Multiple Sclerosis For Dummies
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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that’s likely to progress over time. Even with optimal use of the available treatment strategies, there’s still no magic bullet. Most people can expect to experience at least some change in their physical or cognitive abilities (or both). So you may be called upon to learn how to do things differently than you did in the past.

Not too surprisingly, this task of relearning is a huge hurdle for some folks — particularly for those who feel that things that have to be done differently just aren’t worth doing any more.

Grieving, which is a normal (and healthy) process that people go through when they need to let go of someone or something, is an essential part of living well with MS. When you grieve, you’re letting go of “the way things were” in order to think about “the ways things can be.”

The possibilities are limitless after you’re able to wrap your head around the idea of doing things differently. The world of assistive technology (AT) offers tools and gadgets — from the simplest to the most complex — to help you save time, energy, and effort in virtually every aspect of daily life.

Pay a visit to AbleData, which provides information about AT, or go to an abilities fair in your area to get an idea of the range of stuff that’s available. Your rehab specialists will be your guides, making sure that you find the right tools and learn how to use them safely and effectively.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Rosalind Kalb, Ph.D., Barbara Giesser, MD, and Kathleen Costello, ANP-BC, have over 80 years' combined professional experience in working with people living with multiple sclerosis. For each of them, MS was, is, and will be their chosen career.

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