Glossary of Genetic Terms
Available equipment
Please consult the list below or the ALS Canada Equipment Catalogue for more information about which pieces of equipment are available through our program.
Mobility assistance and lifts
- Walkers
- Wheelchairs
- Scooters
- Ramps
- Patient transfer lifts
- Ceiling track systems
Bedroom and other equipment
- Hospital beds
- Mattresses and pressure relief systems
- Lift chairs
Bathroom assistance
- Commodes
- Bath lifts
- Benches
Please note that the ALS Canada Equipment Program is not a trial program. This means that we do not loan equipment for the purpose of testing what devices are best for you. Instead, we facilitate loans or funding assistance once someone’s equipment needs have been assessed and recommended by a professional.
The ALS Society of Canada’s (ALS Canada) vision is a future without ALS. To achieve this vision, new treatments that can help with symptom management and slow down and someday stop the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) need to undergo clinical trials on humans to ensure that they are both safe and effective before being approved for widespread availability.
Today, more is known about this relentlessly progressive motor neuron disease which causes paralysis and leads to the death of approximately 1,000 people in Canada each year. And while the prognosis of ALS is variable and its progression difficult to predict, (i) we know that it can move with startling swiftness – leaving a very narrow window of time to slow it down, often further compressed by delayed diagnosis.
In this Toolkit you will find the following resources:
- Template Meeting Request: This template letter can be used to request a meeting with your federal or provincial elected officials. Tips for how to find the contact information for your elected official are included.
- ALS Fact Sheet: Which you can refer to for key facts and figures when speaking and can be shared with elected officials.
- Sample Meeting Flow: This document is a guide to help you navigate any meetings with elected officials. This is an internal document and should not be shared.
- Eversana “How to Tell Your Story”: This guide, developed by our partners at Eversana, helps you develop and tell your own story.
- The Time is Now Meeting Deck (Provincial): This presentation can be used during any meetings with Provincial elected officials to explain the issue of access to therapies. It can be sent to the elected official as background information.
- The Time is Now Meeting Deck (Federal): This presentation can be used during any meetings with Federal elected officials to explain the issue of access to therapies. It can be sent to the elected official as background information.
- Report Back Form: Use this form to share with ALS Canada how your meeting went and any other important information.
A resource that supports and empowers advocacy efforts aimed at improving the lives of people living with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).
Donation type (select one):
• General donation
• In memory of…
• In honour of…
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy can sometimes be confused as the characteristics and symptoms of these diseases can overlap. People living with ALS, MS, and MD often require the same kinds of wheelchairs and assistive devices. However, ALS, MS, and MD are separate and distinct diseases.
Bulbar ALS is a subtype of ALS that destroys motor neurons in the corticobulbar area of the brain and brainstem. This area controls muscles in the face, head, and neck including the jaw, lips, throat, and tongue.
You are probably reading this booklet because your Mom or Dad or someone else special in your family has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is a long name and for short it is often called ALS.
This glossary contains a list of scientific and medical terms and definitions that are relevant to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It can be used by anyone from within the ALS community including recently diagnosed individuals, caregivers, medical professionals, researchers, as well as by the general public. The research glossary was developed to help support knowledge-sharing by helping to provide clarity around terminology that may be unfamiliar to our readers.