This May Help Some one

General
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Hi All

I went to see a speech therapist yesterdaay.I saw the same team about three years ago when I was just beginning to have some problems.

I could not understand why all our support group slurred but my speech was more staccato.I felt the odd one out because I did not slur but found speech increasingly difficult. As once explained to me it was my breathing which was in coordinated not the muscles in my mouth.I have been given some breathing tips to practice.

Both assessments have said the same so the good news is that my oral muscles are not deteriorating as I thought and I can understand and do something.

This set me thinking about different responses to the diagnosis of Ataxia.

I am naturally an Eeyore which is genetic but I want to be more positive.Many of us have a real struggle with negative thoughts so i think it is personality and Ataxia which makes the difference.#

How do we respond to such negative news ?

I for one have gone through the phase of thinking about what I used to do. As Thomas Clouse seems to explain we used to take balance etc for granted.But now we have to work much harder and I don't like that aspect.Ataxia of some shape or form has robbed us of that ability but it is possible to relearn things.

Before you think he doesn't know what he is talking about he is an Ataxia person himself and a doctor who explains medical knowledge simply.

We can change some things. There is hope.I did not want to be told to run along by some Neurologist as there is no conventional treatment for you.I want to fight and to accept.There are many wise comments on this site by some very in telligent and wise people.Wisdom is knowing where and when to make the right choices.I want to be an encourager but I do understand discouragement.

I have been there.

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Hi Marie, I see you becoming more and more positive because of your challenges. That's awesome to me. You may not even see it but I do! :0)

Your so right about Dr. Tom Clouse web pages. You know I got a chance to work with him and gained allot from the experiences that no one can ever take away from me. My biggest thing from working with him was when I complained about not ever playing tennis or being athletic when I was younger, his response was "Ok, so it wasn't in your younger years but now this is a different chapter. So you now know what benefits your getting from it, so you can look at it differently for the rest of your life. It's just something that you need to do for your body."

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Hi .I'm marine26. I have frontal lobe atrophy....and I have ataxia....does everyone here have ataxia ...maybe for different reasons.? Is it a disease unto itself or what...Maybe some of you can explain some of these things to me...

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Look at the Ataxia UK website for info about Ataxia.I think mine is a disease not genetic or aquired.However the experts and me don't know.There seem to be lots of varieties and causes.