What is Conductive Education ?
Introduction
Conductive Education was developed by Dr. Andras Peto in Budapest, Hungary, from 1945. During the 1960's it became known about in Britain and Since That time efforts have been made to learn more about it and more recently introduce it into this country.
Aims of Conductive Education
Conductive Education aims to develop and expand all of a child's existing abilities and skills. Attention is not focused only on the physical aspects of a child, but also cognitive, social and emotional development. Conductive Education encourages the child to become active and it is through this activity that the child learns.
The Parents
Conductive Education works in partnership with parents and others interested in the childs development. Skills learnt by the child can be applied into daily life and therefore it is important that parents and other interested people are involved in and understand the Conductive Education learnt by the child.
The Daily Routine
Conductive Education looks at the child as a whole, not only in terms of their particular needs; therefore we would not just direct the programmes at, for example, the affected side of hemiplegic child but both sides. However, every activity that the child takes part in will be beneficial to their particular needs, as long as it is carried out correctly. Conductive Education is concerned with the development of the child throughout the whole day. The child's daily routine will include several series of tasks carried out in different positions, for example the lying position, the sitting position and standing-walking position. It is important to understand that these are not separate programs and in fact are all interlinked. Skills that are learnt in these various positions will be applied in activities throughout the day.This idea can also be seen when the children take part in educational activities as they are using skills they have previously learnt, this type of activity gives invaluable experience in adapting what they have learnt to everyday situations. It is also important to realise that a programme, for example in the lying position, is not purely physical. The conductor uses this time to age appropriate cognitive, social and emotional skills, for example learning colours, numbers, direction etc.
The Group
The group plays a very important part in the development of personality and social skills of the child. Therefore Conductive Education works with groups containing a variety of children, to provide essential support and encouragement as well as to motivate and give opportunities for the children to learn from each other. However every child within the group receives individual attention at their specific level.
The Conductor
The Conductors role is to be aware of and develop all aspects of the child by establishing a good working relationship with them. It is felt that one of the ways in which children develop is by experiencing success. It is therefore the conductors job to give the child a goal that with a little bit of work can be achieved. Once this goal has been achieved the child is given a new goal which again will encourage development. Conductors continuously observe the children in order to modify the goals as necessary to assist the child's development. In this way the conductor assures that the children experience success and feels proud about what they are doing.