Dore Programme

The Dore programme or Dore program is a drug-free course of treatment for dyslexia, ADHD, dyspraxia, Asperger's, and other learning difficulties which has been developed with researchers in Britain and elsewhere. It consists of a series of exercises which are designed to improve the functioning of the cerebellum, based on Dore's belief that the cerebellum facilitates skill development and therefore plays an essential role in the learning process.

Currently, the Dore programme is available through offices in 6 countries: UK, USA, South Africa, Taiwan, China, and New Zealand.

Origin

Dore, previously known as DDAT (Dyslexia Dyspraxia Attention Treatment), was initiated by businessman Wynford Dore for his daughter Susie who was diagnosed as severely dyslexic and became depressed and suicidal. After being told that there was no cure for dyslexia, Wynford hired a team of researchers to investigate Dr. Harold Levinson's claim that the cerebellum is linked to the types of symptoms Susie was experiencing. Dr. Roy Rutherford, a friend of Wynford's, suggested that an underdeveloped cerebellum may be the cause of Susie's symptoms. The Dore progamme was subsequently developed for Susie and, after she began to read and write, then made available to others.,.

According to Dore, conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, Autism, Asperger syndrome and ADHD are linked to delay in cerebellar development. Dore Program Practitioners believe that it is possible to treat difficulties in areas such as reading and social skills by developing these neural pathways.

The Dore method

The theory behind the Dore method is that skills such as reading and writing are learned through practice and become automatic because the cerebellum allows the learning process to occur at the maximum rate of efficiency. Its proponents argue that research suggests that while the cerebellum becomes less active once a skill has been learned, it nonetheless retains much of its neural plasticity i.e. the ability to develop new synaptic connections and neural pathways. The Dore Programme aims to stimulate the development of the cerebellum and hence to strengthen the communications between the cerebrum and cerebellum.^{[citation needed]}

The programme consists of a series of complex sensory and motor exercises which are carried out twice a day, typically for around twelve months. The programme is designed for each individual based on interpretation of the results of tests of cerebellar function and progress in each exercise level. These tests are designed to measure balance (posturography) and eye tracking (electronystagmography). Changes are charted by repeating these tests regularly throughout the program.^{[citation needed]}. No public information is available on how these tests are interpreted, and whether age, maturation and prior experience with the tests are taken into account when monitoring progress or specifying an individualised programme.

Effectiveness

The first study to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dore programme was published in Dyslexia in 2003, which reported improvements in writing, reading, and comprehension of 35 school-aged students at Balsall Common School in Warwickshire, UK on standardized testing.. Most of the study participants did not have any diagnosed learning difficulties: six had dyslexia, two had dyspraxia and one had ADHD. Some of the remainder were identified as 'at risk' on the basis of the Dyslexia Screening Test, but the majority of children did not have severe difficulties. A follow-up to this study was published in Dyslexia in 2006, and, upon reevaluating the students, the authors report significant improvements in writing, reading, and comprehension, as well as ADHD attention skills.. However, neither study met stringent criteria for a randomized controlled trial and results looked much less impressive when the intervention group was compared with controls, who also improved.

Suitability

Age

In order to be suitable for the Dore programme, clients must be 7 years of age or older. Dore suggests this because clients 6 and younger are more difficult to accurately assess. Adults of all ages are believed to be suitable for Dore.

Screening

A brief screening questionnaire is completed to determine suitability for the Dore Programme. Potential clients discuss their difficulties with a Dore representative who determines if the client is suitable for the programme.

Dore in Schools

Schools have begun to utilize the Dore Programme as an intervention for students with learning and attention difficulties, and for those seeking improvements in academic and athletic arenas. Independent and public schools in the United States have reported positive feedback from their experiences, as administrators, teachers, and families observe the changes in their students. School personnel facilitate the individualized programs at school on school days while families oversee the sessions at home on weekends and holidays.

Early Critiques

Of the treatment

The Dore Programme treatment has been the subject of much debate. The study by Reynolds et al has been criticized. For example, a control group was included only for a subset of assessments, and not for follow up; no information was provided on the test scores or treatment status of children in the experimental group who were not followed up, and few children had the disorders for which the Dore program is recommended. The two authors of the research defended it as showing significant and maintained gains in coordination after treatment. A number of papers published in the British Dyslexia Association's journal have found the apparently independent academic research Dore initially offered in support of the treatment to be the subject of some debate. According to an article published in the Times Educational Supplement in 2004, many of Britain's foremost academics maintain that the results need to be replicated.

Of early claims

Claims were mistakenly publicised that the Dore method used physical training methods for astronauts used by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)[1]. NASA responded to that claim, saying that they were not conducting research into dyslexia, and had no evidence that any of their interventions might be effective in treating dyslexia [2]. Dore denies having been involved in these claims.

The UK's Independent Television Commission and Ofcom upheld complaints made about a 2002 news item on British television in which Sir Trevor McDonald hailed DDAT as a "breakthrough in the treatment of dyslexia." It repeated this decision about a later item on Richard & Judy, and found a television commercial made by DDAT to be in breach of Advertising Standards Code Rules for creating a false impression of the medical evidence, and implying that professional medical advice and support would be part of the treatment. In all these cases, however, they stated that: "the ITC does not express, nor does it seek to express, any view whatsoever on DDAT as an organisation or the relative efficacy of its treatment for dyslexia, neither of which was the subject of this finding." The complaints were mainly about claims that this was new and pioneering research when many elements date back to at least 30 years before the DDAT was founded.

After the British journal Dyslexia published one paper about the Dore programme in 2003, the paper was followed by ten critical commentaries and one commentator resigned from Dyslexia's editorial board. In 2006, five members of the board of directors resigned in protest of the publication of a followup article highly favorable of Dore, citing concerns about the methodology used in the study and financial conflicts of interest due to Dore's involvement in funding the research. The editor of Dyslexia defended the decision to publish, and the authors of the original Dore research paper responded vigorously to these criticisms and continued to support their findings and conclusions

In December 2009, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ordered Dore to take down advertisements it posted via Google links that claimed the program offered help for dyslexia, Asperger syndrome, and ADHD dyspraxia. Dore attempted to defend the ads by citing two studies supporting its claims, but the ASA ruled that the advertisements' claims were unsupported by the studies and were misleading.

Financial history

In May 2008 the DDAT company went into liquidation in the UK. On 23 January 2009, Dynevor Ltd acquired the intellectual property rights and the assets of the Dore programme from Wynford Dore and CDT Ltd.

External links

• Dore UK
• Dore USA
• Dore South Africa
• Dore Taiwan
• Dore China
• Dore New Zealand
• Dore Worldwide