“Keeping Active After Stroke”

Lorraine AyresGroup Development Manager

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

Why !

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

“Different Strokes helps stroke survivors of working age to optimise their recovery, take control of their own lives and regain as much independence as possible by offering 'rehabilitative services', information and advice”

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

Different Strokes objectives for all younger stroke survivors are to:

• Improve mobility and confidence• Optimise the quality of life;• Reduce the sense of isolation;• Encourage learning from sharing experiences;• Encouragement to participate in community life• Achieve optimum levels of functioning both physically and

psychologically.

“Keeping Active After Stroke”Newsletter

• 3 times a year• Who to – 11,000 recipients• “Ask the Expert”• Articles relevant to keeping active and

rehabilitation

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

Exercise Classes – 50 – across the UK

Who takes the class

How often

What types of activity

“Keeping Active After Stroke”“Exercising together as a group means that newer stroke survivors can see how much those who have been going for longer have benefitted and improved physically, and emotionally. People encourage each other in a social situation”.

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

Having a qualified instructor means that exercise can be tailored to suit the needs of the individual as well as the group. Encouragement is forthcoming from the instructor at a time when moraleabout physical well being is oftenvery low. 

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

Most people go just for the exercise class because it’s really good. The instructor doesn’t make you do anything you don’t want to do but she encourages you, if you want, topush yourself.

“Keeping Active After Stroke

Julia ....“I was persuaded to go to the local stroke club, who

seemed happy to sit round playing scrabble and drinking tea. I was in my 30s with two young children, and I wasn’t ready to give up. Then I found Different Strokes. The relief I felt when I went to my first exercise class cannot be overstated. To know that I wasn’t alone, and that there were people who understood. I felt it was imperative that I made a full recovery, rather than just accepting my lot, it was absolutely tremendous.”

“Keeping Active After Stroke

Viv ....“I go to a stroke group run by Different Strokes.

They meet once a week for 2 hours, the first hour is an exercise class and the last hour we have a chat. The exercises are really geared up for working age stroke survivors who want to rehabilitate, return to work and get their lives back on track”

“Keeping Active After Stroke

Barney .... I was 52 and self-employed when I suffered a stroke. The nature

of my work is I write and sell computer programmes . I realised that if I was to continue with this I needed to improve my physical strength and stamina and practice my driving.

Attending the weekly Wycombe Different Strokes exercise class means I can now load and unload stock from my car without assistance. I acted as a voluntary driver to collect and take home two other members of the group. This helped me to regain my confidence in driving, and as a result I have travelled several hundred miles on business to destinations as far as Sheffield and the Forest of Dean.

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

“An experience I will never forget ............. And one that I am so proud of”

It was “AMAZING” – freefalling at 130 mph for 30 seconds before the parachute opened

“Keeping Active After Stroke”

“Keeping Active After Stroke”