The stroke recovery process can be frustrating and overwhelming. What can survivors do to stay motivated? And how can caregivers know when to give them that little nudge forward?
Today’s guest, Christopher Gaskins, is a neuroscience and cognitive science PhD candidate, a neurorehabilitation OT, a certified stroke rehabilitation specialist, and the founder of two neurotherapy-based companies. He’s also worked in veteran centers like Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and spent time overseas helping those without access to medical care.
Christopher knows what it takes to motivate a stroke survivor forward – and has seen miracles happen when they begin to motivate themselves.
“A lot of my patients call me a hard charger [because] I push them. I often feel that yeah, they can do more than what they think they're capable of. But when we push them that extra, you know, five, 10%, they can do it. Then that raises that threshold a little bit higher. And you just keep on incrementally, pushing them a little bit past what they're capable of, and they're able to continually go further and further. … They’re able to kind of keep on going and keep on pushing themselves.” – Christopher (33:24)
In today’s episode, Christopher also talks about the benefits of using video to monitor patients’ progress and push them forward, how he encourages non-compliant patients, the origins of his two neurotherapy companies, and more.
In This Episode
(04:16) The origins of Christopher’s passion for neuroscience, and his work at Walter Reed
(07:52) Helping a patient understand what’s next in their stroke journey
(09:57) Using video to motivate patients towards progress
(15:48) Why Christopher started GoTHERAPY, Inc
(23:11) Outpatient care vs in-clinic care
(28:38) Helping non-compliant patients
(34:13) The most inspirational stroke survivor of Christopher’s career
(37:15) Christopher’s hopes for the future of stroke rehab
Our Guest
Christopher Gaskins is a neuroscience and cognitive science PhD candidate at the University of Maryland. He is also a neurorehabilitation occupational therapist and a certified stroke rehabilitation specialist. In 2019, Christopher founded concierge neurorehabilitation company Neurosuite, where he serves as CEO.
Resources & Links
Henry Hoffman on LinkedIn
Pete Durand on LinkedIn
Saebo
On YouTube
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
Saebo’s Stroke Caregiver Support Group
Saebo’s Stroke Survivor Support Group
Christopher Gaskins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-gaskins-ms-otr-l-csrs-876113179
Neurosuite: https://linktr.ee/neurosuite
