United Kingdom, Aug. 24 -- Sterling K. Brown's mom has been unable to speak for more more than eight years.

The 50-year-old actor's mother Aralean was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2018, and by October that year, she had lost the ability to communicate verbally, though she is still able to connect with her loved ones in other ways.

Sterling appeared on the This Is Us re-watch podcast, That Was Us and drew parallels between his home life at the time and that of his character Randall Pearson, whose mom Rebecca suffered from Alzheimer's.

Speaking to co-hosts Mandy Moore - who played Rebecca - and Chris Sullivan, who portrayed Toby Damon, and guest Lydria Stori, a caregiving advocate, Sterling said: "My mom has ALS,...