Not a therapy, Andrew Sutton explains Conductive Education

"Conductive Education – Learning for a living

It’s not so much a “therapy”, as a way of learning new ways of doing things. Andrew Sutton explains the ins and outs of Conductive Education, and what it might do for you and your family.

“I was very sceptical of trying this treatment as I thought – how can any intervention help me now at my age?” says 51 Maria, who has cerebral palsy. She has continued with sessions of Conductive Education for five years. “My general well-being, self esteem and confidence are vastly improved. I don’t feel as exhausted as I did and have more energy. I have learnt so much about cerebral palsy and now understand how my body functions.”

Maggie from Hull, a former teacher and education advisor, was diagnosed with MS in 1994, and was equally sceptical of the claims made about Conduction Education. “From the start, I was struck by the way the conductors worked in such a precise and focused way,” she explains. “I was dumbfounded when – from the very first session – I was able to do things I thought I just couldn’t do. For anyone outside the MS world, it might seem that my new-found – or should that be re-found? – ability to stand, my better balance and control, plus improved co-ordination and circulation, are minor. But I feel these things represent a significant move away from a passive role in the disease’s progression. I am now playing a much more positive part. I have some control over what is happening to me now.”

New Zealander John, who had a stroke at the age of 44 that left him paralysed down his right side and with speech and cognitive problems, believes that he wouldn’t have made the progress and achievements he has without the input of Conductive Education. “The result – besides the physical improvement, like speech balance and walking – has been a vast improvement in my confidence with people and the awareness that life goes on after disability,” he says. “I am able to drive, hold down a job five days a week and do most of the maintenance and day to day chores around the house. If I was to sum up my experience at Conductive Education, it has helped me gain my independence, confidence and pride back in myself and it has given me the awareness of what I am capable of achieving.”

People with Parkinson’s disease and other rarer movement disorders have testified in a similar manner. So, what’s going on here?

HOME TRUTHS

Behind Conductive Education – sometimes called “conductive rehabilitation” – lie simple, human truths: that people with difficulties controlling their movements can learn different ways of approaching what they want to do; that they will learn better if they enjoy the process and the success that it brings, and that they’ll do best under the guidance of skilled and motivating teachers.

Conductive Education’s breakthrough is applying these truths to difficulties that physical impairments bring to everyday life and living. Specially trained “conductors” bring together in one person different elements needed to learn to solve new problems and complete new tasks.

Like any good learning and teaching, how this is done in particular circumstances depends on a mixture of factors; what you want to learn to do, how much time and energy you have, where you’re starting from and what you’re aiming to achieve. There are also questions about the resources and personal teaching styles of individual conductors.

A ROUGH GUIDE TO CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION

While Conductive Education can differ for different people in different places, there remain some easily identifiablefeatures.

• You’ll be struck by the conductors’ immediate and persisting confidence that you can learn.

It may take time to find out how, and the best ways to teach you, but the only way to do this is to begin – showing, explaining, teaching. It will be surprising if you leave your first meeting with a conductor without taking away something new, however small – and without some of the conductor’s confidence beginning to rub off on you. This is the start of establishing your confidence (first in the conductor then increasingly in yourself).

• You’re not “doing Conductive Education” alone.

You’ll learn as part of a small group, since group learning is often much more fun and much more effective than “one to one”. You will be taking part in a social activity, along with others – including conductors – who’ll share the activities with you, including the difficult bits. Many people have experienced the positive effects of working together as a team in other walks of life, and this way of working still enables you to receive highly personalised teaching.

• The room will be sparse, almost empty.

This is no place for specialised “therapy equipment”; you’ll find simple wooden furniture and perhaps a few everyday items – such as paper and pencils – if needed for specific tasks. The highest technological mechanism known is the human mind – and you, your fellow learners, your conductors and your family, will bring this incomparable asset along with you free of charge!

• What happens is what matters.

Conductive Education is about active and positive teaching and learning. Conductors do not sit quietly; they move around, they lead, and they speak. A lot; encouraging, instructing, rewarding, questioning binding the group together, providing motivation, rhythm and meaning essential for learning human movement.

