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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function. Pronounced (a-my-o-TROE-fik LAT-ur-ul skluh-ROE-sis), it is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, this disease causes the nerve cells to break down, which reduces functionality in the muscles they supply. The cause is unknown. The main symptom is muscle weakness. ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in a limb, or slurred speech. Eventually, ALS affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. Medication and therapy can slow ALS and reduce discomfort, but there's no cure.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association - ALS Association
https://www.als.org/understanding-als
Les Turner ALS Foundation
https://lesturnerals.org/
MedlinePlus
https://medlineplus.gov/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis.html
Muscular Dystrophy Association
https://www.mda.org/disease/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis
National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als-fact-sheet
Resources:
ALS Resource List
https://www.youralsguide.com/resource-list.html
Everything ALS
https://www.everythingals.org/
KidsHealth - Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS)
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/als.html
Spanish ALS Resources:
The ALS Association has a Living With ALS Resource Guides that are available in Spanish.
https://www.als.org/navigating-als/resources/guias-de-recursos-vivir-con-ela
Kidshealth.org has a has Spanish language ALS resource sheet.
https://kidshealth.org/es/kids/als.html
