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Conductive Education was first developed in Budapest, Hungary, in
the 1940s by a physician, Professor Andras Peto. He developed the
concept that motor disability was a learning difficulty and placed
an emphasis on helping those with motor disabilities to learn to
help themselves. He established the State Institute for Conductive
Education of the Motor Disabled in Budapest. This work was done
mostly with children suffering from Spina Bifida, spasticity, and
ataxia, but also with adult patients who suffered from Parkinson's
disease (PD). The main aim of this therapy was to attain "orthofunction",
or independent functioning in daily life.
The successor to Peto, Maria Hari, saw conductive education as a
creative process that permitted the central nervous system to
restructure itself. In addition to present understanding of the
neuropathology of the condition, PD may be described
neuropsychologically as causing a break in a functional system in
which higher order mental functions usually remain intact.
At first, limited information about the work done with children was
the only indication of the use for this type of therapy. However it
seemed to suggest that adults with a motor disorder could benefit
from the programs run at the Institute.
Students of the program have achieved some amazing results,
suggesting that structural intervention and practice can bring about
a neuropsychological reorganisation with a significant
rehabilitative outcome.
Techniques
In practice, conductive education is a learning program for people
with motor disabilities. It focuses on the practical functions of
daily life and teaches individuals skills that will enhance their
daily functioning and increase their independence. The primary aim
is to teach children and adults with a neurological disability to
control their movements and to function in society. The main concept
is educational rather than medical.
The programs are run with groups of 10 to 15 individuals held
together by a conductor. The conductor, who has been trained for 4
years in areas of psychology, basic sciences and the teaching
methodology, is responsible for the structure, rhythm and tempo of
each session. The mode of teaching is verbal, with the conductor
calling out instructions for each activity as it is being done. The
members are encouraged to join in with the calling, which may be in
the form of counting or saying a word which emphasises the action
(e.g. 'stretch, stretch, stretch').
At the beginning of each session is a warm up that is different for
each individual. The session progresses through several different
activities in a variety of positions: lying down, moving into
sitting, standing and walking.
The activities vary from simple to more difficult, with an emphasis
on the accomplishment of a task. The sessions are goal orientated,
although the means to accomplishment may differ with each
individual. Each activity is directed towards a specific function
commonly difficult for the individual. With PD, for example, a task
could be rolling over. Successful achievement of this function is
the goal.
The conductor is responsible for keeping the tempo of the session as
well as being firm and encouraging. 'Rhythmical intention' is used
to maintain motivation and helps people initiate the movement and
continue to move through the exercises smoothly. Practice is viewed
not as a mechanisticl repetition of meaningless motor acts but as a
conscious process of learning optimal motor solutions to particular
problems. Again, this emphasises the point that the achievement of
the functional gaol is of the utmost importance.
Conductive education has been shown to increase a person's self
esteem, level of motivation and general health as well as increasing
their ability to function independently.
Since its beginning, the Institute for Motor Disabled has worked
with people who have PD, although little has been known about the
methods. Due to a bias in Hungary towards pharmaceutical and
pharmacological research and development, the neurologists there
showed little interest in the Peto Institute and its non-medical
treatment. However, interest in the program has grown since the
group's senior conductor presented a paper at the Hungarian
Neurological Congress which sparked an amazing amount of interest
and surprise at the results being achieved with people with PD.
In Britain in the mid 70s, a group of physiotherapists, having
learnt a little about conductive education through Ester Cotton, who
visited Hungary in the mid 60s, reported using "Peto methods" in
their work, with PD people. However, little detail about the methods
used has been published and short-term evaluations were not
encouraging. A trained conductor in Australia working with PD would
help to resolve the problems and allow proper evaluation.
Additional websites
on conductive education can be found on the Links page.
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