This is work, lively and cheerful work, ‘disciplined’ in the best sense of the word. You soon begin to sense that conductors ‘understand’ how your body works together as a whole, more importantly how you can take control of this to achieve things that you could not previously manage. As you proceed together so this knowledge will be transferred across to you. You learn.

• Time spent with the conductor in the group is a ‘session’.

Sessions with your conductor will last an hour or so; they’re social occasions, so you’re likely to spend some informal time – over tea and biscuits – beforehand or afterwards (or both!) with family, carers, fellow-group members and their families, conductors, and other staff. People working hard together on a common task soon find that they have lots to talk about! This chance for further bonding, information-sharing etc is an important part of the conductive experience.

HOW OFTEN, AND WHERE

Ideally, this depends on who you are, your condition, your family situation, and what you want to achieve – all very human questions.

Disability is for life; ideally, so should access to Conductive Education. This doesn’t mean attending every day – it could mean attending weekly meetings or just once in a while. Or, alternatively, attending for a period measured in weeks or months, stopping for a while and then returning for a “top up” if circumstances change.

Admittedly, in our less-than-ideal world, what you’ll get may well depend not on what you and your conductor consider is required, but on how much can be afforded. There is no routine public funding for adults in the UK, although a few enlightened local authorities provide funding for some centres. For the most part, though, Conductive Education in the UK is paid for by charities or by disabled people themselves and their families.

NOT A THERAPY

Conductive Education is not “hands-on”. It is a psychological and social method, achieving psychological and social outcomes. There is no physical manipulation and the target is not the limbs, the joints or the muscles – it’s the mind.

If you must think of it as a therapy, think of it psycho-therapy, but conductors prefer to think of it as teaching and learning. The focus is people’s morale, their self-image and self-confidence. It’s about helping them set new goals and find new ways to achieve existing ones by teaching new skills, providing reassurance and encouragement, and supporting new-found confidence.

Nor is it just about the disabled person. The changes Conductive Education bring can change family life too – for the better.

As Mary from Australia explained: “Conductive Education teaches people how they might better take charge of their own bodies in order to achieve what they themselves want. It does not set out to ‘cure’ anything, but to help people to live their lives.”

MORE INFORMATION

There are currently 12 conductive services working with adults in the UK; some are small one-man/woman bands, while the biggest is the National Institute of Conductive Education (NICE), which is located in Birmingham. NICE also trains conductors.

http://ce-library.blogspot.com/2009/02/adult-conductive-education-on-internet.html

http://ce-library.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-has-conductive-education-done-for.html

Alternatively, call Gill Maguire on 0121 449 1569."

Reference: Able Magazine

http://ablemagazine.co.uk/conductive-education-learning-for-a-living/#more-415

Photos: Andrew Sutton a now retired director of the Foundation for Conductive Education.

http://www.conductive-world.info/

http://www.facebook.com/conductive.world

Captures of the work at the National Institute of Conductive Education published in Able Magazine along with the article.

Unveiling Nonye’s warm hands in the ‘game’ of life…

Nonye lives in Nigeria. Last year she contacted me to help her to set up Conductive Education services in the Cerebral Palsy Centre which she established in Lagos.

After reading her e-mail I telephoned her. I like to talk to people who approach me with such a desire, rather than just read their words over the ether.

From that first conversation we exchanged many e-mails and discussed the potential benefits of Conductive Education for Nonye’s daughter and for other children at her centre.

In June this year Nonye came to England to visit her family.

With the help of Norman Perrin, CEO of the Paces Centre for Conductive Educationhttp://www.paces-school.org.uk/ and Gabor Fellner Head Teacher, Nonye’s daughter had her first Initial Consultation.

The Sheffield Centre was closer to her family’s residence than our base at the south of England.

This is what Nonye wrote to me after her visit: “Yesterday at Sheffield, I found it difficult to withhold my tears, now I made no effort to stop the tears. Knowing that my child would have been doing a lot better than she is now…”

After returning to Lagos she has been working hard to get things off the ground. The article below is the first public appearance of her vision to bring Conductive Education to Lagos.

