Unique features of the Conductive Education-Peto System for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy.

The most important features of the Conductive Education System are presented in this paper, with special emphasis laid on those elements that distinguish it from other pediatric rehabilitation methods. The fundamental differences in the approach to rehabilitation involve the combination of motor, pedagogical, functional, language, and personality functions: the fact that motor rehabilitation is not done manually, but rather by encouragement of the children by the group leader to perform a series of tasks by verbal instruction; and the subordination of motor rehabilitation to functional goals and play. On the organizational level the chief differences are that rehabilitation sessions with children are run by one person with 1 or 2 assistants; that groups of children are formed by choosing those with a comparable stage of motor and mental development, and that the equipment used consists of special furniture to develop everyday activities and facilitate walking. The principal aim of the system is to prepare the child to function at home and in the school environment.