INFANT CEREBRAL PALSY Helping kids make strides

Conductive education builds on the strengths of disabled children.
By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
"Ladder of success" has a new meaning for Tracey and Rudy Tatar of New Middletown. Walking ladders, wall ladders, floor ladders and ladder-back chairs are key components of a treatment aimed at increasing their daughter's mobility. Four-year-old Brittany Tatar, a 2-pound, 9-ounce preemie and surviving twin, was born with spastic cerebral palsy.
From 8 months to 2 1/2 years, Brittany underwent physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and early intervention programs.
"Progress was slow," said Tracey.
At the age of 2, she couldn't sit or talk and moved by dragging herself across the floor. "Brittany was frustrated. I was frustrated. She was trapped in her body," related Tracey Tatar, who took her frustration to the Internet.
There, she discovered Conductive Education.
"I was excited by what I found," said Tatar, adding the closest programs were in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
In spring, 2002, Tracey enrolled Brittany in the Cleveland program run by North Coast Ohio for Conductive Education (NCOCE) and partly underwritten by a grant from the United Cerebral Palsy Association. Tatar took Brittany an hour and a half hour each way to NCOCE daily for two weeks.
Progress
"After three days she spoke for the first time. After two weeks she sat alone," Tatar reported. "Conductive education focuses on what the person can do, not their disabilities," she explained. "The motto of Conductive Education is 'you can do it.' "
The program functions in a classroom setting of four to five children, grouped according to age and ability. "They work on walking, crawling, eating, talking, playing, potty training."
The walking ladder, which resembles a child-size ladder on skis, assists Brittany's balance and also helps with potty training, according to her parents. "She holds onto the ladder when she's on the potty and is able to sit upright," said Tatar.
Other adaptive furniture includes stools and plinth tables with slats for the child to grab onto. The low-tech equipment enables the child to pull himself up and move building muscles and endurance.
At NCOCE, parents are encouraged to participate and learn along with their children. After going through the two-week program, Tatar said, she and her husband learned "we were doing too much for Brittany. We weren't letting her help herself."
Independence
Another lesson Tatar took from NCOCE was to give Brittany extra time to speak and eat. Now the Tatars set aside more time for their daughter to perform basic tasks.
"She makes a mess when she eats but that's the only way she can learn. I want my daughter to be more independent, to function in society," Tatar said of their new approach.
While the children are nudged toward independence, they are also having fun report the parents.
"My daughter reacted well. She laughed and played," Tatar said. "There is a lot of singing and games [at NCOCE]."
Conductive Education uses song rhythms to spark desired movements.
The daily grind and the cost, $100 per week, forced the Tatars to stop participating.
Conductive Education is considered educational, not therapeutic, and insurance does not cover the cost. In addition, prices for the recommended equipment begin at $100, and most pieces have to be replaced as the child grows.
Brittany's dad made her ladders and tables at a fraction of the cost using drawings supplied by NCOCE and the United Cerebral Palsy Association.
Tracey Tatar continues one hour of daily therapy at home using mostly Conductive Education techniques. Brittany also receives physical therapy and aqua therapy one day a week locally and attends a preschool program for disabled children.
Promotion
After much research, Tracey and her partner, Sandy Lang, founded Miracles Unlimited to promote this system locally.
"I wanted to start the program this past summer but the funding didn't come through," said Tatar. She has sites, a teacher and equipment lined up for next summer. "Parents are interested," said Tracey.
Leonard Kirtz School, home to the Mahoning County Board of MRDD, agreed to provide the classroom space.
Rosemary Cuccia, early childhood director for MRDD said, "Tracey is very much a believer in Conductive Education and we felt this was a marvelous opportunity for our parents and staff."
Physicians and therapists contacted by The Vindicator declined to comment on Conductive Education, citing lack of professional experience with this treatment.
XConductive Education will be featured in a brief segment on "60 Minutes II" at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS.