Hi all. Still trying to figure out this site. My mom was diagnosed with Bulbar ALS in 1/2007 and was put on a ventilator within 3 months of the diagnosis. My step-father takes care of her at home and I am there every day after work and on weekends to help out. From what we read and have heard, my mom started "backwards" for lack of better words. The disease normally affects the limbs first but it started in the respiratory area first on mom and has been a steady decline since.