Tomorrow, just one to carry the banner

"Flying High", Petö Institute 2008, by Susie Mallett

November 7th 2009 Nürnberg

My translation of the congress invitation/programme

Conductive Förderung

A path to “taking part” and to integration

[I just have to but in here. Conductive what? Education? No, Upbringing? Again no, that would be Erziehung. Development? No, isn’t that Entwichlung? Encouragement!!! Yes! That could be it. Why ever didn’t the Germans just call it 'Pedagogy''? ]

A hearty welcome to the congress

Since 2001 it is deeply anchored in the duties of “SBG IX” to make more possibilities in the community for people with disabilities to take part, to participate in life.

The providers of rehabilitation and institutes are being encouraged to support this path and to provide possibilities for individual development.

To reach these aims it is necessary for changes to take place in the existing “Hilfesystem”, care/ reha system, so a new direction, a new way can be created.

“Ask yourself not what you can do to help a child ask what can that child do to help himself”.
András Petö

Sixty years ago Prof. András Petö developed the holistic system of conductive upbringing for children and adults with movement disorders stemming from the damage to the central nervous system, with the aim of integration.

The holistic principles and the every-day life orientation of this system are are interpreted through:

• therapeutic and pedagogic aspects in continuous education and upbringing
• the normal every day emotional and practical needs and skills
• the starting point being the potential of a child and not the deficit.

Conductive Education assists people with physical disabilities throughout all phases of their development, with the most simplest of materials, to become less dependent on outside help, and to be as independent as possible.

Saturday 07. November 2009 –9.00am

In the Richard Wagner Room
Grand Hotel Le Meridien
Bahnhofstrasse 1-3, 90402 Nürnberg
Parking places at the central railway station

Verein für Menschen mit Körperbehinderungen e.V.
Zerzableshofstrasse 29
90478, Nürnberg
tel.. 0911 46 26 35 0
Fax. 0911 46 26 35 10

Experiences from the practice of Conductive Education will be the themes and the inspiration for discussion at our congress.

Programme

09.30
Opening
Frau Anita Moos- Director of the Verein für Menschen mit Körperbehinderungen e.V.

Words of welcome
Dr Markus Söder – Bavarian Minister for the environment and health.

10.00
Learning, Conductive Education and integration
On the way to a synthesis, the example of the school project in Rohrdorf.
Prof. Dr. Lelgemann
The development of the brain
Prof. Dr. Gunther Moll- Centre for child and teenager psychological health, University Hospital, Erlangen

12.00- 12.45 lunch

12.45
Operations to improve or maintain movement of physically disabled children and adults.
Dr. med. Andrea Reihmer, FA Orthopedics, Consultant in pediatric-orthopedics, Nürnberg hospital.

The Meaning of the Plinth – uses and advantages
Helga Keil-Bastendorff, Bettina Tauscher-Fak / Dipl. physio-therapists, business directors, from the therapy Institute Keil, Vienna.

14.15- 15.00 coffee and cake break

15.00
Pedagogic-therapeutic-conductor training course- PtK
Beate Höß-Zenker, occupational therapist, PtK, Director of Phoenix Gmbh, Conductive Education Centre, Munich.

Practical experience-reports from PtKs
Gabi Sosic- occupational therapist, Lisa Pitz – social pedagogue, Dagmar Herrler- special school teacher, Friederike Bock – Physiotherapist

Integrated Montessori-Petö Kindergarten Komet
Claudia Ditthorn – Montesorri pedagogue, Adrienn Pelikán- Konduktorin,
Dr Angela Wohlfarth – Mother of an integrated child, Nürnberg

17.15
Open discussion – questions and answers
Questions, experiences, opinions, from the audience.

18.00
Dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Notes

SBG 1X – www.sozialgesetzbuch.de

http://www.sozialgesetzbuch.de/gesetze/09/index.php?norm_ID=0900001


PS

Please take note that there are fifteen people talking the stage at this congress, and just one of these is a condcuctor!

This one conductor is my colleague Adrienn Pelikán.

She is one of eight people speaking between 15.00 and 17.15.

She will have the final word of the conference on the stage, before the questions and opinions from the 180 people on the floor.

We are meeting tonight in an attempt to make sure that that final word is perfect (for the occasion), and not plinth!