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Stroke might seem like a grown-up topic to discuss with children. But a little bit of knowledge could help a young person save a life – or protect their own health.

Which is why Erin Cekovich, program manager of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, travels to schools and summer camps carrying a preserved human brain as a teaching tool.

The brain, provided by a medical school lab, is a great conversation-starter that helps her get into important stroke-related topics. After kids approach her, “I ask them things like, ‘Do you know anybody who’s ever had a stroke?’ And they’ll say, ‘Yes, my grandma had a stroke.’ And I’ll say, ‘Well, what did that look like?’”

The brain is just one part of a program Cekovich uses to teach lessons about stroke warning signs and staying healthy.

Strokes occur when a blood vessel connected to the brain gets blocked by a clot or bursts, denying the brain of oxygen and critical nutrients. While strokes can kill, they are also a leading cause of disability in the U.S.

But you don’t need to borrow a brain to teach kids about stroke. The American Stroke Association offers a Stroke Hero Toolkit (PDF) for teaching young people, and stroke lessons also are taught as part of the ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ’s .

However you do it, Cekovich said, the lessons could save lives if it enables a child to summon help quickly.

“One of the most important components of stroke care is the timeliness of it,” she said, “because millions of neurons are dying every minute a stroke goes untreated.”

Why kids need to know the warning signs of stroke

Although it’s rare among children, “stroke can happen at any age,” Cekovich said.

Stroke risk increases with age, according to the American Stroke Association. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 6.7 million grandparents live with a grandchild younger than 18.

The American Stroke Association makes what to do easy to remember with the :

• F = Face drooping?
• A = Arm weakness?
• S = Speech difficulty?
• T = Time to call 911.

Teaching kids how to call 911

Cekovich regularly meets with fourth-graders at Hershey-area schools, but the program she helped design has even younger kids in mind. And she knows they need to learn some basics about summoning help.

“It’s important for children to know how to call 911,” she said, including how to call from a locked phone. In her program, kids are taught how to get to the emergency call screen and how to call from tablets and smart speakers as well.

“They also need to know what to say,” Cekovich said. “You’d be surprised how many elementary school kids don’t know their address.” Her program provides a magnet kids can fill out to make sure they know where to direct emergency responders.

She also helps them practice what to say. For a kid, “it’s scary to call 911,” Cekovich said, especially if they are witnessing a crisis in someone they love.

Talking with family about stroke and health history

Family gatherings provide an opportunity for kids to learn – not just about stroke, but about their shared health background. It’s “an opportunity for family connection, storytelling across the generations and different ways of getting to know your grandparents, great-grandparents and understanding what their own health history is as a child,” Cekovich said.

Family events also provide a chance to talk about risk factors that may surround a child, she said, whether it’s relatives who smoke or how to make healthy choices at family meals.

Learning how to prevent stroke starts young

“Most strokes are preventable,” Cekovich said. So teaching kids about eating well and other healthy habits can keep strokes from happening in the first place.

According to the American Stroke Association, eating a diet with five or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of stroke. Eating foods high in saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol levels. Foods high in sodium, or salt, can increase blood pressure.

Cekovich also teaches the importance of exercising regularly and never smoking or vaping. She also provides materials about high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and other stroke risk factors.

Seeing the results from teaching about stroke

Cekovich has been teaching stroke lessons to kids for about five years now. That’s long enough to know it can make a difference.

On a recent visit to a local elementary school, “I had an older student that came up to me and shared with me that they were able to identify signs of stroke in a family member based on the education that they received,” she said. “And that just validated everything I do.”

Stroke recovery is within reach. Whether it’s in person, online or on the phone, the American Stroke Association is here to support your journey to recovery. Learn more about .