Getting a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, or any other disease that is considered “neurodegenerative” is scary. And unfortunately, with the category name of “neurodegenerative,” people can get sucked into the spiral of thinking there’s nothing anyone can do to help.

But that’s not entirely true.

Have you noticed a shift in the model of health care, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic began? Fewer folks seem to be choosing to go to skilled nursing facilities for long-term care. Families are taking on more caregiving in order to keep their loved ones at home. And who wouldn’t prefer to remain in their home, anyway?

The most common response I get when I introduce myself to a new client as a speech therapist is, “Speech? I have no problem speaking!” to which I often jokingly reintroduce myself as the “Swallow-ologist”.