Albany

Ron Miller signs all of his emails with the same declaration: "I may have ALS, but it does not have me."

It was 15 years ago that Miller, 46, felt the first twitches of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neuromuscular disease, in his right thigh. The disease has left him almost totally paralyzed. He lives life on a ventilator at a hospital in Norfolk, Va.

On Friday, he'll graduate with an associate degree in liberal arts from Excelsior College in Albany, completing a degree he began years before ALS.

"There is very little I can do for myself," Miller said in an interview via Facebook chat. "This was a way to be independent and do something positive."

ALS, often called Lou Gehrig's disease, affects nerve cells in the brain and spine, eventually causing muscles throughout the body to degenerate as the brain loses its ability to control them. Intellect, though, is not typically impaired, leaving the body little more than a shell for a perfectly functioning mind.

Without control of the body, there are numerous hurdles to completing everyday tasks, let alone a degree. How, for example, do you turn the page of a textbook when you cannot move your hand? And what about typing up term papers when you cannot physically type or even speak?

When he was first diagnosed, Miller said technology did not exist that would have allowed him to complete his degree independently.

He uses eye-gaze technology to communicate, study and complete coursework, which tracks eye movement to allow him to type, surf the web or turn a page on a digital textbook by looking at keys displayed on a screen.

His first eye-gaze computer was a 12-inch screen that froze if more than one or two programs were running at once. He now has a 22-inch screen with triple the memory and speed.

"Before some of this technology a student would have been dependent on having assistance, like a reader," said Carolyn Malloch, director of University at Albany's Disability Resource Center. That reliance on assistance, said Malloch, can make the process of education constricting and, for some, discouraging.

"The more technology makes things accessible, the fewer people are kept out of education," she said.

At Excelsior, disability services coordinator Christine Earley-Nadler said Miller required very little in the way of special accommodations.

It took him a little longer to complete assignments (typing via eye movement isn't speedy) and in some courses he had to figure out creative ways to complete assignments with an on-screen keyboard — for instance, trying to write out precalculus calculations. In some courses, it was also a hassle to track down digital copies of course materials.

Really, though, the biggest challenge was the work itself. He completed his degree in two years, remotely from his hospital bed in Virginia. Next, he ill pursue a bachelor's degree, also at Excelsior.

"This student is one of my most self-sufficient students" said Earley-Nadler.

Since Miller cannot attend a graduation ceremony in Albany, on Friday Excelsior's president and members of its board of trustees will fly to Virginia to put on a graduation ceremony with full pomp at Miller's hospital. The ceremony will include a commencement speech by Virginia U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell.

Miller said his education has helped him to become a better communicator and critical thinker, skills useful even in navigating daily hospital life.

And, he said, "If the day comes that they find a treatment for ALS, I will be better prepared to take back my life."

kbrown@timesunion.com • 518-454-5035 • @kristenvbrown