Name: Stroke Foundation #3 - Spasticity by Strokefdn
Duration: 35 min 40 s
Description: People often associate stroke with muscle weakness. After all, that’s one of the F.A.S.T. signs. But after a stroke you can sometimes find your muscles are too tight, leading to stiffness in your legs, arms and fingers. This is what is known as spasticity, and it can cause spasms, it can affect your limb positions and it can be painful.

Letisha Living is a young survivor of stroke and creator of this 3-part podcast special “Finding purpose after stroke.” In each episode, Letisha explores a different topic that has supported the mental wellbeing of people impacted by stroke. The topics she discusses are volunteering, support groups and creativity.

In this episode, Letisha talks to two survivors of stroke and a parent of a young survivor about finding purpose through volunteering. They talk about how volunteering supported their stroke recovery journeys and how giving back has impacted them.

Read the transcript at https://enableme.org.au/community/podcasts/young-stroke-podcast-series/volunteering-finding-purpose-after-stroke

Find more Young Stroke stories, tips and resources at https://young.strokefoundation.org.au

Browse volunteering opportunities at   https://strokefoundation.org.au/how-you-can-help/get-involved/volunteering-at-nsf/current-volunteering-opportunities 

Connect with Letisha
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetishaLiving 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stroke_survivor_empowerment/

Young Stroke Special: Finding purpose after stroke – Volunteering

Letisha Living is a young survivor of stroke and creator of this 3-part podcast special “Finding purpose after stroke.” In each episode, Letisha explores a different topic that has supported the mental wellbeing of people impacted by stroke. The topics she discusses are volunteering, support groups and creativity.

In this episode, Letisha talks to four survivors of stroke about their different experiences of joining or starting their own support groups. They also talk about the benefits of support groups and how this has positively impacted their mental wellbeing.

Read the transcript at https://enableme.org.au/community/podcasts/young-stroke-podcast-series/support-groups-finding-purpose-after-stroke

Find more Young Stroke stories, tips and resources at https://young.strokefoundation.org.au

Support groups mentioned in this podcast:
- Working Age Group Stroke (WAGS) https://wags.com.au
- Kings Park Warriors https://kingsparkabiwarriors.org.au
- Maitland Aphasia Communications Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/548780362402961
- Young Stroke Group (YSG) NSW https://www.facebook.com/groups/181491115232510

Find more support groups on EnableMe https://enableme.org.au/community/support-groups

Connect with Letisha’s Stroke Survivors Empowerment Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/369091401132936

Young Stroke Special: Finding purpose after stroke – Support groups

Letisha Living is a young survivor of stroke and creator of this 3-part podcast special “Finding purpose after stroke.” In each episode, Letisha explores a different topic that has supported the mental wellbeing of people impacted by stroke. The topics she discusses are volunteering, support groups and creativity.

In this episode, Letisha talks to three survivors of stroke about finding purpose after stroke through creativity. She is joined by Shelagh, a poet; Yvonne, a painter; and Gretel, a writer and performer.

Read the transcript at https://enableme.org.au/community/podcasts/young-stroke-podcast-series/creativity-finding-purpose-after-stroke

Find more Young Stroke stories, tips and resources at https://young.strokefoundation.org.au 

Find out more about Letisha’s guests and their creative practices: 
- Shelagh Brennand https://www.astrokeofpoetry.com
- Yvonne Denehey https://www.facebook.com/yvonne.denehey
- Gretel Burgess, email gretelchloe0@gmail.com

Connect with Letisha 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FindingYourselfAfterStroke 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/findingyourselfafterstroke

Young Stroke Special: Finding purpose after stroke – Creativity

Survivors of childhood stroke can face serious barriers to education. Inclusive education means every child is welcomed by their school and supported to reach their full potential. 

In this episode of the Childhood Stroke Podcast series, we speak to a survivor of childhood stroke, a parent and a professional working to improve inclusion in schools.  

Guests: 
•	Hailey Mckirdy, a survivor of childhood stroke, lived experience consultant and disability support worker. 
•	Alison Scotti, mum to a survivor of childhood stroke and assistant school principal. 
•	Kate Heine, founder of Heads Together for ABI, which supports young people and families impacted by acquired brain injury.

Childhood Stroke 02: School inclusion

Paul Burns is a young stroke survivor and host of Smashing it After Stroke.

Paul is back for a second season, this time talking to health professionals and industry leaders. Paul and his guests dive into current thinking on stroke recovery within their respective fields, what’s out there for those with invisible injuries and as usual, he picks up some tips and tricks along the way.

In this episode, Paul explores stroke recovery from a different angle. How can technology and AI (artificial intelligence) be used to assist people living with disabilities? Paul is joined by Marius Mathisen from Norway and Matt Giovanello from the US.

Marius and Matt are both CEOs of startups that are exploring innovative assistive technology. They share their own personal stories that inspired their ideas and talk about the current landscape and future of AI and assistive technology.

