Conductive Education

Conductive Education aims to develop children with motor disorders to enable them to participate fully in mainstream education.

It approaches a physical disability from an educational rather than a treatment perspective.

The programme for developmental learning is based on a whole person (holistic) approach and was pioneered by the celebrated Hungarian Professor Andras Peto in 1945 to teach children with Cerebral Palsy to lead more independent lives.

Peto used the processes inherent in human learning and function, his knowledge of neurology and psychology and his observations from working with children and adults, to create a holistic and integrated system of learning that addresses the physical, cognitive, social and emotional needs of the child in a simultaneous manner, providing children with a variety of active learning facilities.

Conductive Education was developed to take into account the different needs of a child who has a motor learning problem. It offers a structured learning environment where the child becomes an active participant in their own learning and thus adapts and adjust to their natural and social environment.

The professional input comes from one individual, the Conductor, who takes the child through the whole range of processes connected with development.

The Conductor’s role integrates some of the knowledge and skills of a number of separate professional groups including:

• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Teachers
• Nurses

Through this approach we can:

• Teach a normal lifestyle
• Construct a different, new method of functioning
• Encourage personality development

The personality of the Conductors and the staff who work with the children are vital to each child’s success. The Conductor must, in her behaviour, show a fundamental belief in the child’s capacity to learn. She must have expectations of the children and provide the opportunities for each child to achieve at their own particular level.

A spiral of interconnections between expectation, activity, success and praise create the environment where children are happy and motivated to learn. The Conductor always sees the child as a whole person and looks at what the child CAN do.

Close and active parental involvement is an important feature of the system.