On This Page:

Conductive Education (CE) is an educational program created to teach children and adults with motor disorders, such as but not limited to, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke or head injury, spontaneous skills and problem solving tasks through an intensive multi-disciplinary approach to achieve an independent life. Conductive Education encompasses all the forms of traditional therapy, such as, speech, physical and occupational therapy. CE enables an individual with motor disabilities to become self-reliant in daily activities through active learning. By repetition of tasks and combining intentional movements with learning, the brain creates different paths for sending messages to the muscle groups and thus creates desired movements, like walking, standing, sitting and self feeding. The independence gained through the teaching of Conductive Education is not just limited to physical achievements but includes, communication, academic, social and emotional development, also. Conductive Education searches for ways to develop structured movement in each motor disabled person based on the premise that even though the human body has limitations the mind does not.

 

Dr. Andras Peto, a physician and educator, developed Conductive Education in Hungary in 1945. His method pioneered a new way to rehabilitate children and adults with motor disabilities due to damages to the central nervous system. While other children learn physical movement through assimilation within their peer groups, the motor disordered child must be taught to develop these same movements as a skill set. Dr. Peto believed that problems of movement were due to problems of learning and that the motor disabled child could learn and develop physical movement by continuous repetition of these tasks. Conductive Education bases its approach to teaching, that, despite damage to the central nervous system the nervous system still has the ability to create new neural connections and through a proper guidance and learning process this capacity can be realized. That is why Dr. Peto termed this learning process “conductive”. (See www.peto.hu for more information.)

 

Conductor-teachers who have attained a degree in Conductive Education, “orchestrate” the child’s learning by integrating movement with communicative, cognitive and sensory learning. Using music, games and apparatus that aid movement and the student’s desire to achieve simple tasks, children develop and maximize functional independence through goal-directed activity, verbal cues and group dynamics. A child uses speech or inner speech to express an intention, and then carries it out through rhythmic movement. This use of language facilitates and regulates motor activity and focuses attention on the movement. The child becomes the active participant in learning; completing tasks designed to build self-esteem and self-sufficiency.

 

What Does Conductive Education Teach? 

 

Conductive Education addresses a variety of developmental skills including, but not limited to:

 

Motor – Learning to stretch and separate upper and lower limbs, reducing unwanted simultaneous and over movements, improving head control, learning controlled and balanced sitting, weight bearing in standing, weight shifting for walking, hand-eye coordination, reaching, grasp and release and fine manipulation skills.

 

Communication – Attaining improved breathing capacity, making sounds, developing use of simple words, improving articulation, reducing dribbling, learning use of augmentative communication.

 

Cognitive –Increasing attention span, developing active problem solving strategies, learning age related academic concepts in math, literacy, art, science and play.

 

Self Care –Eating with a spoon, chewing correctly, drinking from a cup with reduced help, increasing independence in dressing and undressing and developing potty training

 

Social/Emotional – Interacting with peers, increasing activity, independence, participation and level of attention in group activities, increasing confidence and self-esteem.

 

Through practice and repetition of these skills the child learns how to adapt acquired skills into different situations within their home, school and community. Parents are also given advice on how their child can apply the abilities learned to everyday activities, thus, promoting greater independence in their child’s life.