Read the transcript at https://enableme.org.au/community/podcasts/young-stroke-podcast-series/technology-and-ai-smashing-it-after-stroke

Find more Young Stroke stories, tips and resources at https://young.strokefoundation.org.au

Young Stroke Special: Smashing it after stroke S2E5 – Technology and AI

Paul Burns is a young stroke survivor and host of Smashing it After Stroke.

Paul is back for a second season, this time talking to health professionals and industry leaders. Paul and his guests dive into current thinking on stroke recovery within their respective fields, what’s out there for those with invisible injuries and as usual, he picks up some tips and tricks along the way.

In this episode, Paul talks to to speech pathologist Emma Power. Emma is a clinician, researcher and Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney.

Emma and Paul talk about:
- What speech pathology is.
- Different communication and swallowing impairments.
- The value of communication partner training and where to get it.
- Practical tips to support people with different communication needs.
- Why communication accessibility and inclusivity helps everyone in the community.

Download an aphasia-friendly list of resources mentioned in this podcast: https://enableme.org.au/media/q0gbvof2/radio-podcast-stroke-foundation-support-groups.pdf

Read the transcript at https://enableme.org.au/community/podcasts/young-stroke-podcast-series/speech-pathology-inclusive-communication-smashing-it-after-stroke

Find more Young Stroke stories, tips and resources at https://young.strokefoundation.org.au

Young Stroke Special: Smashing it after stroke S2E6 – Speech pathology & inclusive communication

Positive sports experiences at an early age have important health and social benefits. Families of survivors of childhood stroke often report being unable to find inclusive activities and sporting organisations in their communities.

In this episode of the Childhood Stroke Podcast series, we speak to a parent and two professionals working to engage young children in sports after childhood stroke. 

Guests:
•	Tony Peacock, a parent to a child who had a stroke and member of Stroke Foundation's Lived Experience Advisory Group.
•	Louise Daniels, a Senior Physiotherapist who is passionate about supporting children with a disability to participate in sporting activities.
•	Dr Olivia Lee, a paediatric rehabilitation consultant who supports families and children to become involved in sports after childhood stroke.

Childhood Stroke 03: Finding sports that spark joy

When a child has a stroke in later childhood or adolescence, they may have been involved in a sport that they loved before their stroke. The impact of stroke or social perceptions can create barriers for young people returning to sport or participating.

In this episode of the Childhood Stroke Podcast series, we speak to a survivor of childhood stroke and two professionals about returning to sport after a stroke and how to overcome some of the barriers young people and their families may face. The episode also covers the Para classification process.

Guests:
•	Tommy Quick, a survivor of childhood stroke, sports fanatic, passionate advocate and member of Stroke Foundation's Lived Experience Advisory Group.
•	Scott Nicholas, Pathways Lead at Paralympics Australia. Identifying and progressing para-athletes along the performance pathway.
•	Nathan Zuzic, a physiotherapist at the Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (VPRS), coordinating the accessible sport and recreation program.

Childhood Stroke 04: Access and inclusion in sports

Around 50% of survivors of childhood stroke live with disability, and while some can be seen, children are frequently left with invisible or hidden disabilities. That is, conditions that significantly affect their lives, but aren't always visible to the outside world. Invisible disabilities can include fatigue, cognitive, or thinking difficulties, emotional difficulties, and other neurological issues that can continue long after the stroke occurs. 

In this episode of the Childhood Stroke Podcast, we speak to a survivor of childhood stroke and a neuropsychologist to explore the invisible challenges children face after stroke and support systems available to help them navigate their journey.

Guests:
•	Tala Olins-Miller, a survivor of childhood stroke, physiotherapist and member of Stroke Foundation's Lived Experience Advisory Group.
•	Professor Vicki Anderson, paediatric neuropsychologist with over 25 years' experience working to improve the lives of children with brain injury, including stroke.

Childhood Stroke 05: Invisible Disability

In this episode, David Flood shares his journey of understanding and managing fatigue after stroke.
 
Dave made himself the subject of his Master of Counselling research, exploring his own experience with post-stroke fatigue and how he learned to manage it. He’s now a qualified counsellor who supports other young adult survivors of stroke.
 
Read the transcript at https://enableme.org.au/community/podcasts/young-stroke-podcast-series/understanding-fatigue
 
Find more about managing fatigue, and other Young Stroke stories, tips and resources at https://young.strokefoundation.org.au/life/fatigue

Young Stroke 12: Understanding fatigue

People often associate stroke with muscle weakness. After all, that’s one of the F.A.S.T. signs. But after a stroke you can sometimes find your muscles are too tight, leading to stiffness in your legs, arms and fingers. This is what is known as spasticity, and it can cause spasms, it can affect your limb positions and it can be painful.

Stroke Foundation #3 - Spasticity

Strokefdn

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