I was diagnosed w/als in nov. 2004. It started with a lump on the back of my dominate hand along with loss of strength and movement. In my case it has progressed slowly over the past 6 yrs. Some major symptoms include but not limited to: muscle cramping & spasums, loss of extremety control/movement, loss of speech, weight loss to name a few. Not all symptoms begin at the same time nor do they effect everyone the same way. For instance, most are confined to wheel chairs due to als effecting their legs however I am quite different in that it has effected my upper body. For more info please visit: The National ALS Assoc.
http://www.alsa.org/policy/agencies.cfm?CFID=2899867&CFTOKEN=ef5a4ae638613426-3F50B842-188B-2E62-80E30DFAB579EB96
I really hope this help you.