Nonye is powerful and very courageous as Norman said to me after meeting her. We all keep our fingers crossed and waiting for more news on the development of her quest.

Unveiling Nonye’s warm hands in the ‘game’ of life…

FRIDAY, 29 JULY 2011 00:00 KEMI AJUMOBI

“The fact that your child has cerebral palsy is not going to change; you have to change! The last thing you deserve to feel is pity, guilt or shame! It is not their fault that they have cp, nor is it fair that they have been dealt the "hand" the game of life has given them.

But it is an opportunity for us to help these children develop their fullest potential while educating them and the society to accept individuals with CP. It is only the parents who can advocate for these children because no one, but the parents, have their interests at heart.”

With this above statements coming from Nonye herself, she unwittingly tells you who and what she stands for. And if your inner mind doing a quick check on every member of your family as she reels out some salient tips to watch out for, then you realise, you’re in for an educative and informative time with this kind woman of deep inner feelings for the deprived and denied in the society.

With arms akimbo, you replay her questions one after the other in your mind as you struggle to provide some answers. Ever observed that your child has delayed milestones such as controlling head, rolling over, reaching with one hand, sitting without support, crawling, or walking? Then, it is called Cerebral Palsy (CP).

The Cerebral Palsy Center is a Non Profit Organisation started by Nonyelum Nweke in February, 2010 to cater to the needs of children with Cerebral Palsy.

This Center was started with the hope that children with the defined condition will live happily with their families not in institutions, and get help in achieving their potentials to become productive adults living with their disabilities, even among their peers.

The Center provides early intervention services, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, special education services. It also gives information on newer alternative therapies. Most of these therapies work on the principle of neuroplasticity of the brain.

But how did this woman of passion and large heart come about this Centre? Nonye explains in her very words, hear her: "Chizimuzondu (Zimuzo as fondly called) was adopted as a six day old baby. She gave so much joy to her mother (still does) who adopted her because she did not have a baby of her own but had so much love to give. However, she noticed after a couple of months that Zimuzo was not developing appropriately, she was not achieving her developmental milestones. At four months she was yet to hold up her head, reach for toys or do any of the things babies her age would do. She used to shake and shiver like she was always cold, what Nonye now knows to be spasm and seizures. Her concern was dismissed by a doctor with a wave of hand, saying that some babies are naturally slow developers.”

At five months, Zimuzo was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) at Owerri Sick Bay, a private children’s hospital in Owerri, Eastern state of Nigeria. Coincidentally, Zimuzo was adopted from Owerri through the Ministry of Women Development and Social Welfare. The doctor, the owner of the hospital advised Nonye to take back the child to the ministry that she would not be able to take care of such a child.

On getting to the ministry, Nonye met with the head of the unit, Madu, who insisted that she leave the child, that, she would not be able to take care of the child, assuring her that they would arrange for another baby for her. When asked by Nonye what would happen to the baby, she said they would just leave her in the orphanage. Nonye, according to her, had not heard the word Cerebral Palsy prior to that day, but from the way the lady was going about it and the doctor’s reaction, she knew that it was a huge issue.

“I left Zimuzo, much as I hated to do that, went back to Lagos and started reading Cerebral Palsy from the internet. I called my friends and informed them of my predicament, and how I wanted to go back and take that baby, all advised me not to, that it is an uphill task to take care of a baby like that. The more I read about the condition CP, the more I was convinced that I needed to go back for the baby, convinced that such a baby needed a mother to love her specially, she must not be a number in the midst of many. In less than a week, I had read enough to convince myself that the baby needed a lot of help which only a mother can offer her. I picked her back and I am glad she is part of my life till date,” Nonye declares enthusiastically.

Continuing on the establishment of the Center, “At the CP Center, we encourage parents to register their children as soon they are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy because early intervention therapy is the key to successful rehabilitation. With proper management and adequate therapy, children from the center can function well in regular schools. We advocate their inclusion in these schools. The Center provides physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapies. It also provides the services of special educators and information on cerebral palsy in general. Families of children with CP are welcomed in the center to interact with their children and with each other. This Center is not just a place therapy, but a place where families can find each other, share joys, heartaches and learn from experiences gained from raising children with Cerebral Palsy.”

