The Principal hypotheses of Conductive Education.

The primary aims of conductive education are:

(Dr. Mari Hari, 1991)

  • To set up an active lifestyle.
  • To develop cognitive functions.
  • To provide a complex but unified education programme
  • To teach the process of intending (directing ones own actions)
  • To help disabled children learn to gain greater motor control, learn more effectively and contribute to society through gainful activity.
  • To provide a programme that is fully integrated throughout the school day.

What is conductive education?

  • Conductive education is a system of learning developed by the Hungarian physician Professor Andras Peto in Budapest, Hungary.
  • Conductive education was initially developed for the needs of children with cerebral palsy.
  • Conductive education in its fullest form as practiced at Percy Hedley is a unified system of rehabilitation for people with neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and those who staff suffered strokes or head injuries
  • Conductive education is a learning process not a treatment or therapy.
  • Conductive education is a partnership between the educator (the conductor) and learners to create circumstances for learning.
  • Conductive education is an all day, all life, ongoing learning process.
  • Conductive education approach sees problems of movement as problems of learning.
  • Conductive education can be directed towards all age groups.
  • The conductive education of children should start as early as possible.  Percy Hedley has a parent and baby group where parents can learn to use this approach with their child.
  • Conductive education involves all that can be expected from a child relevant to their age group.
  • Conductive education teaches children and adults to achieve what they want and motivates them to find their own way of learning.
  • Conductive education enables the child to work in an integrated way with others with similar but often different problems.
  • Conductive education embraces learning development of movement, speech and mental ability simultaneously, not separately or consecutively.
  • Conductive education is based on the theory that the motor disabled child develops in the same way as their peers.
  • Conductive education is not a miracle cure.  It needs a concentrated effort over a long period of time to enable participants to achieve recognised goals through task analysis.
  • Conductive education is a positive concept that looks for ways in which individual can develop purposeful movement.  It does not have a negative approach where complicated equipment is used to facilitate motor control and stability.
  • Conductive education uses only simple well-designed quality equipment.
  • Conductive education has now become established in countries all round the world.

What are the goals of conductive education?

  • To teach the normal lifestyle
  • To construct different, new method of functioning
  • To encourage personality development

Our primary goal is to teach a normal way of life.  The programme incorporates all normal daily activities based on the normal rhythm of the day through the normal routine of life.  Integration is only possible where there is some order in the life of dysfunctional person.  This integration is only made possible by a programme that incorporates the normal timetable and normal content.

This is an educational philosophy which does not allow individual to become inactive, negative or uninvolved in the normal life style or the solutions to problems of life and living.  This is not about functional exercises.  There are frequent misunderstandings about the definition of the ‘programme’.  The programme contains all the many and varied elements which together, contribute to what we understand as ‘normal life’.  The functional activities incorporated within the normal programme are not specific goals in their own right.  They are the means, the vehicle whereby we maintain flow, rhythm and purpose to move on educationally and independently.

The second goal involves personality development.  Personality development is of paramount importance if the aim is to change a passive individual into one who is active.  To influence personality we have to observe closely an individuals degree of activity, his problem-solving skills, his motor, functional, behavioural, communication and educational strategies.  Simultaneously we have to formulate the solutions to the particular problems which are observed in order to facilitate that person to progress and experience success.

The approach is the same for everyone initially inasmuch as all aspects are observed.  However, aims can and do differ, as well as the strategies designed to achieve goals and solve problems.

To ignite orthofunction requires:

  • An interesting, appropriate educational environment
  • Variation
  • Emotional security
  • Positive atmosphere
  • Lively and playful programme
  • A well led group by a skilled conductor
  • The experience of success
  • Opportunities for individual expression
  • Motivation
  • Experience of duty to others, self worth, responsibility

To be ortho-functional means that in spite of fundamental problems, an individual has learnt particular strategies whereby he can confront any eventuality and find the solution, which will enable him to pursue a normal life style. In so doing he will become a well adjusted personality, a force to be reckoned with, with a mind of his own, socially acceptable, a contributor to society, conscious of the needs of others, active and aware.

The third goal is to reconstruct functioning which will require a different organisational strategy. This will be the ortho-functional route, i.e. the method that is tailored to the individual requirements and has to be learnt and practiced. The method is not pre-ordained; it is one which is reached by discovery through the individual effort which is personal, educational, economical, functional and successful. The personal method is not a sequence of learned repetitive exercises. It is a personal strategy developed through an educational process in an appropriate motivating environment.

The Percy Hedley conductive education programme.

We have provided conductive education at Percy Hedley for more than twenty years and all staff undertake accredited training in this educational approach. We employ trained teacher conductors and many of our staff have attended courses at the Peto Institute in Budapest, Hungary. We provide a free ‘School for Parents’, where we teach conductive education methods to parents who work with their own children from 3 months of age. The philosophy and methodology of conductive education is integrated throughout our schools and ensures that we adopt a child centred approach at all times. We are the only school in the north east providing a full conductive education programme throughout the day. We have developed our methodology to take account of developments in new technology as can be seen in our use of voice output communication aids which enables our children to express their views and demonstrate their understanding. We have successfully applied conductive education in our work with children across the ability range, including those who have significant learning difficulties. Our work enjoys an international reputation and our staff have provided training for centres as far as Eastern Europe, Poland, Ukraine, Lebanon, Palistine and China.