Episode 028 -- The Slow Road to Better

Shortly after my stroke, I wanted to learn more about just what was going on with my brain. Naturally, I turned to a combination of podcasts and book. There weren't a whole lot of podcasts, though. That's one reason I started this one, But there were a few.

One of them was The Slow Road to Better. This podcast, from the Stroke Comeback Center in Vienna, VA, is about life with aphasia. But it's not just by aphasia researchers. The show is a panel discussion by folks living with aphasia and working to recover more and more of their language skills every day.

This week I talk with the folks from The Slow Road to Better. We explore what they get out of doing the show, what the wish other folks knew about aphasia, and much more.

Technical Notes

Usually when I do a remote interview, I conduct it over Skype or Zoom. This time, it was a little different. We needed to accommodate 5 people in Virginia plus my connection and maximize the audio quality in the process. Since they are already podcasters, that meant we could do a double ender.

That means Melissa recorded their end of the conversation, while I recorded mine. We talked with each other via cell phone. I had my phone headset on while they put me on speakerphone on a cell phone in the middle of the conference table.

Melissa then sent her recording in Audacity to me via Dropbox, and I stitched them together. It came out fairly well.

 

Hack of the week

The group had two main tips for living life with aphasia.

First find a support group. Look for other folks navigating life with aphasia and share your experience.

Second, if you find a task is too frustrating and you keep trying again and again and again, and it's just not working. Take a break from it and work on some other aspect of your recovery. There's always plenty of stuff to work on.

 

Related Links

The Slow Road to Better on Apple Podcasts	https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-slow-road-to-better/id1208357373
Stroke Comeback Center	https://strokecomebackcenter.org/
Stroke Comeback Center on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/StrokeComebackCenter
Stroke Comeback Center on Twitter	https://twitter.com/StrokeComeback
National Aphasia Association	https://www.aphasia.org/
Bill's conversation about aphasia with Reva Zimmerman	http://strokecast.com/reva
Hand in Hand Show	https://handinhandshow.com/
Enable Me	https://enableme.org.au/Community/Podcasts

 

Where do we go from here?

• What's your reaction to this episode? Let us know in the comments below.Visit the Stroke Comeback Center on Facebook and say "Hi," to the team.
• If you are a survivor or caregiver, find a support in real life or online. It can make a big difference.
• When you encounter folks with aphasia, be patient. They are smart folks who've simply lost access to some of their language skills.
• Subscribe for free to the Slow Road to Better in your favorite podcast app.
• Subscribe for free to Strokecast in your favorite podcast app.
• Don't get best…get better.

 

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast