Speech Language Pathology is a fascinating field. Covering everything from swallowing to memory to the fundamentals of language to not biting your cheek every damn biter during dinner, it’s something most folks outside stroke world or the disabled community never really think about.

Tsgoyna Tanzman is an author and a Speech Therapist in Southern California. In this episode Tsgoyna and I talk about:

• What we mean by “cognitive issues”
• The multiple different types of aphasia
• Managing over stimulation after stroke
• The nature of recovery
• The impact of telemedicine
• How race affects post-stroke care and assessment
• The process of editing and self-publishing a book

If any of that  sounds interesting to you, be sure to listen.

Bio

As a Speech-Language Pathologist and Life Coach for more than 25 years, Tsgoyna has helped thousands of people transition after stroke and brain injury to the next stages of their lives. Having worked in hospitals, home care, residential and skilled nursing facilities, clinics, and community settings, she’s an expert at helping people find their inner and outer resources needed for the process of recovery.

Tsgoyna’s unique approach combines traditional and holistic speech therapy along with the life coaching practices used by some of the most successful people on the planet. Trained by legendary coaching gurus Tony Robbins, Dr. Dawson Church, and Brooke Castillo; she’s also a Master Practitioner of Neurolinguistic Programming. Tsgoyna is best known for her down-to-earth practicality, enthusiasm, and sense of humor while compassionately guiding caregivers and survivors through recovery.

She is the author of the bestseller book, Hope After Stroke for Caregivers and Survivors: The Holistic Guide to Getting Your Life Back. Tsgoyna’s humor and poignant life stories appear in 15  different anthologies of Chicken Soup for the Soul. She is a current contributor to Thrive Global (Huffington Post). Her blog pieces about mental health appear on the largest online addiction recovery site: I Love Recovery Cafe.  Tsgoyna gained national attention on CNBC News, USA Today, Glamour Magazine, Woman’s Day Magazine, the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune for authoring the first-ever line of greeting cards for the unemployed in 1991,”Pink Slip Productions.”

3 Tips for Over Stimulation

While I hope everyone is social distancing and avoiding large gatherings so that COVID-19 kills fewer people and causes fewer strokes, someday we will be out socializing again. If you struggle with over stimulation in social events, Tsgoyna has three tips to make it a little easier for stroke survivors to manage.

1. Make sure you get adequate rest before and after the event.
2. Find a space at the event where you can decrease the stimulation.
3. Focus on talking to one person at a time in another, quieter part of the room.

The 1950s

I mentioned the cognitive assessment they gave me where I was asked to describe what was happening in the image.

I answered “1954.”

(actually, the specific year changes every time I tell this story, but it’s always the fifties)

Here is that image:

Free Workbook Sample

To get Tsgoyna’s free 21 Day Sample of the Recovery Journal and sign up for Tsgoyna’s mailing list, visit this link:

http://strokecast.com/HopeAfterStrokeGuide

Free Wheelin’ with Carden

I was recently featured on the Free Wheelin’ with Carden Podcast.

Carden Wycoff is podcaster and disability activist in Atlanta. She interviews guests about their experiences  going through life with disabilities, the nature of accessibility, the impact of the ADA, and how we can all work to combat ableism, and push for a more accessible world.

You can listen to our conversation about my story and the power of Neuroplasticity here: http://strokecast.com/BillVisits/FreeWheelin

Hack of the Week

Meditation is key. It’s about taking a moment to prepare yourself for the day. Just like you prepare yourself to leave the house by putting on pants of a sort or a skirt (probably), you can prepare yourself for the day by taking some time to prepare your mind.

It can be as simple as taking a few minutes to find one thing to focus on with each of the five senses in that moment — site, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. If you want to get really fancy may throw proprioception into the mix.

Ultimately, the survivor does all the work of recovery. And it is work. So take a few minutes each morning to prepare.

Links

Tsgoyna’s Website

https://www.tsgoyna.com/

Tsgoyna’s Email

[email protected]

Tsgoyna on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/Tsgoyna

Tsgoyna on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsgoyna/

Hope After Stroke Website

http://hope-stroke.com

Hope After Stroke on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Hope-After-Stroke-Caregivers-Survivors/dp/1732953805/

Tsgoyna on Thrive Global

https://thriveglobal.com/authors/tsgoyna-tanzman/

Tsgoyna on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsgoyna

Free Wheelin’ with Carden

https://www.freewheelinwithcarden.com/

Carden interviews Bill

http://strokecast.com/BillVisits/FreeWheelin

Where do we do from here?

• Get your free copy of Tsgoyna’s recovery journal and learn more about here book here http://Hope-Stroke.com
• Check out my conversation with Carden here: http://strokecast.com/BillVisits/FreeWheelin
• Share this episode with three other people you know by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/HopeAfterStroke
• Don’t get best…get better

Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.