CONDUCTIVE EDUCATION

What Is Conductive Ed?
Conductive Education focuses on the whole person. Individuals develop self-determination and an “I Can!” attitude by taking some responsibility for their own movement. The program focuses on daily life skills that include sitting, eating, walking, toileting and dressing independence.

Conductive Education Incorporates These Key Components:

• Rhythmic Intention
• Task Series
• Power of the Peer

Rhythmic Intention

Encourages positive risk taking! Taking responsibility, giving the participant the control to attempt a skill. And the desire to solve a problem more independently with less help from others.

Rhythmic: links rhyme, rhythm, and song to movement. Verbal cues and counting are embedded into each task so that participants learn to verbally talk themselves through a movement

Intention: before a movement can be carried out, the participant must consciously want to achieve it. Participants express their intention and are mentally prepared to carry out the action.

The strength of rhythmic intention is that participants begin to solve problems on their own, emphasizing the “I Can!” attitude. Counting, repetition of action words and songs give the participant a sense of timing, vital in coordinating movement.

Task Series

Children who are typically developing learn functional movement naturally; children and adults with a motor disorder must learn these skills through purposeful practice.

Think about all the movements and transitions a person performs every day – it is easy to forget how complex even the “simplest” of tasks can be.

For example:

• To stand up, are you aware that you must put your feet flat, shift your weight forward, push up through your legs, extend your hips and knees…all while maintaining your balance?
• To eat a sandwich, consider how your body works to successfully take a bite!

The complexity of everyday tasks can lead to frustration and feelings of failure for people with motor disorders. Conductive Education can help teach these meaningful everyday skills by breaking down each task into smaller more manageable steps.

See how hard work and perseverance can help individuals achieve skills that most of us take for granted!

Every task series is a step towards independence!

Conductive Education is not an exercise program. The task series is a daily routine of activities developed based on the age and abilities of the participants. Each functional activity is broken down into smaller, more manageable components. The task can then be built upon to develop more complex activities with the goal of using strategies to achieve a meaningful motor goal.

Participants have the time and opportunity to practice and reinforce functional skills that lead to independence.

Power of the Peer

Children and adults with motor disorders are inspired by one another!

Learning functional skills alongside similarly-abled peers is a powerful incentive to complete a task. Peer interaction provides:

• Encouragement
• Acceptance
• Social skill development
• Behavior modification
• Support
• Friendship

The program is individualized and modified for the needs of each participant.

Who Does Conductive Ed Help?
Conductive Education (CE) is an intensive and holistic approach to educating individuals with neuromotor disabilities and demands active participation. The aim of CE is for the motor disabled individual to achieve “orthofunction” – adapting to and functioning in his/her environment. Conductive Education combines physical activity with cognitive tasks, emphasizes communication, and places the individual in a group setting which maximizes active learning.

Conductive Education places an emphasis on helping those with motor disabilities to learn to help themselves. CE has been shown to increase a person’s self esteem, level of motivation and general health as well as increasing their ability to function independently.

Conductive Education generally works with those individuals who have motor skill disorders such as cerebral palsy (CP), however CE is also beneficial for those with spina bifida, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke, and traumatic/acquired brain injury. Candidates for CE should be able to show basic cognitive skills and should show signs of understanding and following verbal communication and simple instructions.

To find out more about Conductive Education, including tuition costs and potential benefits, or to sign up for classes today, please contact us at 419.335.7272.

How Does Conductive Ed Work?
Conductive Education is founded on the premise of neural plasticity: despite significant damage, the brain is capable of creating new pathways with intensive, focused and motivating practice.

Movement, speech, cognition, and self-initiation skills are developed in tandem with functional movement. People with motor disorders develop and learn in the same way as children and adults who are typically developing. However, what most people learn through assimilation, the person with cerebral palsy or a stroke must be taught overtly as a skill.

Our talented staff works together to provide a comprehensive program. The therapeutic team promotes confidence and motivation so the participant achieves self-care and mobility skills to the best of their ability.

Aims of Conductive Education

• To teach functional skills with an attitude of self–help and motivation, while enjoying the process along the way.
• To actively involve the person with a physical disability in his/her own motor learning. Conductive Education encourages each person to take responsibility for his/her own movement.
• This allows improved active participation in home, school, employment and other social environments.
• To set and achieve individual goals which maximize functional independence.
• To maintain positive communications with parents/caregivers to better benefit overall development and incorporate learned skills into everyday life situations.
• To improve postural control and transitional movements in order to enhance functional independence.
• To prevent secondary complications including pain and the negative impact from limited activity.
• To elicit as much active, quality movement as possible while promoting skeletal development and overall health.