MSWA Bulletin Magazine Autumn 18

MSWA MEMBER ALMA-JEAN
IS ALL SMILES IN PINJARRA
LARA RUSHTON, MSWA SPEECH PATHOLOGIST BUNBURY
Member Alma-Jean Crowley has been living with multiple
sclerosis for over thirty years and has never let her diagnosis
dampen her positive spirit. Last year, one simple question got
the ball rolling and Alma-Jean was introduced to some of the
services the MSWA speech pathology team provides.
As a former nurse, Alma-Jean noticed changes in her
swallowing and decided to email the MSWA speech pathology
team for some tips regarding travelling with dysphagia.
Alma-Jean was hoping to plan a train journey across Australia
and wasn’t sure how she would manage easily, thickening her
own drinks along the way. The MSWA speech therapist was
able to show her a range of single-serve premixed thickened
fluids which are ready to go and perfect for travel as they
don’t require any preparation.
After meeting Alma-Jean face to face, her softly spoken
voice lead to a referral to the Communication and Assistive
Technology Service (CATS) at Fiona Stanley hospital. She was
blown away by the different types of technology and services
available in 2018.
Since this visit, Alma-Jean has trialled an iPad with a textto-speech
application that ensures no one misses hearing
anything she has to say! The application offers a personal
word prediction engine with the option of several voices that
can be used to enhance voice output. It even has a cheeky
wolf whistle which is perfect for getting the attention of
Alma-Jean’s Committee Members when she is at her regular
community meetings.
“It is absolutely amazing as to what can be done today with
people living with MS… the mind boggles! Even the drinks
that you have introduced me to have worked wonders, and all
one must do is simply ask you experts. One happy customer.”
Alma-Jean, we hope we helped you with some tips and
tools that will help you plan your trip and are looking
forward to seeing some of your happy snaps!
16 | MSWA BULLETIN AUTUMN 2018