Conductive Education in New York City: Parental Perceptions and Experiences

This research project sought to answer the following questions about Conductive Education (CE). Does CE positively impact the lives of children with motor disorders and their family members? Does the program give children a sense of independence as well as the confidence to believe they have control over their movements, lives and future? If so, which characteristics of CE create these positive outcomes for children, and by extension, their family members? If positive outcomes are not realized, what may have led to a lack of effectiveness? In the literature on CE, many of the studies fall within one of two categories, namely studies that focus on parental evaluations of CE or studies that have sought to use more objective measures of progress, many of which compared CE, or programs based on CE principles, to traditional methods of intervention. The studies that focused on parental evaluations of CE were relatively subjective in nature and the results were mainly positive, although some parental concerns were noted, such as a perceived lack of school-based experiences and academics. The studies that sought to compare CE with other types of interventions found similar results; namely that CE was not more effective than traditional methods of intervention. Despite these researchers ’ findings, CE appears to give children and their families a sens