When Words Don't Come Easy

Ep. 20 Aphasia, Brain Health & Recovery with Professor Julius Fridriksson

This week on When Words Don’t Come Easy, we’re honored to welcome — one of the world’s leading researchers in aphasia and stroke recovery. Professor Julius Fridriksson serves as Vice President for Research at the University Of South Carolina and is the founder of the Aphasia Lab and the Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR), one of the largest collaborative aphasia research initiatives in the world. Over the course of his career, he has helped secure more than $50 million in research funding dedicated to understanding stroke recovery, neuroplasticity, and new approaches to aphasia rehabilitation. His work has helped challenge the long-held belief that recovery plateaus early, showing instead that many stroke survivors can continue improving years after their stroke. In this episode, we talk about: • How the brain creates “back roads” after injury • Why brain health plays a massive role in recovery • The science behind long-term aphasia improvement • Audio-visual speech therapy and rehabilitation • Why the way recovery is measured matters so much • Hope for stroke survivors and families navigating aphasia This conversation hit home for us because so much of Roger’s recovery journey connects directly to the kind of work Professor Fridriksson has dedicated his life to. If you or someone you love is living with aphasia, this is an episode worth hearing. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2026/05/boosting-stroke-recovery. https://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/public_health/index.php https://cstar.sc.edu/https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/research/ #WhenWordsDontComeEasy #Aphasia #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #BrainHealth #SpeechTherapy #Neuroplasticity #JuliusFridriksson #CSTAR #AphasiaRecovery #RecoveryJourney #Podcast

“The Brain Finds New Roads” | Julius Fridriksson on Aphasia Recovery

Professor Julius Fridriksson explains aphasia recovery in a way that instantly makes sense. Sometimes the main highway is gone. Recovery means finding new roads. It may take longer. It may look different. But progress is still possible. One of our favorite moments from this conversation on “When Words Don’t Come Easy.” Episode Out Sunday 5.24.26 #Aphasia #StrokeRecovery #BrainHealth #Neuroplasticity #AphasiaRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #SpeechTherapy #BrainRecovery #RecoveryJourney #WhenWordsDontComeEasy #AphasiaAwareness #StrokeAwareness #Neurology #Rehabilitation #PodcastClip

Julius Fridriksson on Why Brain Health Matters in Stroke Recovery

Julius Fridriksson explains why brain health may be one of the most important factors in stroke and aphasia recovery. New research is changing how we understand recovery and challenging the idea that the brain and body should be treated separately. New Episode Sunday 5.24.26 #Aphasia #StrokeRecovery #BrainHealth #Neuroplasticity #StrokeAwareness #AphasiaAwareness #BrainRecovery #SpeechTherapy #Neuroscience #Rehabilitation #RecoveryJourney #WhenWordsDontComeEasy #BrainInjuryRecovery #CognitiveHealth #HopeAfterStroke

The Biggest Myth About Aphasia Recovery With Professor Julius Fridriksson #aphasia

This week’s guest is Professor Julius Fridriksson, Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina.For years, people believed aphasia therapy stopped working.But the issue wasn’t the therapy.It was how recovery was being measured.Aphasia recovery is rehabilitation.Long term.And new studies show people can continue improving years after stroke.https://x.com/USCResearchlinkedin.com/company/usc-vp-research#Aphasia [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/aphasia/shorts] #StrokeRecovery [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/strokerecovery/shorts] #AphasiaRecovery [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/aphasiarecovery/shorts] #StrokeAwareness [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/strokeawareness/shorts] #SpeechTherapy [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/speechtherapy/shorts] #BrainRecovery [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/brainrecovery/shorts] #Neuroplasticity [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/neuroplasticity/shorts] #AphasiaAwareness [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/aphasiaawareness/shorts] #StrokeSurvivor [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/strokesurvivor/shorts] #WhenWordsDontComeEasy [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/whenwordsdontcomeeasy/shorts] #PodcastClip [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/podcastclip/shorts] #RecoveryJourney [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/recoveryjourney/shorts]

Ep. 19 On The Tip Of My Tongue with Jonathan Hirons

In this episode of When Words Don’t Come Easy, Justin and Roger sit down with Jonathan Hirons to talk about his life-changing stroke, the long road through aphasia recovery, and how he turned one of the hardest experiences of his life into a mission to help others feel understood. Jonathan shares the emotional reality of losing confidence, struggling to find the right words, and learning how to communicate again while still knowing exactly what he wanted to say inside his mind. The conversation also dives into Jonathan’s powerful documentary, On the Tip of My Tongue, which gives an honest and deeply personal look at life after stroke and the invisible challenges people with aphasia face every day. Together, they discuss speech therapy, family support, anxiety in social situations, the mental exhaustion of communication struggles, and why greater awareness around aphasia is so badly needed. It’s a raw, relatable, and inspiring conversation about resilience, identity, and finding your voice again even when the words don’t come easy. https://tipofmytonguefilm.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48yXAog6S5U #WhenWordsDontComeEasy #Aphasia #StrokeRecovery #StrokeAwareness #AphasiaAwareness #OnTheTipOfMyTongue #JonathanHirons #SpeechTherapy #BrainInjuryRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #CommunicationDisorders #RecoveryJourney #InvisibleDisability #Podcast #AphasiaRecovery #HopeAfterStroke #CaregiverSupport #NeuroRecovery #StrokePodcast #LifeAfterStroke