Okay, okay, as much as I am embarrassed to admit this, I will. I used to be one of THOSE people. You know the kind that quickly looks away when they are uncomfortable with what they see. Or, the kind that tries not to stare but just can’t help it. Well, I am sitting on the other side of that fence now. My son has spastic quad cerebral palsy. What that means is that all four of his limbs are affected by tight muscle tone and muscle spasms. He uses a wheelchair as his method of ambulation at school and in the community. As his parent, I am driven by a desire to see that my son achieves the highest level of independence that is possible within the limits that his body puts upon him. He has come a very long way from the stiff “board” boy that we brought home from the hospital. I have come a long way in my understanding of what impact cerebral palsy would have on our lives.

I have spent countless hours researching on the internet for various therapies and programs that will help my son to achieve independence. My dream is for him to be capable of taking care of his personal hygiene and to be able to feed and dress himself. Maybe those aren’t high goals but I feel that these are the least that I want to see him capable of. Everything else is a bonus. We know that he is very intelligent (we discovered he had taught himself to read at the age of 4) he has an uncanny ability to problem solve (just put him into any device that has restraining aspects to it and watch how quickly he can find a way out of it) and his level of self-motivation is beyond any that I have ever seen. All these things about him help to keep me motivated. I am drawn by an irresistible force towards the top of a mountain that often feels far to steep to even attempt to climb. We are standing in the foothills right now.

When I was researching therapy programs for children with Cerebral Palsy I came across information about Conductive Education.   As I read through the website information about the philosophies and goals of the program my thoughts began to stir. Is there a program like this close enough for us to access?  There began my search. I came across a website called Little Leaps. This program was located in New Westminster, about a 20 minute drive from our home. I contacted the coordinator and was told that the program was on hold as there was no conductor available locally. I was so disappointed. That was about 3 years ago. This past winter I received an email telling me that it looked like there would be a conductor available to come for an extended time to get a program up and running. Would we be interested? I responded with a resounding YES! I was so excited! I had no idea how we would pay for this or what the time commitment would be but I know in my heart that the money always takes care of itself when something is "meant to be". And it did.

The name has been changed to Purpose Conductive Education Program and we have been attending sessions since March. The conductor has grown to know my son quite well and has set some reasonable short term goals and is very optimistic for advanced goals down the road. She says K needs to learn to control his muscles. He needs to learn to slow down his movements. We are working on some of the activities at home. K is making progress. As he learns new ways to move and improve his motor skills he will be capable of a higher level of independence. I know the mountain is high and the climb is steep but with perseverance and attention to details I know that the brass ring is within reach.


This is K preparing for an art activity at the Purpose Conductive Education Program (March 2008)

Check out the website and look at the summer program. Or set up some one-on-one sessions with the Conductor. Contact james.forliti@purposesociety.org to discuss accessing this program for your child. Visit James' blog for an enjoyable read of his experience with Conductive Education.

Do you have any experience with Conductive Ed? I would love to hear from you!