Conductive Education is Invaluable to our Family

For the past two years our daughter has participated in Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden in Wauseon, OH. Sara’s Garden is one of the few locations in the United States that offers this type of intense intervention service. After each summer session we have been amazed at the progress that she has made through the program.

She has participated in typical physical therapy since 10 months of age and we have seen so much more gains after a total of eight weeks of Conductive Education than after eight years of physical therapy. This type of treatment is amazing! The conductors that lead the sessions are also amazing. They know how to motivate, inspire, and teach our children so that they can do what doctors may have told us they would never do.

This summer, she began working, using a walker, with only the minimal assistance from her conductor. Never in her life has she gotten this close to finding independence in walking. Through their encouragement, her confidence increased, as did her ability. In her regular physical therapy sessions she has never been able to do this. While they worked on walking, something in the methodology of Conductive Education, really worked for her. This is a means to a more independent life for her.

I truly believe that if we had not found this treatment, she would be so much further behind in her independence that where she is now. Conductive Education is a wonderful method and is invaluable to our family! The unfortunate part is that there are minimal facilities in the United States that offer it. Sara’s Garden has been a God-send for our family. We have felt so supported, encouraged, and blessed to find and be able to utilize their expertise.

As a family, we know the benefit that Conductive Education has brought. We look forward to future sessions at Sara’s Garden. They have made a tremendous impact in the life of our child.

We are Forever Grateful

My mother is a victim of two strokes. After her first stroke, in 2007, she made great strides to regain independence and was able to drive again. However, the effects of her second stroke in 2009, were much worse. Her abilities to walk and speak greatly decreased, and while able to do most daily living skills on her own, those tasks became much harder. Because she had so much difficulty doing these things, her motivation to improve was extremely low.

She began treatment at Sara’s Garden in March 2014. I was with her for the month and attended each of her Conductive Education sessions. My mom and I agree that the staff was tremendous. They are kind and caring and showed that each day we were with them. If my mom was struggling with an exercise, They were very understanding and would adapt it, so that it was still challenging, but gave my mom a chance to complete it and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. They were able to motivate my mom in ways that we weren’t able to after her second stroke, to get the most out of the class.

Before the treatment at Sara’s Garden, my mom had very little use of her right arm and hand. This was a main point of focus in the Conductive Education sessions. One of the most memorable moments from the sessions was when my mom raised a wooden rod above her head, using both hands, something that was unthinkable before she worked with them. I filmed this and sent it to my family; my aunt said she was crying in the middle of a store as she watched it!

My mom also improved in speaking, reading, and walking. She uses the skills she learned in Conductive Educations class every day and is so grateful to Sara’s Garden for their guidance, patience and care throughout the sessions. My family is forever thankful to the staff of Sara’s Garden for helping her gain independence and helping her see that she is able to do things that she thought were impossible before.

CE from Sara’s Garden has Been Instrumental

Our daughter suffers from Acute Disseminated Encephala Myelitis (ADEM). It was suggested that she take advantage of the Conductive Education services offered at Sara’s Garden to improve her quality of life.

She began receiving services from Sara’s Garden in June 2014 – setting goals, improving strength and balance, working on small motor skills, cognitive thinking and retraining her brain. Since starting Conductive Education, her stamina has improved. She struggles less to stand up and her positive attitude has returned. Many of the improvements we see are small things that most people who know her would not even notice… but they are huge to her. She is able to care for her own personal needs (bathing, restroom needs and dressing). She gets in and out of the car without help. Her reasoning has improved and her handwriting is getting better all the time.

Conductive Education from Sara’s Garden has been instrumental in all of these areas. Their knowledge and use of Conductive Education far exceeds any of the physical therapy that she has received over the past 25 years. The staff at Sara’s Garden is positive, compassionate and encouraging. They work well with her and keep us apprised of what we can do to help her at home so we are benefiting from their knowledge and expertise, as well.

The ultimate goal that our daughter has set for herself is to walk on her own. Even though she has worked to achieve this goal for many years through other conventional physical therapy it never really seemed that it was possible. With Conductive Education from Sara’s Garden it seems not only possible, but achievable. With the help of God she will walk on her own again.

Doctors are Amazed at his Progress

My son nearly drowned at 20 months old when he fell in a swimming pool at a day care center. The doctors gave him no hope of making any improvement. We did lots of searching and tried many different types of therapies. The only one that we’ve found that truly helped him has been Conductive Education.

