Having a stroke can impact your daily life in lots of ways – physically, cognitively and emotionally, but there is help available as you recover.
Access to allied health professionals like occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, and speech pathologists can get you back to doing daily tasks and feeling more independent.
Qualified therapists can be found on the Mable platform, as well as disability and care support workers, that can help you at home, support your rehabilitation, and keep you connected to your community.
What are Activities of Daily Living?
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are the essential, routine tasks that people perform everyday to maintain their health and wellbeing. These fundamental skills include eating, bathing, dressing, using the bathroom, and moving around our homes. When someone experiences difficulties with ADLs, it may lead to reduced independence and a lower quality of life.
In addition to ADLs, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are more complex tasks that support independent living, such as preparing meals, doing household chores and driving.
If you’ve had a stroke, your physical and/or cognitive ability may be impacted, resulting in challenges in performing both ADLs and IADLs.
Support workers can be invaluable in assisting you with ADLs and IADLs and helping you work towards being able to do them yourself.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Types of ADLs include basic self-care tasks, also referred to on Mable as ‘personal care’, such as:
- Feeding: The ability to eat, swallow, and bring food to the mouth independently
- Bathing: Getting in and out of a shower or bath and maintaining personal hygiene
- Grooming: Caring for nails, teeth, hair, and skin
- Dressing: Selecting appropriate clothing and putting it on
- Functional movement: Moving safely in different environments, including walking and transferring between sitting and standing positions
- Toileting: Using the toilet and managing continence.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)
IADLs are more complex daily tasks, including:
- Shopping: Planning, buying, and transporting groceries or personal items
- Meal preparation: Planning and cooking meals safely and efficiently
- Managing your house: Maintaining a home, including cleaning and laundry
- Medication: Organising and taking prescriptions as prescribed by a doctor*
- Communication: Staying connected with others through social activities, phone calls, and other technological devices.
*On Mable, support workers must be approved to provide Medication Assistance for this task.
How does stroke affect Activities of Daily Living?
Muscle weakness or paralysis
Stroke can make your muscles weaker or, in some cases, cause paralysis. As a result, it can be difficult to pick up items or lift your arm, and your balance might be off. These things could make it harder for you to move around at home or work, and to carry out daily activities like getting dressed and cooking.
Cognitive challenges
A stroke may impact your memory, problem-solving and awareness. Occupational and speech therapy can support recovery by helping improve skills like processing information, decision-making, social interactions, and safety awareness.
Speech therapy also plays a crucial role in restoring communication skills, assisting with speaking, listening, writing, and comprehension to help regain independence and confidence.
Limited coordination and fine motor skills
A stroke may affect how well you sit, move, balance, stand and walk. This means you might have challenges:
- Eating, grooming, and writing
- Planning leg movements (this is also referring to as apraxia)
- Difficulty coordinating movements (also referred to as ataxia).
Fatigue and emotional adjustments
A stroke may impact your emotions and personality, making you feel more frustrated or unmotivated. It can also lead to fatigue, causing feelings of exhaustion and low energy.
While these challenges can be overwhelming, the right support can make a significant difference.
How to get support for Daily Living Activities affected by stroke
To help you go about your day, move around safely and maintain independence, you can use independent support workers through the Mable platform.
Depending on what type of support you need, you can find qualified support workers like physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists, as well as disability and care support workers to help support you with your daily needs.
Learn more about the types of support you can find on Mable.
Mobility and movement
Allied health professionals like physiotherapists and occupational therapists can provide you with a rehabilitation plan that you can follow to strengthen your muscles, balance and strength.
Support workers, on the other hand, will be able to help you with daily physical tasks, support your exercise, help with cleaning and transportation to activities.
They can support you with:
- Manual handling and mobility to help you transfer safely around your house and prevent falls*
- Hoist and transfer to move from sitting to standing positions*
- Transport services to get you to medical appointments, social events and errands.
*On Mable, the support worker must be approved to provide Manual Handling services to perform this task, which involves qualifications.
Personal care
When you’re recovering from a stroke, you may need help with daily personal care, like showering and dressing.
