Thank you first of all for reading this, please allow me to introduce myself: I am a student Speech & Language Therapist about to go into my final year of training at the College of St Mark & St John, Plymouth, and would like to do my final project (similar to a dissertation) on Myasthenia Gravis (MG).

The brief is to produce a training package or therapy tool which would be of benefit to either Speech & Language Therapists (SLTs), our clients, their families and friends or work environments. Currently, based on my (limited) knowledge of MG I am leaning towards producing a training package.

MG is not covered to the same degree as other conditions in most text books and people with MG make up a smaller portion of our caseloads than say people with a condition like Parkinson's Disease. I have personally in my 3 years so far met one person only but it had a big impact on me.

I would be very grateful if people would by replying to this topic suggest areas that they felt would be most appropriate for me to look at while carrying out my research. I have a lot of access to scientific papers and books but not to human experiences which I feel should always be the focus as it is not a condition which receives therapy but an individual.

I am not looking for guineau pigs for experiments here but looking to produce something substantial which may benefit any future clients I have as an SLT who have MG.

Thank you again for your time, I look forward to reading your replies.

Kind regards

Good to hear someone taking a professional interest in the illness especially from a speech perspective.

I was diagnosed with MG last November after an incident involving my speech. I was (still am?) a Management Development Consultant and was in the middle of taking a course when my speech atarted to slur to the extent that I could not make myself understood - understandably a scary situation. As a result I ws unable to take courses for some 3 months and even today find as I try to raise my voice it starts to slur.

I would be more than happy to help you with your dissertation in any way I can, so if you want to discuss this further please feel free to contact me at derekj.scott@tiscali.co.uk . By the way I live in Northern IReland so face to face might be quite difficult!

We have a local branch in that area (Plymouth). If you get in touch it is quite possible that some of the members would be glad to help. Most of our branch members do not read this forum.
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Peter Finney

MGA Chairman