Episode 254: Talking to Kids About MS with Erin Martin

Whether we adults admit it or not, kids see everything. That includes seeing a parent or other family member who's living with MS. And because kids don't have an understanding of neurological conditions, they use their imaginations to fill in the blanks. That can very quickly take them down a rabbit-hole that's far scarier than the reality of living with MS. So, when do you talk to your kids about MS? And what do you say? Licensed social worker and behavioral specialist Erin Martin joins me to talk about talking to kids about your MS. If you're living with MS and you still smoke, we're sharing results of a study that you may want to carefully consider. We'll also share the results of two different studies that might help inform your COVID-19 strategy if you're on a b-cell depleting disease-modifying therapy. We'll let you know how you can catch the video replay of an excellent webinar presented by the International Progressive MS Alliance. We'll share the details about how a group of international experts discovered a method for measuring remyelinated MS lesions (And we'll tell you why that's become important right now) We'll also share some encouraging results of a study that looked at the impact of estriol and Copaxone on women living with MS. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! Talking to kids about MS   :22 Smoking is shown to affect MS progression  1:29 COVID-19 vaccines, breakthrough infections, and Evusheld  3:44 Catch the video replay of the International Progressive MS Alliance Webinar  8:31 A team of international experts discover a way to measure myelin repair  9:08 Combination of Estriol plus Copaxone is shown to reduce neurofilament light chain levels  11:57 Behavioral specialist Erin Martin discusses talking about MS with your kids  14:27 Share this episode  29:03 Download the RealTalk MS app for your iOS or Android device   29:24 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/254 ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts! Email: [email protected] Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com National MS Society COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS https://www.nationalmssociety.org/coronavirus-covid-19-information/multiple-sclerosis-and-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-guidance STUDY: The Effect of Smoking on Long-Term Grey Matter Atrophy and Clinical Disability in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis https://nn.neurology.org/content/9/5/e200008 STUDY: Tixagevimab and Cligavimab (Evusheld) Boost Antibody Levels to SARS-COV2 in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis on B-Cell Depleters https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211034822004163 VIDEO: Solving the Mystery of Progression: The Key to New Treatments for Progressive MS https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5sm54HSBpY STUDY: A New Advanced MRI Biomarker for Remyelinated Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.26441 STUDY: Decreased Neurofilament Light Chain Levels in Estriol-Treated Multiple Sclerosis https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acn3.51622 Join the RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms Download the RealTalk MS App for iOS Devices https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realtalk-ms/id1436917200 Download the RealTalk MS App for Android Deviceshttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.wizzard.android.realtalk Give RealTalk MS a rating and review http://www.realtalkms.com/review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com. RealTalk MS Episode 254 Guest: Erin Martin Tags: MS, MultipleSclerosis, MSResearch, MSSociety, RealTalkMS Privacy Policy