Support workers that are approved to provide personal care services can help you with:
- Showering, dressing and grooming
- Toileting assistance.
Eating and meal preparation
In the days and weeks after a stroke, you might need help with eating and preparing meals.
Support workers can help you with:
- Meal preparation to make sure you’re getting your dietary requirements while recovering
- Getting meals delivered so you have nutritious, pre-prepared meals
- Feeding assistance if you need it for eating safely and comfortably.*
*On Mable, the support worker must be approved to provide personal care services to perform this task.
Household tasks and community participation
When you’re heading home after receiving treatment for stroke, you might need help around the house, and to participate in activities to maintain your social life.
Support workers can help you with:
- Housework and shopping – light cleaning, gardening, groceries, and household tasks.
- Community outings and social activities – making sure you can take part in hobbies, social visits, and community events.
Therapy and rehabilitation support
It’s important to consider getting the advice of qualified rehabilitation, medical, and therapeutic professionals to manage any long-term impacts of stroke.
The Mable platform has both qualified private nurses and allied health support workers who can help you with:
- Exercise assistance – physical exercise to support stroke recovery
- Physiotherapy and occupational therapy support – specialised therapy to support stroke recovery
- Speech pathology support – assistance with speech, swallowing, and communication therapy.
How to find stroke support to regain your independence
When you’re recovering from a stroke, you want to have the right support for your individual needs. The Mable platform allows you to match with the right support worker for you.
If you or someone you know has experienced a stroke – and is aged under 65 – you may be eligible for NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) funding.
The NDIS may provide funding to pay for services, equipment and support so that you can live a fulfilling and enjoyable life. Eligibility for NDIS funding rests on factors including what your disability is, whether it’s temporary or permanent, and how it impacts your life.
If you have NDIS funding, or you’re paying privately, you can match with an independent support worker on Mable by advertising for the specific needs you need assistance with.
If you or your family need more information about stroke and support for daily living activities, the below resources can assist:
- Australian and New Zealand living clinical guidelines for stroke management.
- Stroke Foundation Australia’s Enable Me – information on stroke recovery, how to prevent stroke and daily living adaptations.
- Better Health Channel – a Government-backed resource offering practical advice for stroke survivors and caregivers.
FAQs
Can you live a normal life after a stroke?
Yes, but everyone's stroke and recovery is different. Some people may return to functioning the same way they did before a stroke, while others may continue to experience some challenges.
Your healthcare professions will work with you on your recovery journey, and help advise you on the best approach to treatment and stroke prevention.
Can stroke survivors regain independence?
Yes, but every stroke is different and impacts people in different ways. Having expert advice and assistance from healthcare professionals, and support around you, will help you work towards your rehabilitation goals.
What are the impacts of a stroke on quality of life?
A stroke may have different physical and cognitive impacts for each individual. Some people experience more short-term challenges, while others may have to live with them for longer. Your medical team will work with you to develop a treatment and recovery plan that is best suited to your individual needs.
How can Mable help stroke survivors?
You, or someone you know who has experienced stroke, can connect with independent support workers on Mable to help in recovery and rehabilitation.
Mable can help you connect with qualified allied health professionals to help you in your recovery after a stroke. Allied health therapists include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and psychologists.
You can also find support workers on Mable who can help with daily personal activities and travel, therapeutic support, help with household tasks, and aids and equipment.
Learn more about how you can start building your support team.
Can you use government funding to receive stroke support on Mable?
Through the NDIS or aged care support, you may be eligible to receive support from specialised qualified allied health support workers who you can find on the Mable platform.
You can also pay privately for Mable support workers. Learn more about how you can pay for support on Mable.
The information provided in this article is general information only and based on current information at the date of publication. In addition to considering the information shared in this article, Mable encourages you to conduct your own research and seek independent advice about managing life after a stroke. If you wish to use your NDIS funding on any of the services outlined above, Mable recommends that you check your NDIS Support Plan or speak with your Plan Manager to ensure that the specific services you are looking for are coverable.
