History of Conductive Education

 

		The name of Conductive Education is linked to the work of Dr András Petõ, who was not only a medical doctor, but a writer, journalist, scientist - among others - and who was interested in anything and everything that affected the life of mankind. His outlook on life was probably determined very early on when he was still a child, a young man, whose mother dictated a very structured life, while his father, with Parkinson's disease spent his life in a wheelchair.
		He studied medicine at various universities, and then started practicing in a war hospital, from which he moved on to a number of other hospitals in Austria. In spite of his very rigorous medical studies, he never gave up journalism. When he returned to Hungary in 1938 he started to work out the system of Conductive Education. This was followed by long years of struggle and a fight for the acceptance of his new system by the professional community. Not until after World War II was he able to actually start establishing the institute for Conductive Education. He had to prove to professionals that against the traditional approach to motor disability due to damage of the central nervous system, which denies the possibility of rehabilitation, there is a way to educate the person to find the right strategies in order to rehabilitate himself, if not alone then with the help of Conductive Education.

 

Past discoveries and present experiences are there for anyone to build on, but not everybody is able to apply these in order to create something new. And that was the case with Conductive Education.

 

The first institute for Conductive Education was opened in 1950 in Budapest. And even though the theory of Conductive Education was accepted, it was still not understood. Consequently Dr. Petõ still had to fight every step of the way not only to prove the effectiveness of the system, but also to establish a special school where the conductors could study, since their unique profession required a college with a different structure, so finally in 1968 the Conductors' College was established.

 

After Dr. Petõ's death in 1967, his former student and later associate Dr. Mária Hári took over. She was managing, directing and overseeing everything in the institute with just as much dedication and love for the children and devotion as Dr. Petõ did, carried on in his footsteps and developed the system further. Her whole life revolved around the institute, she was the one who opened up the doors to foreign children and students as well.

 

And finally there is a subject that is often evaded because of its sensitive nature, but one which needs to be discussed, and that is physiotherapy - occupational therapy versus Conductive Education.

 

Due to the fact that for a number of reasons professionals and school officials refused to discuss this subject, Conductive Education couldn't be introduced in many places. It has to be stated that physiotherapy and occupational therapy will not loose their importance and their place in the process of rehabilitation because of the introduction of Conductive Education.

 

Not all children with motor disabilities are suited for Conductive Education for a number of reasons. Children with Down's Syndrome and other syndromes cannot be helped by Conductive Education. So a large number of children can only depend on physiotherapy and occupational therapy for their future development.

 

 

Also, when Conductive Education reaches a certain point in the rehabilitation process of a child, when there is nothing further for him/her to benefit from Conductive Education, physiotherapy and occupational therapy can take over and continue to maintain the achieved condition and provide a stand-by source of help for the individual. As a matter of fact in many cases, along with Conductive Education, for instance occupational therapy should be continued.

 

With the introduction of Conductive Education the significance of PT (physio-therapy) and OT(occupational-therapy) do not lessen - they only take a different route in the process of rehabilitation.

  

If you have any further questions or would like to discuss any part of Conductive Education, please use our e-mail address and our conductor and teacher will be more than happy to supply any additional information.