“This is an excellent regime. A system needs to be worked out so that a weekly class is available.” Quotes from Conductive Education Project MS Society North West Region

"It is government policy to provide

patient centred services that will

enable people with long-term

neurological conditions to maintain

their independence and well being

and lead as fulfilling lives as possible.

The MS Society fully endorses this

approach and a key aim for us is

to involve people affected by MS

in everything we do. One way we

achieve this is by encouraging people

affected by MS to get involved in the

planning and development of their

local services. Often the result is to

bring about real improvements and

lasting change.

This booklet is one of a series

showing how much can be achieved

when enthusiastic people come

together to work on a local project.

We hope you will enjoy finding out

about the project and watching

the DVD (inside back cover). If this

inspires you to support this project

or find out more about our work,

please do get in touch. Our contact

details are on the back cover.

Conductive Education Project

This conductive education (CE) pilot project

was a collaboration between the MS Society and

Neurosupport who run the Neurosupport Centre

in Liverpool, in response to the MS Society’s 2006

North West service needs analysis. In this, people

with MS made it clear they needed better access to

maintenance physiotherapy and structured exercise

in order to aid mobility and maintain flexibility.

At that time Maureen Kelly, Manager of

Neurosupport, had observed some sessions

of CE (a whole-person therapy generally associated

with children with cerebral palsy) and had been

made aware of the possibility of benefits for adults

with long-term neurological conditions. CE is a

movement and exercise regime that addresses

mobility, flexibility, control and confidence. Maureen

approached the MS Society and the need and

therapy were brought together in the pilot.

The project was promoted by the MS Society

and Neurosupport and people interested in

getting involved attended an information event

to hear more about the therapy and to sign up

to the project. Following an initial assessment by

Laszlo Szogeczki, the conductor (as the therapist

is known), the six participants received 12 sessions

of CE over 6 weeks.

The project was developed and facilitated by

two MS Society regional service development

volunteers and the MS Society’s North West service

development officer. It took place at Neurosupport.

Four months after the end of the sessions the

participants took part in an informal evaluation to

record their thoughts on all aspects of the project

– from its organisation to the benefits of the therapy

itself. Based on those very positive evaluations, we

are now hoping to provide more sessions of CE to

a greater number of people and hopefully gain the

support of mainstream health and social services."

The project was led by László Szögeczki conductor.

References:


The PDF link which I stored with this document doesn't work anymore. 

http://www.mssociety.org.uk/downloads/Conductive_Education.aa9c59ba.pdf

If you would like a copy of the report in PDF format please e-mail me at judit.szathmary@virgin.net.

If anyone finds the link to this document on the  Multiple Sclerosis Society's site please let me know.
http://www.mssociety.org.uk

The photo and all text © Multiple Sclerosis Society 2007 

Printed April 2008