Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Military Veterans
Accessibility Services, Inc. (ASI) is not only proud to serve veterans, but many of our staff are veterans. Our Founder, Fred Thompson, founded ASI in 1991 with a primary mission to help veterans. Although our reach has expanded well beyond that market, veterans are still the core of what we do and large part of the population we serve.
Research by the Defense Health Research Program expands on the connection between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and military veterans (Read the ALS Association summary of the report.) In a nutshell, veterans appear to be at an increased risk of developing ALS, regardless of branch of service. Although research is still underway to identify possible ways in which amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is connected to serving in the military, factors that may contribute to increased risk in veterans include exposure to lead, pesticides or other environmental contacts, use of tobacco or alcohol or extreme physical exertion. The Veterans Administration (VA) has designated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as a service connected disease.
An ALS communication device and ALS assistive technology can help ease the burden of this devastating disease. ASI is a leader in ALS assistive technology and our proprietary autonoME is covered by the VA. The autonoME is more than just an ALS communication device. It is an integrated environmental control unit (ECU) and speech generating device with full augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) features. The autonoME has been transforming the lives of veteran’s with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and other service connected illnesses/injuries for nearly a decade.
Although there is not a cure yet, we can provide a better independence until one is found.
Veterans diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis can talk with their local VA representative about acquiring an autonoME.
