Different Strokes Conference Report 2010

The 2010 Different Strokes conference took place on Saturday 8th May at the David Rayner Building in Cambridge. The theme of "Work after Stroke" attracted the best turnout in recent years. The speakers were very informative and attendees enjoyed meeting each other and having time to look at the stands.

Sarah Welsh, Chair of Trustees started the day off by welcoming everyone and four new trustees all of whom are stroke survivors: David Portlock, Carmel Brown, Bob Watson and Vijayshankar Krishnan. Sarah also thanked David Phillips, who recently stood down as a trustee, for his support for more than a decade.

Debbie Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, started by thanking Annie Diggins and the Cambridge group for doing such a fantastic job organising the speakers at such a great venue. She explained that Different Strokes has had a good year. All the volunteers have been trained for Strokeline and people really appreciate being able to talk to someone who really does understand. There are also now 4 new exercise classes. Debbie also highlighted the success Different Strokes has had in the last year raising awareness by sending out leaflets to half the GP surgeries and hospitals in England. This is a start but Different Strokes would like to send leaflets to the whole of the UK. The website is now being upgraded; the existing site has served Different Strokes well for 13 years and Debbie extended its gratitude to Steve Gambrell who volunteered and designed the website as well as maintaining it.

Annie Diggins the conference organiser warmly welcomed everyone. She explained that she along with Lisa, Lorraine and Roy from the Cambridge group are going to cycle round the country in 2012 in order to raise money to start up new groups where they are needed around the country.

Finally Ann Dingley, from the Cambridge cancer support centre coordinator who runs the David Rayner Building praised Annie for her fantastic efforts "She is an absolute hero!"

The first speaker was Professor Karen Bryan who presented the Annual Moira Lister Lecture on a Work After Stroke project led on behalf of Different Strokes. Professor Bryan Head of Health and Social Care at the University of Surrey explained how important work is to people's perception about themselves and for their well being. This study is unique in that it uses stroke survivors' perceptions of the barriers they face rather than the medical or social models. The study highlighted the issues that stroke survivors face and how health care workers can work with employers to help facilitate a route back to work. Stroke survivors often need access to longer term and or later rehabilitation to facilitate a return to work. See her presentation here.

Professor Lorraine M Tyler MRC Research Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director, centre for Speech, Language and the Brain provided an informative account of research into the understanding of language explaining that sometimes a new region of the brain can be activated to do a task previously done by a damaged part of the brain. She clarified the difficulty in word processing that people with aphasia have and provided suggestions to help understanding by keeping sentence structure simple and avoiding complex language.

Yash Bedekar an occupational therapist spoke about the scheme being introduced in the Tower Hamlets area to provide longer term support for people who want to get back to work. The service is responsive and flexible to meet people's needs. With the agreement of the stroke survivor the consultants can liaise with an existing or future employer to explain stroke and the individuals' needs in order to put together a plan for a graded return to work with any relevant access requirements to facilitate a successful return to work. Help is provided for as long as it is required and even when stroke survivors are back at work they can still refer back to the scheme for advice. See her presentation here.

Jerry Johnson the Finance Manager for Different Strokes provided a very popular and inspiring presentation on how his life has changed from having his stroke to getting back to work. He also gave some very useful tips for communicating with someone with aphasia.

Lisa Caswell provided a very encouraging presentation on how she has met the challenges raised by her stroke and how she is improving. She has now been driving for a year and works in a charity shop.

Roy Carrier demonstrated the difficulties of presenting with aphasia and received an enthusiastic round of applause from everyone in the room.

Professor Jonathan Mant discussed stroke research in primary care. The lack of research in this area is significant because the long term care is carried out in the community. Professor Mant explained how family members benefit from support and also described the challenge of lowering blood pressure after stroke. See his presentation here.

William Winterbotham a Physiotherapist Team Leader at Addenbrooke's Hospital focussed on the physical aspects of getting back to work after a stroke. He explained that people can improve physically for a long time after their stroke. Getting back to work is not usually seen as a goal of rehabilitation and more communication is needed between employers and health professionals. William Winterbotham discussed techniques for improving arm and hand movement. See his presentation here.

Dr Andy Tyerman a Clinical Neuro psychologist described the psychological aspects of returning to work. He highlighted many of the difficulties associated with the workplace and colleagues in relation to the hidden side of stroke. He explained how the Community Head Injury Service in Aylesbury provides a step by step programme to support people in their return to work. The scheme helps people to understand their difficulties and learn coping strategies and organises supported work placements and help with job retention. See his presentation here.

The final presentation of the day was given by Professor Alastair Durrant who provided an entertaining description of his journey since his stroke. With the support of Different Strokes in Cambridge amongst others Professor Durrant has managed to find and succeed at some temporary work places. This was an inspirational speech and a fantastic note to end the conference on.

Debbie Wilson provided the concluding remarks and thanked everyone for an informative and enjoyable day with special thanks to Annie Diggins and the Cambridge group.