Making every rep count: Optimising task challenge in stroke rehabilitation
Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/making-every-rep-count-optimising-task-challenge-in-stroke-rehabilitation
Date: Thur 8th Oct 2026
Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm – Sydney, Australia (AEDT), 8:00am – 9:00am (UK time); 8.00pm-9.00pm (NZ time)
Cost: Free
Presenters: Prof. Nada Signal & Dr Emma Gomes
Dr Nada Signal is a physiotherapist and Professor of Rehabilitation at Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand. She leads a programme of research focused on how therapists can define, measure and calibrate challenge in neurorehabilitation. She led the development of the TIDieR-Rehab rehabilitation intervention reporting framework, and researches digital rehabilitation technologies and telerehabilitation approaches.
Dr Emeline (Emma) Gomes is a lecturer, early career researcher, and physiotherapist based at the Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand. Her research aims to enhance experiences and outcomes of neurorehabilitation, with a particular interest in optimising rehabilitation dosage through person-centred and relational approaches.
Learning outcomes: By the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to:
- Describe what rehabilitation task challenge is, and how it differs from the amount of rehabilitation delivered.
- Differentiate between nominal, functional and perceived challenge in rehabilitation tasks.
- Apply strategies to set, monitor and progress challenge with the people they work with.
Description: In this presentation, Nada and Emma will focus on task challenge, an often-overlooked but key ingredient in stroke rehabilitation. They will unpack what challenge is, and why the dosage of rehabilitation depends on both the amount of practice and how challenging that practice is. Drawing on a decade of research, including clinical trials, measurement studies, video analysis of routine stroke rehabilitation sessions, and interviews with people with stroke and their therapists, they will show how skilled therapists can work with learners to set, monitor, and progress challenge.
All lectures will be recorded and available on our lecture library – https://strokeed.com/lectures/