About CE

Conductive education, or CE, is a complex, integrated program of developmental learning (physical, social, emotional, and academic) for children with motor disorders caused by damage to the central nervous system. The most common applications are for children with motor disorders like cerebral palsy. 

Observers of CE have often likened it to receiving physical, occupational and speech therapy in an integrated fashion. Important to the effectiveness of the program is its delivery in a classroom setting, relying on peer motivation and intensive periods of training for the children. One of our parents once summed it up like this:

“My other kids have spent more time practicing little league soccer than my disabled child spent receiving therapy for his cerebral palsy condition.  When we participated in our first summer program, a light went off for me – my son was working to expand his abilities four, five hours a day, five days a week, in a group setting led by incredibly skilled professionals.  He really responded.”

The Peto Institute website, www.peto.hu, offers excellent information about conductive education.  This summary is very helpful.

According to the main principle of Pető's conductive education, the primary goal is not the development of motor functions in a strict biological sense but the development of the entire personality, which will indirectly lead to improvement in functions. Traditional methods argue that the central nervous system injuries are irreversible and therefore the disabilities are permanent.  Contrary to this view, conductive education is based on the idea that motor- disordered people can improve their movement strategies through proper intentions of actions and thus can reach a higher level of co-ordination.