Hello Mr. Oliver.Gernand,

I would like to welcome you to the CP list.  I am a 20 year old male with
Cerebral Palsy.  I went to the Peto Institute in the summer of 85, and again
in 86.  At that time I lived close to Frankfurt Germany in the town of
Bruchköbel, not far away from Hanau.

In Regards to your son, I highly recommend the Peto Institute.  I do not
know what kind of information you are looking for so I will only give you a
quick over view of my experiences.  If you would like more information
please e mail me either through the list or privately either way is fine.
Please note even though I did live in Germany I can only right in English.

When I went on a tour of the Peto Institute in the early part of 85, I was
amazed at what I saw.  Children learning how to walk with canes and or
braces.  My parents and I were later taken to the director of the Peto
Institute Dr. Harri.  I can remember she asking me (in German) whether I
wanted to learn how to walk.  I remember answering her with a clear yes.

As for the therapy itself I can tell you it involves a very tough schedule.
The day starts at 6:00 and goes to 5 in the evening.  You spend the entire
day doing all kinds of exercises.  From very early on they wanted me to be
on my feet.  I can remember at first only walking very short distances with
a therapist right behind me putting pressure on my knees to  keep me from
going down on my knees.  As time went on I can remember walking up and down
floors for exercise.  This was amazing.  Before going to the Peto Institute
I had to be carried everywhere.  It should be said however all individuals
are effected differently by CP, so the results are not the same.

As for your boy, I do not know how bad the CP is, nor am I doctor so it is
impossible to say what the results will be.  I think it is a positive that
you are considering  "Petö" therapy so early.  Be prepared however that
therapy is a long process.  I had a friend  at the institute that had been
going there for years, but at the end he could walk on his own.

As for my case I cried constantly wanting to go home.  But I do not know why
I started crying.  I think I was to little to understand what I was doing
there, but I was "big enough" to understand I didn't like it.  Needless to
say we left after the second attempt.  I am sure if I would have stayed I
would be walking on my own now.  Leaving the Peto Institute was a big
mistake.  But there is no point in me looking backward at the choices my
parents and I made.  Don't make the same mistake.

Jan


PS:  If you have trouble understanding this letter please e mail me
privately at:  [log in to unmask] and I will give it to my dad who will
translate it for you in german.


"Oliver.Gernand" wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> my name is Oliver Gernand and I am a new member to this list server. I
> have a 17 months old son, who unfortunately suffers from CP. His name is
> Can Taylan (which is Turkish, first word meaning for "life") and he has
> been getting Bobath therapy for the past 9 months or so. We will be
> going to Budapest, Hungary during April for a 3-week look at the
> so-called "Petö" therapy.
>
> If anyone has any experiences with this kind of therapy then your
> feedback would be highly appreciated.
>
> Thanks a lot in advance and best regards, OG
>
> P.S.: Apologies if this is an inappropiate way of contact the list, but
> I did not find any reference to a FAQ section anywhere. If there is one,
> then please provide this as well.