History of Conductive Education?

Conductive Education was developed by Professor Andras Peto, who was born in Hungary in 1893. His mother, who was an educator, and his father who had Parkinson's disease, influenced Andras Peto considerably, orientating him towards both the fields of education and medical science.

Having graduated as a physician, he began developing the theory of Conductive Education around 1920. His first writings on the subject were published in 1931 and in 1945 he succeeded in establishing a centre in Budapest for people with motor disorders, now the International Peto Institute.

The centre became officially recognised in 1950 and in 1963 his work achieved major recognition: the Institute was transferred to the Hungarian Ministry of Education and the system of training for Conductors was officially established. Professor Andras Peto died in 1967 and the Peto Institute was then run by Dr Maria Hari until her retirement in 1994. She had assisted Professor Peto in the Institute from its early days and visited New Zealand in her capacity as director of the Institute in 1991. This was also the year in which several programmes were established in New Zealand.