Medical Community

I am so glad you are here, and I hope you will join with us on our quest to expand inclusion in Montessori schools around the world! My name is Barbara Luborsky. I am a pediatric OT. For several years I have been working with and advocating for children together with my colleague, Montessorian Catherine Massie, observing and supporting inclusive Montessori programs.

On this website you will find resources to expand your knowledge of the Montessori Method in order to optimally meet the developmental needs of the children you treat. If you already know about Montessori education, I hope you will use this site to share your experiences and expertise with our online community. If you have not yet become familiar with it, this site is an excellent place to start. Below, I briefly describe how I came to be interested in this amazing approach to supporting children and why I have devoted myself to finding ways to connect my medical colleagues with Montessori educators.

Dr. Maria Montessori wrote in 1915 (San Francisco Call and Post): “Between physicians and teachers, at that time, there was an absolute separation; they never met in their social and scientific work.” [Montessori, Maria, The California Lectures of Maria Montessori: Collected Speeches and Writings, 1915, The Clio Montessori Series, p.260.] Unfortunately, this separation largely continues today, more than we would like to admit. We continue to separate medical and educational supports for children with special needs, instead of a using a collaborative, holistic approach. Children today are usually either treated medically or taught using educational methods developed for typical children. In our efforts to promote a more integrated and holistic approach, our showcase will remarkable examples of interdisciplinary collaboration!

Our Showcase will feature (over time) a wide variety of examples of outstanding inclusive Montessori schools that serve children with a particular disability exceptionally well, have Montessori-based Special Education Programs, Montessori-based therapeutic programs, Montessori-based therapies, or have Montessori-based pediatric programs at hospitals and orphanages. The key ingredient of all of these programs, what makes all of them so effective, is an integrated medical-educational approach that is wholistic, therapeutic, and habilitative for the childen and their families.

This website shares the long history of these medically-enhanced Montessori programs and connects you to a community of professionals dedicated to:

• a medically-enhanced Montessori approach
• collaboration and teaming
• scientific research designed to add to the body of literature showing the efficacy of this method
• innovative collaborative partnerships between Montessori schools, Universities, Hospitals, and researchers

It is my mission to help bridge the gap between education and medicine by increasing understanding on both sides of the divide. This requires that Montessorians and medical community members commit to learning more about each other’s practices. This requires mutual respect, open minds, and open lines of communication. Combining these two aspects, which today are largely separate, can generate the greatest benefit to children’s habilitation. This results in programming that surpasses use of either approach pursued separately.

My first encounter with the Montessori world was in 1996, when I walked into a Montessori school with my 3-year-old daughter. It was immediately apparent that I had found something special. The more I learned, the more convinced I was that this approach is the ideal educational method. As a pediatric OT, I appreciate the multi-sensory nature of all things Montessori, the respect for the unique journey of each child and how that facilitates a sense of autonomy in the individual and promotes the individual’s sense of agency in the community. But the most striking aspect of the Montessori approach to education by far is the way it serves development. The materials themselves, along with the lessons, and the combination of direct instruction from the teacher followed by free exploration by the children, combine to provide a scaffold that supports the child’s development across domains. This maximizes independence by providing a multitude of opportunities for problem solving and allows the child ample time to engage in that process.

In a Montessori environment, a child is continually challenged to develop executive skills. Aside from any other learning, this is paramount. In addition, throughout their day in a Montessori classroom, children are developing their sensory systems and refining motor, language, cognitive, and social skills–all within a context that allows for individualized developmental pathways.

It is this affordance, this respect for individual developmental trajectories, along with the support of developmental sequences that make the Montessori Method the ideal framework for collaboration between Montessori teachers and developmental therapists and doctors. Together we can create individualized therapeutic educational programming which allows children with special needs to access this marvelous educational approach while they address therapy goals throughout the day in the Montessori classroom.

Did you know that preschool inclusion in the United States has increased only 7.2% in the past 30+ years? And that in some school districts, public schools are becoming less inclusive? We believe that a medical-educational partnership can increase educational inclusion and improve developmental outcomes. I invite you to get involved in our effort to increase the presence and vital contributions of the medical community in our schools.

We are opening with a selection of resources which, we believe, will be of use to you in your work with children who have developmental and learning differences. Our vision for this inclusion website, is that Montessori educators and medical providers across the globe will contribute many insights, successful practices, and a wealth of resources to support your important work. We are a growing resource center at this time.

Begin exploring our site NOW and here is what you will find:

• Grand Opening Showcase Feature: Visit our Inclusion Program Showcase to find perhaps the earliest scientific study of Montessori education for children with disabilities.
• Resources of interest and relevance to your work: Find current articles and research in Hot Topics, introduce yourself to the Montessori and medical communities through our Inclusion Forums, and read a variety of articles about Montessori-based Special Education practices. More resources will be added on an ongoing basis.
• Find out how you can get involved NOW in advocacy, capacity-building, and supporting Montessori programs that are including more diverse populations of children.

What kind of challenges are your patients and their families finding as they look for appropriate educational settings?

What do you need to know about Montessori education with regards to the kinds of challenges facing the children you work with?

What do you need to know about effectively and collaboratively working with your patients/clients in a Montessori setting?

What format would work best for you to learn more about Montessori Education? Webinar? Conference?

What kinds of resources would you find helpful?