News

For stroke survivors with aphasia, physical or cognitive disabilities, emergencies like those our country experienced last year and in recent months — hurricanes, floods, wildfires, frigid fronts, earthquakes and mud floods — can pose life-threatening challenges. The only way to meet any of those challenges is to prepare ahead of time for these events.

Many survivors have special dietary needs, making meal planning essential. And survivors often deal with fatigue, so preparing and freezing meals in advance is a great option. Here are some important “tips of the trade.”

Understanding the purpose, potential side effects and risks of not taking your medicines as directed is important, whether they’re prescribed or over the counter. Let’s look at some of the most common medication therapies recommended following an ischemic stroke.

Recently, survivor David Layton and his wife Charlotte found an alternate meaning for the phrase “single handed living.”

The type of rehabilitation and support systems a survivor receives at discharge can strongly influence health outcomes and recovery. In this, the first part of a two-part series on stroke rehab, we offer guidance for the decision-making process required when it’s time to leave the hospital.

Fine motor skills are how we use our hands and coordinate the small muscles that control our fingers. Those skills, along with other arm functions such as reaching and grasping, can be affected by stroke. The stroke’s severity determines the extent of this weakness.

Stroke is unpredictable, but one extremely common effect of stroke is fatigue. Some studies indicate that as many as 70 percent of survivors experience fatigue at some time following their stroke.

It can sometimes be hard for family and friends to recognize how much post-stroke fatigue may be affecting a survivor. We’ve created a quick-reference sheet that you can share with family and friends to help them better understand.

Survivors are sometimes concerned that they are losing function after they leave formal therapy – making gains while working with therapists, but feeling loss of strength and function even when continuing to do exercises at home. Rehabilitation experts weigh in on the topic.

Occupational therapist, Dr. Glen Gillen, adds his perspectives to those of the physical therapists featured in "Am I Losing Ground?" in this supplemental web-only feature.

Many people lose their emotional balance when overwhelmed with fear, pain, sorrow, anger, even joy! Writing can be a way of straightening out emotional knots, a way of achieving balance in our lives so that a sense of well-being emerges.

Strokes can often affect vision and processing of visual information. The most common visual deficit is hemianopia, or visual field cut. Understand different types of field cuts and learn about potential treatments.

Three out of four Americans do not eat enough healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and healthy oils. An extra cup of fruits and vegetables a day can help people get the two cups of fruit and two-and-a-half cups of veggies we need every day.

This infographic depicts what survivors with some common field cuts may be missing in their visual field. Free downloadable PDF available.

Mary and Reed Harris have been partners in Reed’s stroke recovery for nearly ten years. Personal relationships rely on communication so Reed’s global aphasia was met with more than a few challenges. They share their story, tips and advice to others for living with the effects of aphasia day-to-day.

Speech language pathologist Beth Crawford offers practical tips for families living with different forms of post-stroke aphasia.

Here’s a very simple suggestion for how to take a break – try meditation. A number of small studies have found meditation to have a beneficial effect on depression, insomnia, stress and caregiver burden.

Of course I knew how to swim, but what could I do now with one arm and one functioning leg?

Music therapists do not try to improve a person’s ability to sing or play an instrument — that is the job of a music educator. Music therapy is used to improve three areas of functioning with survivors: motor, speech and cognitive.

For stroke survivors, outdoor sports provide opportunities to challenge yourself both physically and mentally due to an unpredictable and changing environment. Meeting new challenges can be empowering to a survivor.