The Stroke Advocacy Network’s Virtual Lobby Days event is happening from Monday, June 17 through Friday, June 28. Mark your calendars to participate in this two-week event designated to make the stroke community’s voice heard in Congress on several important stroke-related issues.

As a member of the stroke community, you’re in a unique position to tell your members of Congress why they should learn about stroke and what you expect them to do to support stroke survivors, caregivers, family members and the healthcare professionals who care for them. Be one of thousands of voices on Capitol Hill in June talking about stroke! This year, we’re asking Congress to:

Repeal the caps on Medicare therapy services
Support funding for stroke-related medical research and the BRAIN Initiative
Support return-to-work legislation (introduced by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), himself a stroke survivor)
Watch for ways you can participate in Virtual Lobby Days beginning on June 17!

Contact Stroke Advocacy Network for more information.

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Join Joan Green, a speech-language pathologist of over 26 years with a special interest in assistive technologies, for this webinar series to learn more about using Mac and PC computers, ios devices such as the iPad, additional devices such as the Livescribe Pen and online sites to:

Enhance planning and organization with calendars, To Do Lists, reminders and alarms
Have text read aloud to speed up processing and improve retention of information
Record audio as you take notes with a special pen, Mac or a tablet
Take advantage of the “cloud” and learn about online bookmarking and organizational tools such as Dropbox and Evernote
​Learn about supplemental learning tools such as online flashcards and video tutorials
Improve spelling and grammar with drill and practice apps and sites as well as spell and grammar checking assistance
Learn to use speech recognition and word prediction programs as well as mind mapping/ brainstorming tools to help with written expression.

Read More and Register by clicking on Webinar Series for:

6/25/13 — Part 1 — Improve organization, attention and executive functioning

6/27/13 — Part 2 — Improve reading and writing

7/1/13 — Part 3- Enhance new learning with free online tools and iPad apps

Cutting Edge Approaches to Aphasia Management
Join www.speechpathology.com June 10 – 14, 2013 for this exciting, five-day LIVE online series presented daily 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Eastern.

Guest Editor: Audrey Holland, Ph.D.

Increasing knowledge and understanding of aphasia continues to be a top priority for speech-language pathologists in health care settings. Each day of this virtual conference, led by distinguished guest editor Audrey Holland, Ph.D., will focus on a specific aphasia intervention technique to help SLPs stay up-to-date on the latest advances in clinical management. Seminars will be conducted by leading experts and offered for ASHA CEUs.

Dr. Holland has spent her career working with people with neurogenic communication disorders and developing innovative treatment techniques in aphasia. She also
 has conducted research aimed both at increasing the understanding of aphasia and related disorders and evaluating the efficacy of treatment.

Click on the about link to find out more and Register for this cutting edge event.

Conversation TherAppy Goals
May 27, 2013 by Tactus Therapy

Aphasia: This app is perfect for aphasia group and individual therapy. Use the Describe question for rich stimuli for Response Elaboration Therapy. Many of the Decide questions require only a single word response, selecting one of the words given as an option, allowing people with aphasia to assert their choices more easily. The Brainstorm questions work on generative naming beyond the simple category level. The goal of using the app could be to self-cue when having word-finding difficulty by tracing the first letter of the word or using a synonym – any question can be used to elicit spontaneous speech to practice strategy use. When people with aphasia move to the sentence and conversation level of therapy, it can sometimes be difficult to come up with things to talk about. This app will be your go-to tool for higher-level therapy.

APRIL 02, 2013 6:30 AM • BY ERIN RUMELHART FOR THE MISSOULIAN
Stroke is a medical emergency. Stroke can leave a person with significant health challenges, affecting mobility, speech and other functions. Anyone with a loved one who has had a stroke knows how difficult these challenges can be.
Stroke is caused by a lack of blood flow to a region of the brain, either from a blood clot or from bleeding in the brain. Anyone can have a stroke regardless of age, race or gender. In fact, we think of stroke as an event of the elderly, however, 19 percent of all strokes occur among persons younger than 55 years old, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Many factors can increase one’s risk for stroke. Some risk factors are modifiable – we can do something about them – and other risk factors are not modifiable.
Here is a review of modifiable risk factors to help decrease the risk of stroke:
• Hypertension. High blood pressure (over 135/85) is the most dominant and easiest risk factor to address. Keep your blood pressure under control by changing your diet, exercise and medication. For more detail, see stroke.ahajournals.org/content/31/11/2751.full.
• Atrial fibrillation. This irregular heart rhythm increases your risk for clots. Having clots increases the risk for stroke. If you have atrial fibrillation, talk with your health provider about decreasing the risk for clots.
• Smoking. Smoking doubles your stroke risk. If you smoke, stop. Smoking cessation information and classes are available.
• Diabetes. Having diabetes makes you more susceptible to cardiovascular disease, which can result in stroke. Keep your diabetes well controlled through diet, lifestyle management and medication.
• High cholesterol. High cholesterol levels can affect your risk for a transient ischemic attack or stroke. Know your cholesterol levels. Diet, exercise and cholesterol-lowering medications will reduce your cholesterol levels and risk for stroke.
• Overweight. Being overweight predisposes you to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes, all of which can result in stroke. If you are overweight, modify your diet limit your intake of fatty foods, and exercise.
• Physical inactivity. Lack of exercise can contribute to being overweight, which, in turn, leads to a risk of stroke.
•n Excessive alcohol use. Excessive alcohol consumption narrows blood vessels and increases triglycerides. Excessive alcohol use is defined as drinking more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.

