I believe that as humans we are larger than the sum of the parts of us that work well less the parts of us that do not. When I learned about Conductive Education my spirit soared -- finally, an approach to working with people with disabilities that at its core reflected this belief. Conductive Education is a transformative approach that understands and values attitude and determination and personality and motivation and relationships and positivity and hope (yes, hope!) as central to the learning or rehabilitation process; an approach that encourages people to seek solutions instead of dwelling in their problems and to develop skills and strategies that enable them to live well despite life's challenges.
Conductive Education was originally designed specifically as a way for people to manage a narrow range of motor disorders and disabilities and was delivered in very specific and customised small group settings in a strict and methodological fashion. In my nearly 20 years as a conductor I have been privileged to watch children with cerebral palsy and adults with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, stroke, and other less common or even undiagnosed conditions thrive in traditional Conductive Education environments in New Zealand, Canada, England, Australia, Hungary, Israel, Kuwait and Norway, and have been even more privileged to be a part of some of their journeys. People don't just benefit from Conductive Education - they defy the odds, achieve the impossible, break the rules, and become better versions of themselves. Click here to learn more about CE.
In my years of practice I have learned that the application and reach of Conductive Education is far broader than the group of people for whom it was originally designed -- in fact I no longer even see it as an approach just for people with disabilities. The underpinning belief system and pedagogy for me professionally is bigger than disability, speaking to the condition of being human, and therefore is an integral part of how I approach everything I do professionally whether in a Conductive classroom, somebody's living room, or a mainstream gym setting.