A book which is available in English

I was writing about books two weeks ago, written by Hungarian authors and wished to be translated to English. Now, by contrast, let me suggest one which can be already read in English and which I recomend with pleasure.

Dr. Erika Medveczky

Conductive Education

as an educational method of neurohabilitation

Budapest, 2006.ISBN 963229819 5

A short part from The precondition for succesful conductive education p.:17-18

Peto’s educational aims more than 60 years ago included learning, information in its broadest sense, living with others and an independent way of life. These very same aims were stipulated in the International Law of Human rights (1994) and a few years later in the Commission Report of UNESCO (1997). Society and national culture are involved, namely the environment influences education, the process of learning and socialisation. The developmental approach must be adjusted to the society and culture in different ways by different nations. By now, when conductive education is internationally applied, its principles have proved to be applicable successfully in different national cultures.
Suitability for CE is to be determined by the conductor’s operative observation, since just looking at a person with dysfunctions is already informative. It is even more important to state what the person with dysfunction would be able to do should he receive conductive education. It also must be seen whether contact can be established. The conductor’s responsibility is further increased by her having to give a prognosis concerning the conductive educational future for the person with dysfunctions. Then an individual development plan must be drawn up. The assessment must also answer the question how this educational method can help the disabled person’s development. The conductive education teacher intends to see what the child with disabilities would be able to if development changed his environment, the scene of his education. The conductor considers and documents the results of medical reports and the pace of development which could be registered until this first assessment.
The conductor also wants to see by future operative observation whether an interaction has been formed between the conductor and the child, which may help the learning process. While a paediatric neurological examination focuses on the pathological neurological and neglect symptoms, the conductor’s observation considers the possibility of utilising the existing reserve capacities. She is looking for the preconditions of complex performance in every day situation. Then she wants to see concrete ways of task solutions which can be applied individually in the given case. Thus she must see whether the method is suitable for developing the child with disabilities.
The conductor never sets up a diagnosis – it is not needed- since patients come to conductive education already after a medical check up and diagnosis. However, she tries to explore the abilities which make the patient suitable to be developed by conductive education. This does not always correspond to anatomic extension of brain damage. Experience shows that no cases of damage to the central nervous system with identical origin produce the same loss of functions, symptoms and prognosis.
As shown above, the preconditions for conductive education include a well trained and experienced conductor and operative observation (conductor’s assessment). It is also essential to have a conductive group, to have early development begun in infancy which can be established. A determining factor is that conductor does not work in an isolated position but as a member of homogenous conductor’s team, especially in the early, intensive phase of development.
As the scene of development a peer group is vital, which also influences personality development favourably and prevents early social isolation. The group develops a need to establish contact with peers and the social environment, and also enhances communication. ...