And to the government, she admonishes, “The government needs to support children with CP. Support our center in our attempt to bring in Conductive Education to Nigeria. Conductive Education was started inHungary in the 1940s purely for children with CP and motor issues. Today, it is entrenched in UKeducation curriculum and it is free. For me, I have long since accepted that God allowed me to adopt a child with CP, I no longer ask why , instead I ask how I can possibly met my daughter's needs, help her achieve her fullest potential and walk the part God has placed before me, hence I ask, CHIZIMUZONDU!!!”

Reference:
http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/inspiring-woman/25287-unveiling-nonyes-warm-hands-in-the-game-of-life

Further Reading: http://juditszathmary.blogspot.com/2011/06/wish-my-child-was-born-in-kuwait.html

http://juditszathmary.blogspot.com/2011/06/gail-edgecombe-comments-on-andrew.html

The School of Life

Ken Robinson on Passion from The School of Life on Vimeo.

References: http://sirkenrobinson.com

http://www.imagineitproject.com

..."But the biggest disability is our inability to see behind it..."

Certain Proof: A Question of Worth

Film Review from Vail Film Festival

By Thomas N.

..." Much of the film focuses on the relationship with the mothers and their children, along with the struggles the mothers go through to prove their children’s potential. When the Ellises first met the mothers of these three children, they noticed that the mothers hope had faded and they had given up on the school system. Yet making this movie helped to restore the hope that the mothers once had.

The Ellises chose Josh, Colin and Kay for this film as they believed they were at critical points in their growth and schooling. First grade being the beginning of a child’s journey in the public school system, third grade as the point in which the curriculum becomes much more difficult with having homework, and sixth grade when a student enters middle school.

Ms. Ellis said her favorite part of filming Certain Proof was that her expectations while at the start of filming was to help the kids have a voice but she later learned during filming the importance that those with cerebral palsy all communicate differently and that there is a “…very different perspective on what it means to communicate.” She questioned, “As receivers how are we communicating with them?”

According to Susan regarding the movie, “The trailer created quite a stir in the disability community because they generally are not exposed to the general public regarding their trails and tribulations of just getting your child an education.” This is the goal of the documentary: to educate the public.

“We should teach these children assuming they understand. Because when we assume they don’t understand, then we are not giving them the education they deserve… it is far less dangerous to teach them as if they understand.” Said Ray when asked about what he wants educators to learn form the movie..."

Directed by Ray Ellis Susan Ellis (Collaborating Director)

Produced by Patrice Donnel – Associate Producer Susan Ellis Producer

Run time 50 minutes

Reference and for further information: http://www.certainproof.com/index.html

http://www.footpathpictures.com/

A KONDUKTÍV NEVELÉS GYERMEKNEUROLÓGIAI INDIKÁCIÓJA

Dr. András Pető and Dr. Mária Hári

„Volt egy alapvetô orvosi-nevelôi elve: mindenkit feljebb
kell emelni arról a pontról, ahol éppen tart. A »teljesen
béna« gyereket nem csupán eltartani kell, ha a szemhéját
sem tudja mozgatni, el kell érni, hogy megtanuljon pislogni,
és ha pislog, ez már eredmény, akkor ô »tudati szempontból
is« elôrehaladt… Ez pedig fontos ennek a gyermeknek
az éltében.”1

ÖSSZEFOGLALÓ KÖZLEMÉNY
A KONDUKTÍV NEVELÉS GYERMEKNEUROLÓGIAI
INDIKÁCIÓJA
Balogh Erzsébet nyugalmazott tanszékvezetõ, fõiskolai tanár,
Kozma Ildikó nyugalmazott fõigazgató, fõiskolai tanár
Mozgássérültek Petô András Nevelôképzô és Nevelôintézete, Budapest


CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH
NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES
Balogh E, MD; Kozma I, ME
Ideggyogy Sz 2009;62(1–2):12–22.