Since starting Conductive Education, he now sits unsupported, uses his hands, rolls over, and can now bear all of his weight on his legs and has begun to learn to walk. The doctors are amazed at his progress. Sara’s Garden has made a huge impact on his life. They have also helped to teach me so much as a parent of a child with a disability how to continue to help him to work and grow in the home. I can not express enough how thankful I am for Sara’s Garden and what they have done, not only in my son’s life, but many other children’s lives as well.

Sara’s Garden is a True Asset

Our daughter was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as a result of a pediatric stroke suffered prior to birth. She has participated in two four-week sessions of Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden over the past 12 months. Prior to attending Sara’s Garden, she was unable to use her left hand as a result of her stroke. After working with the conductors from Sara’s Garden, she is now able to use her left hand to grab things, manipulate objects and to hold things for the first time. Simply put, she was able to begin having functional use of her left hand as a result of their work and expertise.

Without their knowledge and skill base, she would not be in the position she is today. She is now beginning to build on the foundation they were able to create. We look forward to having her continue to work with the staff at Sara’s Garden. Without them, she would be limited in her ability to build on all the work she was able to successfully do with their oversight. Sara’s Garden is a true asset to all the handicapped children and their families they have had a positive influence on.

Sara’s Garden has Never Let Us Down

Our daughter has participated in three Conductive Education camps over the course of the last two and a half years. She has had around 57 sessions at Sara’s Garden. Prior to our introduction to Conductive Education, our daughter received a combination of traditional services, which included Occupational, Physical, Aquatic and Speech therapies. Thanks to the positive results of Conductive Education, our daughter is reaching new levels and continuously learning new skills.

Our now-6 year old daughter, Jordan, suffered from hyproxia at birth, resulting in a brain injury responsible for global delays and a diagnosis of mixed-tone cerebral palsy. Only a small percentage of children with cerebral palsy have mixed tone, which can be defined as a combination of spastic, athetoid, and/or ataxic cerebral palsy. The spastic cerebral palsy generates high muscle tone, while the athetoid cerebral palsy causes involuntary movements. The ataxic cerebral palsy causes low muscle tone, a lack of balance and unsteady hands. Jordan has high muscle tone in some muscles, and low muscle tone in others.

We chose Sara’s Garden so that our daughter could receive high quality services incorporating the values, principles and practices of Conductive Education in a positive, caring environment – and the staff at Sara’s Garden has never let us down. Over the past two years, they have helped provide her with inspiration, confidence and a positive attitude towards developing her physical abilities. At Sara’s Garden, there is an emphasis on ensuring that each child becomes as independent as possible, and the resulting overall progress has been a joy for me and my husband to see.

We are amazed with the advancements Jordan has made in such a short time. She has been using a walking frame for two and a half years; but through her own continued hard work and the on-going efforts of the Sara’s Garden staff, Jordan started independently walking distances up to 50 feet during the 4 week Summer Camp this past July! We keep up the hard work in our time away from Sara’s Garden, but nothing compares to a qualified and caring conductor like the ones at Sara’s Garden.

We Appreciate Sara’s Garden’s Dedication

“Before attending Conductive Education our son was standing on his own. However, after his first week he was walking with the aid of a walker, climbing stairs, and participating in small group activities. He continues to improve with the skills our family gained from his being part of this holistic therapy program. His confidence in his body and its movement improved immensely. We appreciate the time and dedication the staff of Sara’s Garden gave to our child.”

We See so Much More From Conductive Education

“The exercise and practice of new and different movements each day for several hours during Conductive Education sessions at Sara’s Garden is so much better than the therapy we receive for 20 minutes one time per week in the school system.”

Conductive Education has Changed our Son’s Life

“My son’s spastic cerebral palsy caused him to be a non-walker with limited communication skills prior to attending Sara’s Garden. We followed all recommendations from the traditional medical community, however our medical insurance put significant limits on the prescribed physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. At best, these therapies worked to maintain his current levels but not advance his skills.

Sara’s Garden provides a cost-effective therapeutic alternative to provide intensive learning on a regular basis that my son finds to be enjoyable and motivating. He took his first independent steps after participating in Conductive Education for less than six months.

My son has continued with his Conductive Education for over four years. Through Conductive Education, he has grown in physical strength and stamina. His vocabulary has grown by several hundred words. I highly recommend Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden.” DS – Liberty Center, Ohio