ADMISSION

Admission to the program is based on a comprehensive assessment of the
child to determine whether or not the child would benefit from Conductive Education. An individualized educational plan is designed for those applicants who would benefit.

The suitable candidate can be accepted any time, if we have openings in the appropriate class. 

If you are interested in finding out if your child would benefit from Conductive Education and what program is available for them in our school, please feel free to contact us for an appointment. The assessment takes about 2 hours. Also, please complete the online Application Form. If you live out of the area and want to make sure your child would benefit from Conductive Education before you have a hands-on assessment, you may wish to send us a brief video. Please read our Video Assessment Guidelines.

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN UNDER THREE YEARS OF AGE

Aims of the programs:

  • To establish appropriate goals for every child in each developmental area, including personality.
  • To set up the child’s conductive education program.
  • To motivate and teach the child’s parents to apply age-appropriate conductive educational practices.
  • To develop and adapt tasks to the child as needed based on observation.
  • To assist the parents to participate in the educational activities of the child.

Program content:
Teaching the parents, by demonstration, to develop a child-activating attitude in themselves, and to motivate activities in their child. Parents are taught to build up an active daily routine for their child in which the actual relevant elements of the child’s program are included.  Targeted developmental areas include: focusing attention, cooperation, place-changing forms, playing (using the hands and developing hand-eye coordination), cognitive skills, communication, and active participation in eating and drinking. The parents are also taught how to help their child establish a proper body image. 

Our Programs:

HOME BASED PROGRAM for children under 3 months old, or for older children who are not suitable for center-based programs due to medical reasons. The program consists of individual one-hour sessions held in a child’s home.  The sessions are held one to three times per week, depending on the child’s needs.

CENTER BASED PROGRAMS for children between 9 months and 3 years of age. These are Mommy and Me group sessions, which greatly facilitate parents’ learning through intense and consistent hands-on teaching/learning activities. The group also provides a good opportunity for parents to support each other. A child and parent (or other caregiver) attends 2.5-hour sessions at the school two to five times per week, depending on the child’s needs.

PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN OVER THREE YEARS OF AGE

Aims of the programs:

  • To establish appropriate goals in each developmental area for every child based both on observation and by working with the child’s family.
  • To set up the child’s conductive education program and to monitor it by continuous interactive observations of the child.
  • To adapt the task-series to the child as needed based on observation.


Program content:
Teaching the children throughout an active daily routine and according to the principals of the method of Conductive Education. Targeted developmental areas include: place-changing forms, using hands and improving hand-eye coordination, cognitive skills, communication, and active participation in self-care (eating, drinking, dressing and using toilet). Children will develop an overall demand for being active and will establish improved body awareness. 

Our Programs:

CENTER BASED PROGRAMS-YEAR ROUND

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM for children from the age of three. This program’s aim is to establish children’s maximum independence for successful integration into mainstream schools, so they will successfully receive the advantages of inclusive education. The program runs six hours a day and five times per week.
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM for children from the age of three who have graduated from Conductive Education and are attending inclusive schools. This program’s aims are to stabilize and further stimulate the children’s progress, and also, to help them to integrate in their school environment. The program runs two times per week, two hours at a time.
SHORT TERM SESSIONS are for children from the age of three who are living out of the area or who are unable to attend regularly during the school year. The suggested minimum period of time for participation in these Conductive Education sessions is 4 weeks.
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS  These are exceptional cases.  For example, if the child is not yet ready to work in a group setting, preparation for this may be a realistic goal through short term individual sessions.

ADVANTAGES OF RECEIVING SERVICE FROM BEGINNING STEPS TO INDEPENDENCE:
BSTII offers the world famous Conductive Education for children as young as six months. Using this method, where the family is made an active participant in the educational process for the child, develops internal motivations within each child to carry out age-appropriate activities.  The children thus attain skills, often at times close to when such attainments normally would be expected. With early intervention, using Conductive Education, secondary physical and emotional problems (such as physical deformities, muscle atrophies, frustration, apathy) may be prevented.  Because our school is a comprehensive system, with various classes (such as: Home Program, Center Based Program: different levels of M&M classes; preschool, after-school) that all operate under the same principles of Conductive Education, the children can easily move from one class to another as they develop. Therefore BSTII's early intervention program provides an excellent preparation for preschool. The children have the opportunity to continue their education in our preschool after the age of three, with a smooth transition from the early intervention program. After the child graduates from BSTII, their Conductive Education can be continued in the after-school class. In addition, our traditional Aquatic Program and Field Trips are good opportunities for both the children and their parents to begin socialization out of the classrooms. This is an added benefit on top of the new coordination or knowledge that can gained while participating in these sessions. The and Graduation Party is a special “one-time-in the year" event.

OTHER Direct Parents Support provided:

  • We regularly discuss with parents (Parents-Teacher Meetings) their children’s goals and progress. Also, we give the families written goals and progress reports. 
  • We attend IEP or IFSP meetings upon parent request.
  • We offer to consult with families or professionals (e.g. orthopedics, or mainstream-school teachers or teacher aides) whenever our input is requested.
  •  When requested, we help the children transitioning to another program.
  • We provide off-site consultations.  For example, we go into the home and help parents by discussing modifications that may need to be made.
  • We are beginning a follow up service for those children who left our school in the past and wish further services or consultations.