Conductive education, developed by the 40-s last century, spread out in the world in spite the lack of hard scientific evidences for its benefit. There are sorts of cerebral palsies (athetosis, ataxia) in which conductive education might have the unique role to help. In cerebral palsies of other sorts it is much helpful if the disturbance of body scheme and degree of somatomotor neglect are superior to the palsy. Short term results of conductive education are to see
in the better movement coordination whilst the long term outcome is the increased activities of daily living.

Keywords: conductive education, indication for conductive education, rhythmic intention, cerebral palsy, plus and minus signs of cerebral palsy.

Andrew Sutton sent me the link to this document which I very much appreciated. I thought that many of my Hungarian speaking colleagues would also like to read it and file it for future reference. The text can be translated via Google Translate. Thank you Andrew.

The full article can be read by following this link: http://www.elitmed.hu/upload/pdf/a_konduktiv_neveles_gyermekneurologiai_indikacioja-2399.pdf

Note: Photos of András Pető and Dr. Mária Hári are published in the article on page 17.

..."is there anything to do with music that you have thought at times: 'I wish I could give them...'x'; or 'I wish they could enjoy...x'; "

"Hello everyone, this is a very random selection of email addresses I have in
relation to children with disabilities. Let me attempt to explain!

I have a cousin in his final year of a Music Technology course in the UK. He
has a final assignment to do and is want to do something practical and
worthwhile! I will quote from his email:

"I am beginning my final year of a Music Technology degree and need to find
a good research project topic. One project I know of from past years
involved adapting a Wii Fit board for people with reduced mobility in their
upper body to use as a musical instrument. I had the idea that perhaps
something new could be done for people with severe learning and physical
difficulties involving computer technology and their inclusion in the
enjoyment of music. Would it be good to facilitate the playing of musical
instruments or the creation of a tune, perhaps? Would you feel that those
with very severe motor impairment would benefit a lot, or those with severe
learning difficulties, or could it be used as a tool in others shperes of
their learning/development? I know it's a very broad question, but is there
anything to do with music that you thought at times: 'I wish I could
give them...'x'; or 'I wish they could enjoy...x'; or 'If they could just
have ...x...they'd understand this other skill/idea (etc)'.

Any/all ideas would be really welcome. I would like to begin to develop
something really worthwhile.

Thanks for taking the time to give it some thought.

James"

I wondered if I may ask all of you to contribute any ideas you may have
also. I will be getting back to him by Sunday I think, so if you could let
me know by then, that would be great and maybe we can get something that
will be useful out of his project - please feel free to pass on the question
to anyone who may be interested.

I was wondering about adapting the 'Garage Band' app on the iPad?"

I thought I would publish this letter which arrived in the early hours of this morning from Australia written by a colleague and a friend. All ideas gratefully received.

Note: Picture was taken at the Conductive Education Support Centre Brockenhurst, New Forest UK.

National Institute of Conductive Education promo film

National Institute of Conductive Education - promo film



National Institute of Conductive Education Myspace Video

National Institute of Conductive Education
General Enquires: 0121 449 1569
Fax:0121 449 1611
Email: foundation@conductive-education.org.uk
Website: http://www.conductive-education.org.uk
Address
Cannon Hill House
Russell Road
Moseley
Birmingham
B13 8RD



Note:Logo Foundation for Conductive Education from Google Images

First message to ‘ "I wish my child was born in Kuwait"- A mother's plea’ from New Zealand by Gail Edgecombe.

Gail Edgecombe comments on Andrew Sutton's facebook posting about "Wish my child was born in Kuwait" http://juditszathmary.blogspot.com/2011/06/wish-my-child-was-born-in-kuwait.html:

"I hope one day you have access to Conductive Education..yrs ago we thought it was impossible there was nothing here in New Zealand but we fought like lions to bring it here for our children..... don't give up"


Please find comment at http://www.facebook.com/StarlightAustralia?closeTheater=1#!/ConductiveEducationPress

Thank you Gail. I am very sorry that the comment box is not working.

If you would like to send a message for the mother in this posting please e-mail me at judit.szathmary@virgin.net . I will put it up under Gail’s comment.

Andrew Sutton a now retired director of the Foundation for Conductive Education e-mailed me his comment.

