There is no denying it – we are living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic has turned lives upside down, prevented people from connecting with friends and family, and for many it has put plans and goals on hold.
Different Strokes have recognised that lockdown has left many from the stroke survivor community feeling increasingly isolated and without the vital support that they need. Support groups have been unable to meet and the networks that we once relied on have been harder to access through the new virtual world.
In response to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, they have developed a brand-new range of virtual services to ensure you are still able to access the support that you need from the comfort of home. In partnership with PhysioFunction and a talented group of exercise instructors, they are now delivering online exercise sessions at 11am every weekday morning. Not only are these sessions specifically tailored for stroke survivors, but they are set at five different levels, reflecting the large variations in stroke survivors’ physical condition and mobility post-stroke.
The sessions range from being wholly seated exercises for people who have no or heavily restricted movement, to advanced classes for people who can walk independently for long distances. This gives all stroke survivors the opportunity to undertake a form of exercise which is appropriate to their needs.
All the instructors have experience in delivering sessions for Different Strokes local groups and are therefore highly familiar in how to tailor their classes for people with a disability.
To further support the wellbeing of stroke survivors, they have also launched weekly health and wellbeing sessions and are producing weekly interviews with stroke survivors, talking about how they are coping in lockdown and sharing their tips.
Austin Willett, CEO of Different Strokes says: “We know from feedback we have received from stroke survivors how important it is right now for people to be able to exercise and to get advice and support from each other. We are therefore very pleased that we have been able to put these new initiatives together. We are very grateful for the support we have had from other organisations and individuals to develop these in a very short time period, and it is clear from the initial response that they are of considerable benefit. Furthermore, we don’t just see these as temporary services during the lockdown period, and we will be looking to source funding to enable us to continue these in the long-term, so that people who are unable to access a local group or who are isolated in other ways, will still be able to benefit from the services that we offer.”
You can access these resources using the following links:
Different Strokes Website: www.differentstrokes.co.uk
Different Strokes YouTube: http://bit.ly/2LmFF8F
Different Strokes Facebook: https://bit.ly/3dK8cPw
About Different Strokes
Different Strokes are a charity based in the UK. The organisation is run by younger stroke survivors for younger stroke survivors. They aim to promote independent stroke recovery and help younger stroke survivors and their families to reclaim their lives.”
