Professor Andras Pėto
Andras Pėto, the founder of conductive education, was born in Hungary. Pėto's interest in anything and everything that affected the life of mankind was probably determined at a young age. His father was confined to life in a wheelchair because of Parkinson's disease, his outlook on life was probably influenced more by his mother who dictated a very structured life.
After the First World War, Pėto moved to Vienna to study medicine, which at that time was the European centre for intellectuals. He gained his first professional experiences in various hospitals in Austria. Later, he became head of several Austrian clinics and health institutes. However, Pėto never accepted money from his patients and funded himself through various enterprises. For example, he produced a newspaper and lived off the advertising revenue.
In 1938, Pėto returned to Budapest where he took refuge in the basement of a house owned by a friend. Here he spent most of his time working and playing with the daughter of his hostess who had cerebral palsy.
His studies, experience and child-oriented interest with her proved to be very successful. In 1945, after the end of the war in Europe, he started to work with motor disabled children in a new, carefully integrated system, which was the organisation and implementation of conductive education. He concentrated on training staff to work with children with cerebral palsy, which eventually led to the development and organisation of qualifications for 'conductors' to degree level.
He had to prove to the professionals that there is a way to educate a person with motor disabilities, thus enabling them to find the right strategies to rehabilitate themselves, if not alone, then with the help of conductive education. He found different ways of working to create and elaborate a system which ensured his approach would not only survive, but also expand and develop.
Eventually in 1950 - 51, he founded his first centre with 80 places. This was called 'The Institute for the Motor Impaired. In the early sixties, the State Institute was transferred from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Education. Furthermore, the first steps were underway to create formal training and a transition from 'handlers' to 'conductors'.
In 1967, after a long period of ill health, Pėto died. Dr Mari Hari, his colleagues and students continued his work. In 1984 the present Pėto Institute was founded in the Buda Hills in Budapest.
