the rut thing to say. . .

Like any dork who thinks he knows his stuff, I have found myself becoming stale. It's gotten so repetitive with my boy, that I have little motivation to try new things. I am forgetting to speak more to him; to ask him to vocalize. I notice when we're 'struggling' to make a transfer in or out of the van that I am doing too much work again, and he's relying on me to do it. Usually all it takes is one-deep breath and a moment's concentration to see what it is I must say to him. Like "put your foot down", "stand up", or "just relax". A touch, a word, a smile; very little does the trick, but I've become so entrenched in the repetitions, the maintenance, that it begins to look like a life's unchanging routine. This is not good.
Hence, with a little input, and I do mean a little; one can 'freshen' up a great many tasks. (So here we go . .) If one had access to a conductor on a more regular, and less intense, basis than say, a summer 'camp;' well, there'd be a lot more humanity to it I say. Participating in a summer session of six to eight weeks was really great the first and second times; but holy smokes, can I be honest?! Who in the world is happy to give up their summer ( a precious and wonderful time in B.C.) for a 5-hour learning workshop, Monday to Friday? Parents, of course, and let me add, dissatisfied parents; hopeless parents; desperate parents. Well, now that a bevy of us curious folks have had the curiousity somewhat attended to, it's time to stop acting like novices entering some weird monastery; hiding our secret methods from a misunderstanding public. Bollocks. (Of course, bollocks is hardly a Canadian term; but it sounds so much less offensive than well, you know.)
Therefore, I think, organizations that focus on starting a somewhat exclusive program, apart from already established institutions are not necessarily serving the families who need conductive education. For a time, for a cost, and in a proprietary way, they are definitely serving them; but my list of non-returning families is a lot longer than my list of steady clients. Why? Cost, of course, and this "magical-mystery" garbage that often makes practitioners of CE act like 'nobody wuvs me.' I cry, alas. Give me a break.
If it's going to work, it has to not only work; it has to FIT. It should start in the home, then seep into the normal, everyday school life. Working from the inside; where it's already a given that we're all here for the kids, and oh guess what? The kids are here too. Hmm, I rather like that.

Out of the goldfish bowl indeed. . .

Mr. Sutton is right. Talking of CE outside of CE circles is rather important. I used to blather about it like a 'natural' when I first became involved with it. Now I don't even mention it until the conversation has moved along to a point where it might seem logical to explain "where I learned this stuff." 'This stuff' is utterly useless to me as a parent if it's not translatable, applicable, USEFUL in the real world. Because the things Blue and I have learned from CE are pragmatic and helpful in our family life, well, because of that I have kept up what I can. I wouldn't be "blogging" about it these ten years later if it hadn't somehow become useful and worthwhile.

Even today Blue and I were at the Sunnyhill Centre for Children in Vancouver. We were there to see Nicole, who for years has been seeing to his wheelchair and such gear; that it fits, works, functions. She casually remarked that I "handle him so well." This really made my day. There was no need to blather on and on about CE; though I did mention that British Columbia's 2nd resident conductor ever is coming at the end of the summer. Nicole smiled and enjoyed this news with me. It was no big deal, and we moved on to other topics; but it showed me that it's not always a battle. People see the sense in something and simple as that, they don't mind its presence.

Conductive education has always had that immediate sort of "curb appeal." Families who are confused, desperate, scared, and weary of hearing bad news are buoyed up by CE; not because it's CE, but because it hits home and matters right away in their every day lives. At least, for a great many it does.