The word retired is really a misnomer because Andrew is still as active as ever in the worldwide issues of Conductive Education.

“A comment for your blog...

A great comfort to see that your comment box is not working either. Maybe
this problem is more than just mine, which vastly increases its chances of
ever getting fixed!

As for Nigeria-New Zealand, I fear that there is a fundamental economic
difference between the two economies. One has to doubt that
developing countries will EVER get CE as we know it, just as it is looking
increasingly unlikely that the developed countries will EVER get it equably
for all, or maybe even necessarily maintain all the fruits of the last
twenty-five years' struggles..

New worlds demand new models...”


Note: Picture from Google Images.

Petö Institute Budapest, Hungary

Conductive Education Summer Course 1st -27th August 2011 New Forest UK

Szathmáry Training and Consultancy with New Forest Conductive Pedagogy

The closing date for Summer Course applications is Saturday 11th June 2011.

For further details please contact Mandy at mandyelliott100@gmail.com or Judit at judit.szathmary@virgin.net

Szathmáry Training & Consultancy © 2011

An Insight into Conductive Education. Video created by the Foundation for Conductive Education

References:
National Institute of Conductive Education
General Enquires: 0121 449 1569
Fax:0121 449 1611
Email: foundation@conductive-education.org.uk
Website: http://www.conductive-education.org.uk
Address
Cannon Hill House
Russell Road
Moseley
Birmingham
B13 8RD

Video via Krisztina Abonyi Bernstein, Program Director Conductiva
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/kabonyi

Crippled by the manipulators Article | Published in TESS on 4 October, 1996 | By: George Currie

"George Currie says that the aims of conductive education have been subverted.
I was told the other day that it was nearly 10 years since I gave the introductory lecture on conductive education to the influential West of Scotland National Council for Special Education. I remember it well. It was the heady days of Stand up for Joey. I had been to Budapest to study and report on the principles and practice of conductive education. My talk was at Hampden School, Toryglen. It was the biggest meeting of its day, with more than 120 people, many standing. All heady stuff. Fellow professionals, with a whole range of disciplines, travelling far and wide, even from the north of Scotland, for that evening lecture. It was a pioneering meeting in the best sense of the word.

It would be good to get back to the non-political involvement of people, to the days when children were not used for career purposes and when important philosophies did not become the flavour of the month to be used to get into the honours lists. Now the 10-year cycle of conductive education has just about run its course the mandarins and master puppeteers, the educational godfathers and the exclusive cartels of the leadership corps can possibly breathe a sigh of relief. The system has been made politically correct with its own administratively sanitised version of events. Those who acted on behalf of the system have been suitably recognised and those who did not suitably isolated and airbrushed away.

Professional conductive education does not exist, it has gone to the great classroom in the sky. The forests of trees cut down to research the subject are all binned, trashed and reduced to the educational equivalent of Le Pen's "footnote in history". The sanitised versions have been put into the public placed aided by the recognised trappings of state approval: finance, promotion, career learning curves and the like.

The greatest wealth, the greatest power and the most potent force in society is knowledge. To have knowledge is to have great power. It has value beyond money, gold and diamonds. To control knowledge is to control society, to distribute knowledge through such things as 5-14 policies and qualification is to distribute power, control, authority and responsibility. Our society has been a distribution mechanism which displays the principles of state-controlled knowledge. It is a rigidly controlled system, as shown in the 5-14 policies.

We have a form of Government-sponsored state knowledge. One particular school's practice is weakly developed into a school of thought in generalised terms. A school's philosophy is transformed into a school of philosophy and, when closely examined, this transition is forced, stretched and weakened by a lack of evidential logic, leading to thinly supported judgmental conclusions.

Even the presence of Dewey, Piaget, Froebel, Steiner, Montessori and other heavyweights to authenticate a particular approach is rather thin. Selections from other cultures and belief systems lead to a patchwork quilt, a cocktail, a composite which may be acceptable in creating new movements, but only if these snapshots are not open-ended to the point of being so diffuse that they lack power and authority and thus fail. The titbits may help to create a school's philosophy but not a school of philosophy, even when sanctioned by the state.

