RickyYour always-on companion for ALS home care

Ricky answers home care questions day and night, adapts to each person's ALS journey, and tracks meaningful changes over time, so families can plan better home care, caregivers can carry less, and care plans stay current.

For ALS clinics, ALS societies, ALS associations, care teams and other ALS support organizations.

Ricky supports home care. It does not provide medical advice or replace your care team.

Swallowing was harder at dinner. Any tips for tomorrow?

Thank you for telling me. Many families find softer textures, smaller bites and a slightly chin-down posture helpful. Please confirm with your care team before making changes. Would you like me to note this for your weekly summary?

Yes please.

Why Ricky

What Ricky does

How it works

Clinic visits happen every few months. ALS is there every day.

ALS care teams provide essential expertise, but most patients and families have a clinic visit every three to six months. In the weeks between, patients and caregivers make countless decisions on their own. Maybe it is a change in breathing overnight, trouble swallowing at dinner, or whether a transfer is still safe as strength changes.

Most families want to care for their loved one at home, and they're ready to put in the work. What wears them down is doing it alone, one decision at a time, in the weeks between clinic visits.

These moments rarely call for an emergency line, but they deserve more than a generic search engine. Ricky is built for exactly these moments. Ricky draws on trusted ALS home care information, remembers what each person has shared, and points you to your care team when something seems beyond everyday home care.

A 2025 study of 367 people with ALS in Toronto

85%

of people wanted to stay home

55%

only 55% were able to

Source: Bonares et al., J Pain Symptom Manage, 2025 ↗

One year of clinic visits

JanAprJulOctDec

One year of questions at home

Breathing feels harder tonightIs this transfer still safe?Meals are taking longerDad seems more tired than usualWhich exercise works better now?I just need to talk to someone

Next: What Ricky does

Home care information built for your ALS journey.

Not a generic chatbot. Ricky adapts every response to each person's ALS stage, mobility, equipment, and care history.

Any hour

Ask by text or hands-free voice, anytime. No office hours, no waiting for a callback.

Knows You

Every answer reflects the person's ALS stage, home setup, and what has already been tried.

Checks in

Proactive check-ins and a weekly summary you can share with your clinical team at the next visit.

Knows its limits

Ricky does not replace medical care. If something sounds urgent or beyond everyday home care, it tells you to contact your clinical team or emergency services right away.

His shoulder joints hurt every time he gets up from bed. What should I do?

That sounds uncomfortable for him. Long stretches in one position can leave joints feeling stiff, so this is a good thing to raise with his physiotherapist or care team. In the meantime, many families find warmth and a slow, unhurried start to the morning help. When you help him to get up, support him under the shoulder blades, not his hands or wrists. And does the pain ease once he has been up for a while, or stay with him through the day?

It eases a little, but now he doesn’t want to do his range of motion exercises because they hurt.

Thank you for telling me. Pain during exercise is something his physiotherapist should know about, because they are the ones who set and adjust that routine. Try a smaller, pain-free range for now, move slowly, and keep his arm fully supported throughout. Would it help if I put together what to tell his physiotherapist?

Yes — what should I tell the care team?

Here’s a short summary for his physiotherapist: shoulder pain on waking after a long night in one position, easing a little once he is up, and now some reluctance to do his range-of-motion exercises because they hurt. Warmth and a slower start to the morning seem to help. Questions worth asking: should his routine be adjusted, and would an overnight positioning aid help? I’ll add this to this week’s summary too, so it’s ready for his next visit.

Next: How it works

Every response is grounded in trusted ALS home care information.

1

Trusted knowledge. Ricky draws from published and verified ALS caregiving guides, home care handbooks, clinic-approved toolkits and literature.

2

Patient context. Ricky remembers you, so responses reflect your journey, home setup and routines. Not a generic script.

3

Safety check. Ricky stays within home care support. If a question needs medical or emergency help, it points you to your clinical team or emergency services.

4

A warm reply. Replies arrive in calm, plain language by text or voice, shaped by vetted ALS caregiving sources and insights from ALS families.

His breathing sounds a bit different when he lies down tonight. What should I try?

Trusted knowledge01

ALS associations · clinical literature · care toolkits

Patient context02

Stage · equipment · care history

Safety check03

Stays within home care · points to your care team

A warm reply04

Plain language · text or voice

That is worth attention. You may consider a slightly raised head position at night. Try propping with pillows or raising the bed head, and notice if it eases. If breathing becomes laboured or he seems distressed, call your care team or emergency services right away.

Next: Who we are

Built by people with lived experience of ALS.

Ricky is a core nonprofit project built by Kun Yang Team Foundation, a registered nonprofit organization. Our team brings lived experience of ALS, home care, ALS research, and software engineering. We partner with ALS organizations and clinical teams to review and verify Ricky's knowledge sources and safety guidelines.

We are based in British Columbia, Canada, building Ricky alongside people living with ALS, their families, care teams, and organizations that support them.

Lived Experience with ALS

Home Care Expertise

ALS Research Insights

Software Engineering

Partnerships ALS support organizations and care teams

Our organization

Legal name: Kun Yang Team Foundation
Relationship: Ricky is a core program of Kun Yang Team Foundation.
Status: Registered nonprofit organization, British Columbia, Canada
Registered address: 7090 Edmonds St, Burnaby BC Canada
Mission: Kun Yang Team Foundation exists to promote health by giving individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and their families and caregivers, access to health information and educational resources for managing home-based care.
Contact: ricky-als.org

See Ricky in action.

Tell us about your organization and we will set up a walkthrough of Ricky for your clinic or care team.

For ALS clinics, societies, and care organizations.