What is Conductive Education?

The philosophy of Conductive Education is that all children and adults who have motor disorders of neurological origin can learn. It is based on the assumption that a person who has a motor disorder has a problem of learning which requires education, as opposed to a medical condition which requires treatment.

Dr Andras Peto, the founder of Conductive Education, believed that human development is holistic and learning occurs in an integrated way, encompassing the sensory, motor, cognitive, communication and socio-emotional aspects of development (Porter and Kirkland, 1995). The aim of Conductive Education is to achieve an 'orthofunctional personality'. The term 'orthofunction' is defined as the general capacity for adaptation, which enables an individual to adjust to their natural environment (Hari, 1997).

Conductive Education teaches people with motor disorders to coordinate their movements and achieve greater independence in their everyday lives. The level of achieved independence will be different for each individual and must be seen in the light of the difficulties faced. However, while individual discrepancies are recognised, the central vision for all is that orthofunction develops integrated cognitive performance as 'self-realisation', so that individuals view themselves as people who 'can' (Hari, 1997).