I have found my work to have become highly politicised with many climbing on to the bandwagon. It has been administered away and replaced by the approved version which strongly replicates the already existing practices. Since I introduced it on a formal national basis at a conference of the Scottish Educational Research Association in the eighties, supported by a wonderful and brave Dundee family, I have seen it twisted and warped out of existence.

Existing national bodies and approved personnel acted in a disgraceful manner. It was quite shameful and despicable. The "system" panicked and diverted money, resources, rewards to protect itself and not what it was designed to protect - the children.

My views on this matter have not changed, indeed the years have reinforced them. We have today a sanitised and systems-sanctioned policy which, at even its best. is pseudo-conductive education created under someone else's name, recycled and reconditioned to comply with existing system policies. The traditions of bureaucratic feudalism and systems fundamentalism still characterise the profession. Policy has been made a parody by being controlled by the powers of patronage and privilege and produces reports of blatant superficiality and arrogant simplicity which are the usual hallmarks of the political professionals.

On the whole the educational establishment lacks people of presence and persons of consequence and substance. What is required, of course, are those of intellectual competence and integrity to compensate for those in the bureaucratic tendency. The "system" ridiculed conductive education in the beginning. It was laughed away. It was only the power of the determined parent and the media that brought it back, much to the great anger of the establishment. Now it is controlled on a network system through a series of formal qualifications to ensure that only the party line is practised. Course have been approved of and therefore given the appearance of respectability and legitimacy.

But those who approved the courses know nothing of conductive education: they merely possess knowledge of how to approve courses - the packaging and not the contents. This state system of national course approval allows for the sanitised version to be given public respectability and allows the social manifestation that it must be conductive education. This mechanism of approval has to be changed in Scotland. We lack an independent and informative watchdog to monitor the situation. We need an organisation to replace the situation where one arm of the system approves the working of another arm. Above all, it demonstrates that conductive education has become institutionalised.

Courses on conductive education reflect more the policies of the Scottish Office. In essence they are politicised versions of formal official approval. Second-generation staff have no access to the primary principles of conductive education, but only the edited versions issued through the Scottish Office, which, in turn, is strongly influenced by the static traditional practices which, in turn, rejected conductive education in the first place.

Further efforts are being made to practise the sanitised version in modules of six months to two years for a child. What is left of conductive education is further weakened by it being considered to be, literally, a pre-school experience, a preparation for school, whereas in reality it is a lifelong commitment.

A lot of people have been very naughty indeed in the 10-year cycle."


What about what happened in England and the rest of the world?


References: http://www.facebook.com/#!/ConductiveEducationPress
Times Educational Supplement 4 October 1996
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=20026

Times Educational Supplement 8 July 2005
Pirates of Petö have much still to prove
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2115113

Hungaricum The Petö Method-Conductive Pedagogy

The recent developments at the Petö Institute are remarkable. The Petö System of Education became a National Trademark of Hungary.

Brief translation of the first part of the promotional video from the Petö Institute:

“We have many visitors from around the world who come to learn from us and to experience the benefits of Conductive Pedagogy.Arvai Zoltan Reporter

We thrive towards perfection taking into consideration all available possibilities. We would never consider practising tasks or setting up a programme which would be detrimental to the individual or which wouldn’t bring succes to them.” Adam Makk Conductor/ Head of Communication. International Petö Institute, Budapest Hungary

Quotes from parents who were interviewed on the film:

Father: It was an incredible experience when my child took their first steps and from a parents point of view it was an emotional experience.

Mother: In three weeks we achieved that he is able to independently sit at the table which we never thought would be possible…






Reference:
Petö Institute
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=605073566#!/pages/Pet%C5%91-Int%C3%A9zet/164626920246313

Inspirational Women... Dr. Túri Ibolya from the Petö Institute, Budapest Hungary

'A Pető Intézet főtitkára, konduktor-tanító és jogász. 35 éves, férjével két gyermeket nevel, most várják a harmadikat. Fegyelmezett, komoly, szigorú és odaadó ember. Felelősséget érez és vállal sok-sok szárnyaszegett kisgyerek sorsáért, nem csak a sajátjaiért.

