Compass is still being developed and is effectively in beta. Some content and features may be incomplete, change, or not work as expected.

Content is anchored to trusted sources where available, but Compass has not yet been clinically reviewed. It provides general information rather than medical advice.

Feedback helps us identify gaps, errors, usability problems and opportunities to improve Compass over time.

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Tests and measurements

ALSFRS-R

ALS Functional Rating Scale, Revised

A questionnaire scoring how much help twelve everyday activities need, used to track change over time.

What it means

Twelve items covering speech, saliva, swallowing, handwriting, cutting food, dressing, turning in bed, walking, stairs, and three about breathing. Each is scored from 4 down to 0, giving a total out of 48. It measures function rather than strength, and it is designed to be repeated, so the trend matters more than any single score.

Why you might hear it

  • It is recorded at clinic visits and in almost every clinical trial.
  • Trials often use change in this score as their main result.

People who may help

Where Compass goes into this

About this explanation

These are plain explanations of words you may come across, not advice about your own situation. Where a word matters to a decision, the question pages go into it properly, and your own team is the place to take it.