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Steps to Independence

Description

Conductive education is a form of special education, specifically developed for children with motor disabilities such as cerebral palsy. Steps to Independence, established in 1998 as Conductive Education of Pittsburgh, ensures that children and families in western Pennsylvania have access to this unique form of special education. A conductive education teacher, known as a "conductor," is specially trained to use and integrate basic techniques of physical, occupational, and speech therapy throughout all of a our classroom's activities. The world headquarters for conductive education is the Peto Institute in Budapest, where the majority of conductors are trained and certified. In a conductive education classroom, small groups of four to eight children are challenged both cognitively and physically. They are taught functional movement skills (e.g. using a spoon, standing or walking) as an integral part of their educational program. The goal is to transform the children into active problem-solvers, who use their cognitive abilities to practice and master motor skills. First developed in Hungary in the 1940s, conductive education is now practiced widely in Europe and Great Britain. There are about 35 conductive education programs in North America. A conductor is not a therapist. She/he is first and foremost an educator who specializes in teaching children with motor disabilities, encouraging children to explore their abilities and do as much as possible without assistive devices. Wheelchairs and walkers stay at the classroom door. In a CE classroom, children work on motor skills such as walking with hands-on facilitation from their conductors and using specially designed wooden furniture. Steps to Independence offers CE programs in the Pittsburgh area, including an annual intensive summer camp and a preschool-age program the rest of the year. The organization also works to educate families and the wider community about conductive education as one of the options that can benefit children with motor disabilities.

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Keyword disabilities cerebral palsy special education children with disabilities