Would you like a hand with setting goals and planning your recovery?
Setting individual goals and developing a plan to achieve them is an increasingly common part of formal rehabilitation after stroke. But what happens though when you get home? Stroke recovery continues, so shouldn’t goal setting and planning?
Peter Levine, stroke rehabilitation researcher and author, wrote his highly-regarded book Stronger after stroke to help stroke survivors to develop their own plan once they get home. His book begins with the mantra: ‘Plan your work and work your plan.’ He writes that a successful recovery plan will include long and short term goals. It will be measurable, flexible and be driven by the survivor and their family and friends. Peter’s approach is designed to create what he calls an ‘upward spiral of recovery’ - a solid plan that will build on successes to inspire new goals and more success.
When the National Stroke Foundation asked how we could support stroke survivors to drive their own recovery, we found that stroke survivors, carers and health professionals all agreed that goal-setting was important. Stroke survivor Frank said it best:
“The stroke took away all the things that defined me as a person. l was a guitarist, singer and teacher. The stroke put an end to these interests. Following my stroke l became very depressed… it took me some time to focus on my therapy. Once l established my goals and saw improvement l was away and my progress has been great.”
David, whose wife Joy had a stroke ten years-ago, pointed out that setting goals helps carers too. “We’ve been married 44 years and when she had her stroke, it really affected me too. I shared her stroke. Setting goals helped me as a carer too,” David explained.
Stroke survivors and carers wanted a simple tool that would take their goals and break them down. This led to the creation of the goal-setting tool on enableme. It helps you set a goal, then think about your timeframe, outline the steps, as well as any obstacles you need to tackle.
So far there have been over 50 goals set on enableme. Many of them are about getting back to work or study, while others focus on family goals, like being able to walk a child to school or travel to Disneyland with grandchildren. Goals don’t have to be major achievements – people have used the tool to help them achieve daily tasks like being able to make a coffee in the morning.
Just as every stroke is different, so is every recovery plan. While goal setting comes naturally to some, for others it can be a bit challenging. Once you have set a goal, it can be difficult to see a path from where you are now to where you want to be. This is particularly the case when there are obstacles in the way. This is where we can help.
If you’d like to work on your goals and your plan, our health professionals on StrokeLine are here to help. They have extensive experience in assisting stroke survivors to set goals and a plan to achieve them.
Call StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 or send an email to strokeline@strokefoundation.com.au. We’ll make a time with you to set your recovery goal as well as plan how to get there. Life’s messy and so is stroke recovery. And if you haven’t already check out our goal-setting tool on enableme.org.au.
Setting goals will create structure, and setting milestones will allow you to see (and celebrate) your progress. As stroke survivor Adrian O’Malley puts it: “You cannot fail, you are just not there yet.`”