How actors play a role in stroke rehabilitation

Here's something easy for the ASA and NSA to tackle, get actors to read to stroke patients.  You don't even have to expend any of your precious  brain power or much money.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2012/dec/17/stroke-rehabilitation-interact-reading-services
Alpha Kabeja always loved reading but after he suffered a serious head injury, any attempt to do so would lead to excruciating headaches.
So when a visitor to his ward at London's National Hospital for Neurology asked to read to him, the 29-year-old readily agreed. The stranger was from Interact Reading Services, a charity which sends actors to read to stroke patients to boost their cognitive recovery and ease boredom.
Kabeja, an electrician and band manager with a degree in anthropology, was cycling through Camden on New Year's Day 2012 when he was hit by a van which failed to stop. He was found by a passer-by, lying unconscious beside his crumpled bike.
His recovery was further set back when he suffered a stroke during surgery to reduce the pressure on his brain and fit a plate on his skull. He may remain in hospital until the end of this year.
Kabeja says: "I'd lie in my hospital bed bored out of mind, unable to read or concentrate. One day someone approached me and asked if I'd like for a book to be read for me. I asked if she had any Shakespeare and she read me Othello. Then she read a funny story which put a smile on my face, even though it was only half of my face smiling.
"That instantly reminded me of books I loved. My first weekend home, I went through my books and returned to hospital with some, looking forward to the return of another Interact reader."
Established in 2000 by theatre director Caroline Smith, who had read to her psychiatrist brother while she nursed him through a terminal illness, Interact soon focused solely on stroke patients. Today it has 200 actors on its books, sending them into 22 hospitals and 50 stroke clubs a week.
Stroke – damage to the brain caused by an interruption to its blood supply or the rupture of a blood vessel – is the third largest cause of death in the UK and a major cause of disability. People of any age can be affected, yet knowledge about the condition and donations to stroke charities remain relatively low.
The charity's chief executive, Nirjay Mahindru, explains: "We hope to stimulate memory and language through stories. Our actors carry a manual which we provide, containing stories from many genres. They engage with patients and their loved ones and try to respond to them – if they learn that someone loves animals, or grew up during the second world war, they will try to find something which fits with those interests.
"We can't help patients with their physical recovery – that is the role of the occupational therapists – but we can hopefully help a little with their mental rehabilitation."
Professional actors, who are paid for their time, are used for their sensitivity, concentration and ability to bring stories to life. Visits last for two hours, with actors reading to several patients each time. The charity would like to expand into Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but can not presently finance work beyond England. It works countrywide, from Newcastle upon Tyne to Manchester and London.
Earlier this year, it published Interactions, a collection of short stories it has commissioned over the years from emerging and well known writers for use within hospitals, as well as pieces by patients who have used its service.
In the future Mahindru would like to do more community-based work, to reflect the changes across the health service.
"In the past you could see the same people on the stroke ward six months later but now they might not be there for more than six or eight weeks," he says. "There is a relationship unfortunately between stroke and depression, and our readers can help to alleviate this on the ward. But one of the greatest challenges is when people are discharged from hospital.
"Often patients believe that when they go home things will get better, but then find themselves socially isolated and the depression can return. That's the opportunity I think for Interact to make a difference."
Last year the charity – a former Guardian Charity Award winner – ran a pilot project where stroke club members created audio dramas with the support of actors. One man later told Mahindru this had spurred him on to join a drama group.
Kabeja, too, has been inspired. Not only has he regained his love of reading and seen his memory and speech improve, but he has also begun to write his own life story.
"I started keeping a journal and then decided to write my own autobiography," he says. "I'm more able to concentrate now without getting the headaches. The staff who have cared for me have been brilliant. My left side is still weaker but now the strain is more mental than physical.
"My memory is coming back, because I am constantly working on the book. These are still the early stages, but I'm hoping it will inspire other patients.