Rozsahegyi, T. & Lambert, M. (1994) ‘Donna’s Day’. Nursery World, 29 September 1994 1 Donna’s Day… in Conductive Education Tunde Rozsahegyi & Mike Lambert INTRODUCTION Donna is three years old. She has spastic cerebral palsy and goes to a very special school. Her disabilities, caused by lack of oxygen during a difficult birth and subsequent damage to her developing brain, mean the movements of her body are slow, limited and unco-ordinated. For instance, her legs cross, her toes point down, and when one limb moves, another does too. Her speech is limited to a few words; she is only just beginning to open her hands and look at them. Her difficulties are severe and will be major obstacles throughout her life. Donna’s very special school is the Birmingham Institute for Conductive Education. It was established as a result of six years’ close collaboration with the Pető Institute in Hungary, where the radical way of helping children and adults with motor difficulties known as Conductive Education first became famous in the 1980s. Now the Birmingham Institute is the largest centre for Conductive Education outside the Pető Institute. Donna has attended the Birmingham Institute for nearly two years. She attends the Institute’s ‘parent-and-child’ services. She has progressed now to daily attendance in the Institute’s nursery, where she works from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm without her mother. There are 12 other children in her group, aged three or four, and all have cerebral palsy. Donna’s teachers are fully qualified ‘conductors’, specialised teachers of children and adults with motor disorders through Conductive Education. They all hold the Conductor Diploma, awarded after four years of training at the Pető Institute. Some are Hungarian, some are British. All work is carried out under the direction of an experienced conductor/group leader. DONNA’S DAY 8.30 – 9.00 am Arrive, potty/toilet training, changing clothes (learning ways of independent dressing, sage bath, playing Donna arrives at 8.30 am, she sits on a potty and practises undressing as independently as possible. She has a warm sage bath to help her relax her whole body – this kind of herbal bath is frequent practice in Conductive Education for children who have severe spasticity.