital bed. A total hospital bed allows for height, head, foot, and middle bed adjustments to be made by the user with a remote. This allows individuals to lower the bed to more easily transfer in and out to their wheelchair or other mobility device. These features are ideal for veterans with ALS who live alone, those who do not have full-time caregivers, or anyone with ALS who struggles with severe motor deficits.

How to get a Hospital Bed for a veteran: Contact your VA clinical team for assistance with Hospital Beds for Veterans with ALS.

As you can see, there are a range of adaptive devices that can improve independence and quality-of-life for veterans living with ALS. Whether a person is having concerns related to walking, eating, speaking, or moving around in bed, there are devices to help. Adaptive equipment and other forms of technology are an excellent option for individuals with any chronic health concerns or disabilities, including ALS. If you are interested in assistive technology as a way to improve your independence, discuss these devices with your doctors or rehabilitation providers.

For a comprehensive guide to managing ALS as a Veteran, including a detailed checklist for equipment, please check out the “I’m a Veteran Diagnosed with ALS, where do I begin?” guide here.