Contact your primary care provider to discuss options to lower your risk for stroke if any of the above applies to you. Often medication and lifestyle changes can significantly lower your risk for stroke.
Time is brain. The quicker you are treated, the greater chance you have for full recovery. Your treatment will depend on which type of stroke you are having, that needs to be determined in a hospital emergency department.
Call 9-1-1 immediately or go to the emergency department if you have:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding others.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.
Preventing a stroke is the best thing you can do. The second best is early intervention if you or a loved one has symptoms of a stroke. Early intervention leads to improved outcomes and less permanent disability. To find your stroke risk, fill out the Stroke Risk Scorecard at the National Stroke Association at stroke.org.
Erin Rumelhart is a registered nurse and clinical nurse manager at St. Patrick Hospital.

Click Here for original article.

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Learn more at www.gr8speech.com.

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STEPHANIE’S TIPS FOR CAREGIVERS:
Stepping Back

A stroke has a way of magnifying personality traits in the caregiver as well as the survivor. My need for control was pumped up, possibly because our lives felt like they were spinning out of control. I looked for ways to exercise
control. One way was learning everything I could about stroke. Another was keeping lists and notes on everything the doctors, nurses and therapists said and did.

As Paul recovered, I couldn’t stop myself from needing more control, particularly over little details. If those details didn’t go as I had planned, if I wasn’t in control, I would get stressed out.

I usually drive because I am a control freak. Of course, I explain that if I drive, “Paul is more rested,” and so more able to fully engage with whomever or where-ever we’re going. The loss of control when the traffic slows down (which happens all the time where we live), makes me frustrated and angry, so maybe I should let Paul drive more.

Recently, Paul’s brother spent a week with us for the first time in many years. I wanted to be sure that Paul and his brother had time alone, without a control freak micro- managing the scene, so I planned to work most of the week. On Wednesday, Paul drove his brother to his Rotary Club without me. They spent the day together and had a great time.

I have met many caregivers who were or became control freaks, perhaps more compulsive than me. They would do everything for their survivor, make all the decisions, try to be in complete control. They wouldn’t let the survivor learn to get a snack for himself, or help with the household chores,
because the survivor was too slow or “couldn’t do it right.” They were totally stressed by all the work, with no end in sight.

I have learned that the more independent I helped Paul become, the more time and independence I gained for myself. I know that loosening control and stepping back helped Paul to be more self-sufficient and self-assured, and helped me find perspective. And last week proved this in a very positive way.

For more tips for caregivers, please visit:

http://www.strokesurvivor.com/articles_and_tips.html.

*** Looking for even more inspiration & solutions for spouses and families? Read, “Conquering
Aphasia & Stroke for Caregivers,” the special E-book by Stephanie Mensh. Details and to order your
copy, anytime, anywhere: http://tinyurl.com/CaregiverE-Book

Life after Stroke: the Conversation Partner Scheme

By Kimberly Bond
For people suffering after a stroke, life can be very difficult. But a scheme that helps both Aphasia patients and professionals understand the route to recovery is starting to become a success.

The Conversation Partner scheme, which was started in the UK by the Communication Disability network ‘Connect’ in 2006, uses trained volunteers to support Aphasia sufferers in their own home.

Aphasia is a communication disorder often caused by Stroke –affecting one in three stroke survivors. It affects the sufferer’s ability to speak, read and write, sometimes leaving them with little or no speech at all.
Dr Simon Horton is a lecturer in the Faculty of Health at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, and is one of the chief organisers of the scheme. The University was the first site to train their students in the scheme, which is now a national network of more than 20 in the UK and Ireland.

The programme sees all first year Speech and Language therapy students at the University go into the homes of Aphasia sufferers to provide them with stimulating conversation once a week for six months.

Dr Horton said: “The scheme is based on evidence that people suffering from Stroke and Aphasia are vulnerable to isolation- as they are typically elderly and often have physical disabilities. This means they are unable to get out and access the stroke treatments and clubs available in the community, which are normally run by the Stroke Association.”

Read full article .