Client/Patient Service Programs

Support/Education Groups

Our North Texas Chapter facilitates monthly support/education group meetings in Plano and Ft. Worth. Our education/support group meetings are designed to benefit persons diagnosed with ALS, their family members, and/or caregivers by offering an opportunity for emotional support to be given and received by those present. It also offers an opportunity for helpful information to be shared that benefits the ALS community. For more information, click here.

Caregiver-Focused Sessions

We recognize the importance of providing assistance and support to caregivers of persons with ALS. Often a caregiver must give up much of his or her freedom to care for a loved one. Along with this sacrifice comes joy and gratitude, but it can also bring frustration, anger and sadness. We offer caregiver-related topics at the support groups throughout the year in order to aid them as they work through the progression of ALS in their loved one.

Consultation and Referral

One of the goals of our chapter is to assist with client needs such as discovering community resources. Upon request we can provide contact information for: doctors, equipment, counseling, grief/bereavement support, home care services, hospice care, non-emergency handicapped transportation, affordable overnight hotel accommodations while here to see a doctor, etc.

Equipment Loan Closet

Our Chapter is able to loan power mobility equipment and speech devices to persons diagnosed with ALS, based upon a recommendation from the qualified professionals (such as wheelchair seating experts and speech pathologists). When a piece of equipment is loaned out, we ask that a loan agreement form be signed and returned to our office. This form describes the make, model, and serial number of the equipment being loaned. We perform an annual equipment inventory, where we make contact with those individuals who are using our equipment, to ask for verification of serial numbers and of equipment function.

Oral Liquid Nutritional Supplement Program and Feeding-Tube Formula Program

Our Chapter office offers Boost, a 360-calorie per can oral liquid supplement, for a purchase price around $18.00 a case (24 cans). We are also able to offer Ultracal, a 250-calorie feeding-tube formula, for a purchase price around $27.00 a case (24 eight-ounce cans). We provide these nutritional supplements at cost for our clients in order to save you a little money at the store. To arrange for this service, please contact the office prior to the 25th of the month with your order and payment. We will then make a mass order on the 1st or following business day, and call you when it arrives at our office.

Veteran Medical Benefits Referral Service

Our Chapter assists persons diagnosed with ALS who served in the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard) with referral to local veteran medical resources through the Dallas VA Hospital Neurology Department. The Dallas VA Hospital assists ALS veterans with obtaining equipment, medications, and home health services, due to the patient’s veteran status. Our Association also assists the Department of Veterans Affairs in advising veterans with ALS about the newly-created VA National Registry for Veterans with ALS.

PALS and Caregiver Mentor Program

The Persons diagnosed with ALS (PALS) and Caregiver Mentor Program allows caregivers to be paired with another caregiver, for the purpose of giving and receiving emotional support and helpful information. Persons diagnosed with ALS (or PALS) can also request to be paired with another PALS for the same purpose.

“Healing Hearts” Program of Bereavement Support, and Widows/Widowers Social Network

When our Chapter is notified of the death of a person with ALS, the loved ones can request inclusion in a program of bereavement support follow-up. Contact of a supportive nature is attempted with the bereaved loved ones over the 12 months following the death of the PALS. This contact may include sending a thoughtful card, making a telephone call to the family, and/or sending a supportive CareNote along with helpful information about area grief support groups and reading materials on grief and loss. We also direct ALS widows and widowers toward an established system of social support through the Widowed Persons Service upon request.

Coping with Loss Seminar

We know that a person is never prepared for the death of a loved one, even when that death comes after a long and serious illness. It is our hope that through this support group that the families can find comfort in the companionship of others who have experiences similar to their own. Please contact the office for more information.

ALS Educational In-Services to Professional Groups

Our Chapter offers educational in-service workshops to medical professionals and to civic volunteer organizations like the Rotary International, etc. We make every effort to spread the word about ALS and what our Chapter can provide for persons with ALS and their families.

The “Living with ALS” Series

The ALS Association National Office in Calabasas Hills, California, offers a series of manuals and VHS tapes that are extremely helpful to persons diagnosed with ALS, their family members, urologists, and other medical professionals in informing and educating people about ALS. The manual series, “Living with ALS,” address many of the common concerns and issues that face people living with ALS. There are six booklets in the series, addressing such issues as mobility changes, symptom management, adjustment to swallowing and speaking changes, adapting to breathing changes, and coping with lifestyle changes when living with ALS. Additionally, there are newly-produced VHS tapes that correspond with the booklets, and are entitled “Mobility, Activities of Daily Living, and Home Adaptations,” “Adjusting to Swallowing Difficulties and Maintaining Good Nutrition,” “Adapting to Breathing Changes and Use of Noninvasive Ventilation,” and “Communication Solutions and Symptom Management.”

ALS patients, their immediate families, and health care professionals who provide direct care to ALS patients are not charged a fee to receive these materials. If you are interested in obtaining these helpful educational tools, please call the office to place an order.

If you have questions regarding any of the Patient Service Programs , please contact our Patient Services Direcctor, Renee Lowery, at  877-714-0088 (toll-free), or 972-714-0088, r.lowery@alsanorthtexas.org

Coping With Loss Seminar

Losing a loved one to ALS is difficult and emotionally wrenching. The ALS Association North Texas Chapter has developed a six session Coping With Loss Seminar aimed at helping with the healing process.

In order to promote and encourage sharing and healing, the group will be a closed group i.e. after the second session, membership will be closed to additional members. It is our hope that keeping the group small and close will enable our participants to get the most benefit from the sessions.

Coping With Loss Seminar

Topic: What to Expect When you Lose a Loved One

Topic: Stages of Grief

Topic: Memories and How to Cope With Them

Topic: Emotional Needs of the Grieving

Topic: Holidays and Special Occasions

Topic: Okay, What Do I Do Now?

If you are have questions about the Coping With Loss Seminar, please email us at r.lowery@alsanorthtexas.org , or call the Chapter office at 972-714-0088.

ALS Family Caregiving Resources

Organizational Resources:

The ALS Association North Texas Chapter
1231 Greenway Dr, Suite 270
Irving, TX 75038
Phone (972) 714-0088
(877) 714-0088
Fax (972) 714-0066
E-mail: hope@alsanorthtexas.org
Web site: www.alsanorthtexas.org/

National Family Caregivers Association
10400 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 500
Kensington, MD 20895-3944
Phone (301) 942-6430
(800) 896-3650
Fax (301) 942-2302
E-mail: info@nfcacares.org
Web site: www.nfcacares.org/

National Alliance for Caregiving
4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 642
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone (301) 718-8444
Fax (301) 652-7711
E-mail: info.nac@erols.com
Web site: www.caregiving.org/

Family Caregiver Alliance
690 Market Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone (415) 434-3388
(800) 445-8106 (in California)
Fax (415) 434-3508
E-mail: info@caregiver.org
Web site: www.caregiver.org/