Handling MS: Word-Finding and Memory Strategies

Cognitive changes are a common part of living with multiple sclerosis, but they can be confusing and frustrating. Many people feel like their memory is slipping, when in reality the challenge is often with accessing information—especially in the moment. Forgetting why you walked into a room or struggling to find the right word in conversation are very real experiences in MS, and they’re more about how the brain processes and retrieves information than a loss of intelligence or knowledge. New insights are helping us better understand why this happens, including the role of inflammation and how today’s treatments may be helping keep cognition more stable over time.

In this episode, Dr. James Sumowski breaks down what’s happening in the brain, including why word-finding problems are so common and what “working memory” really means in everyday life. Speech-language pathologist Dr. Marissa Barrera then shares practical, easy-to-use strategies to support memory and communication—from simple ways to make information more memorable, to talking around a missing word, and creating routines that reduce mental overload. Together, they offer both clarity and actionable tools to help you think more clearly, communicate more confidently, and navigate cognitive challenges day to day.

This episode is sponsored by TG Therapeutics.

Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:

Marissa A. Barrera, PhD, MSCS, CCC-SLP

Marissa Barrera PhD, MSCS, CCC-SLP is a medical speech-language pathologist and multiple sclerosis certified specialist with expertise in evaluating and treating neurological conditions. She serves as Assistant Dean of Health Sciences at the Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University, and her research focuses on cognition, fatigue, and anomia in people with MS. With nearly 20 years of experience, Dr. Barrera has served on multiple MS Clinical Advisory Councils, is distinguished faculty for the Consortium of MS Centers, and has received the MS Rehabilitation Fellowship, the National MS Society’s Healthcare Professional Champion Award, and the CMSC ARTY Award for excellence in MS rehabilitation.

James Sumowski PhD

James F. Sumowski PhD is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and clinical neuropsychologist at the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis. He earned his PhD from Columbia University and is an internationally recognized expert on cognition in MS, including pioneering the concept of cognitive “reserve” as a modifier of disease impact. His NIH-funded research focuses on identifying modifiable factors underlying memory decline in MS to inform the development of effective, evidence-based interventions.