'Dr. Pető András 1940-ben hozta létre azt a hungarikumnak számító konduktív pedagógiai rendszert, amely mozgássérült személyek integrációját készíti elő a társadalomba. A Pető Intézetbe járó gyerekek olyan, a szülés előtt, közben vagy után bekövetkezett központi idegrendszeri károsodás miatt sérültek, amely érinti az izomtónust, a testtartást, a mozgáskoordinációt és az egyensúlyérzékelést. A köztudattal ellentétben ez nem betegség, hanem egy rendkívül összetett szindróma, s bár a tünetek ritkán tűnnek el nyomtalanul, jelentős mértékű fejlődés érhető el. Minél korábban kezdik el a gyerekek fejlesztését, annál jobb eredményre lehet számítani. Az úgynevezett „rávezetés” módszerével megtanítható az, ami babakorban nem alakult ki automatikusan, és megelőzhetők a kóros fejlődési minták. Ez a nevelési rendszer lehetőséget ad a személyiség kibontakoztatására és a társakkal való együttműködésre. A módszernek csodájára jár az egész világ.

Két és fél évvel ezelőtt Ibolya gondolt egy merészet. Úgy döntött, nem éri be annyival, hogy az intézet világhíres mozgásfejlesztő módszerével sokszor járni sem tudó, sérült gyerekeket állítanak talpra, hanem megpróbálnak profi utánpótlást nevelni egy fiatal sportágnak: az adaptív evezésnek. A program anyagi finanszírozását jelentő pályázatokat Ibolya maga írta. Nagy elszántság, komoly szervezés, sok fáradság és áldozat kellett ehhez a gyerekek és az edzők részéről is, de megérte. Fél év tanulás és gyakorlás után a Magyar Evezős Szövetség 19. ergométeres országos bajnokságán, Szegeden a Városi Sportcsarnokban az MTK Pető Egyesület kis sportolói úgy nyomtak le 1000 métert, mint a nagyok, beleadták legjobb tudásukat és minden erejüket: legyőzték önmagukat.

Ibolya és kollégái felfedezték, hogy a mozgásukban akadályozott gyerekeknél a konduktív módszer mellett az aktív sportolás további fejlődést hozhat, akár fiatal kamaszkorban is. Az evezős programban részt vevő 10–16 közötti korosztály erő- és állóképessége, izomzata, járásképessége és tartása jelentősen fejleszthető. És legfőképp az önbecsülése! A sportoló, versenyző gyereknek mindig van dolga, célja és társasága, és ettől persze lesz kedve is élni és küzdeni, mert van miért. „Mit szeretnék? Minél több gyermeket bevonni a programba, új élményekhez, közösségekhez és versenysikerekhez juttatni őket” – mondja Ibolya, akinek meggyőződése, hogy a sport és azon belül például az adaptív evezés igen fontos lehet az áhított integrációhoz vezető úton.'

References: Eva Magazin Inspiralo Nok http://www.evamagazin.hu/inspiralonok/item.php?id=608

Petö Institute

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pet%C5%91-Int%C3%A9zet/164626920246313

Urbán Judit Konduktíve Mozgásfejlesztés MS betegeknek

Reference: Petö Institute
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Mozg%C3%A1ss%C3%A9r%C3%BCltek-Pet%C5%91-Andr%C3%A1s-Nevel%C5%91k%C3%A9pz%C5%91-%C3%A9s-Nevel%C5%91int%C3%A9zete/135546556517245

Szathmáry Training and Consultancy Conductive Education Course Updates

Conductive Education Easter mini block commencing on 18th April. One place is still available.
It is a three day course in a lovely setting in Lymington Hampshire UK.
Please contact me if you would like to enroll for this course either by our contact form http://www.szathmarytc.com/contact.php,

e-mailing me at judit.szathmary@virgin.net or by phoning me on +44 (0) 796719 44 33.

Future Courses:
Conductive Education May Half Term mini block 30th May-1st June 2011.

Conductive Education Summer Course 1st -27th August 2011.

Szathmáry Training & Consultancy © 2011