For a well-reasoned video from Oxford Professor Dorothy Bishop on ‘evaluating alternative solutions for dyslexia’ (in which she uses Dore as her prime example), please see here:

www.dystalk.com/talks/60-evaluating-alternative-solutions-for-dyslexia

Very interested in any feedback anyone has – positive or negative of course.

Befor the treatment I couldnt function as a normal person . I’m a very intelligent and educated person , I have been discriminated against as a Dyslexic ADHD person all through my life , and ended up homeless and unemployable. The Dore changed all that and I would never go back to the way things once where. Saying all that I always thought the Dore organistion would shoot itself in the foot with outlandish claims, (all the NASA bullshit etc) and a constant failure to put their money where their mouths were in relation to reserch etc, which is tragic as now so many people wont get the help I received .

It’s sad that after so many people have been helped , the only focus now is on the people who didnt respond to the treatment. What about all the people like me who have had thier lives changed in such a dramatic way?

I’m curious. Nosey, really. How are you with dubbed foreign films? Or with programmes on Freeview E4+1 (E4 an hour later) where the sound doesn’t keep time with the picture, unless they have fixed that?

I have mild dyslexia, and have noticed that although I have no trouble hearing sounds like bird songs etc. I often have trouble understanding what people are saying when I can’t see their face.

I always wondered if this had anything to do with dyslexia, or if this is a problem most people have but just don’t talk about it!

I assumed my ears were just a funny shape (normal headphones won’t fit in them) but could it be something to do with the inner ear?

Do most people here think that this theory is a load of cods whallup?

medical rooms

In the US, there is a growing body of research that points to differences in how and where the brains of dyslexics process language. Acquisition of sound-symbol relationships,and the ability to sequence and segment sounds and syllables, which is acquired to levels of automaticity in competent readers, eludes most people with severe reading disabilities.

The entry point for most dyslexic students is explicit and systematic instruction in the most basic phonetic (sound/symbol)rules of written language.

This is not in itself a complete approach, as students with dyslexia also need direct instruction in reading for meaning, in acquiring vocabulary, in writing and in spelling.

A minority of students may also have co-ordination difficulties, or visual-spatial deficits which make the physical act of writing additionally challenging for them.

By the way, contrary to popular belief, English is an extremely rule-bound system in terms of spelling, with few exceptions. The rules are seldom taught explicitly. Many proficient readers can internalize them unconsciously, through wide exposure, and will tell you that a they know when a word is misspelled because it ‘doesn’t look right.’

There is no ‘magic cure’ for dyslexia.

Many students with dyslexia find that reading presents a life-long challenge, although with good instruction, they can become competent.

Even if you have these losses, if you are functioning in a language like Italian where a language sound tends to be represented consistently by the same letter(s), you’re going to have far fewer problems than in a language like English where consistency is low. In other words, reading in English really pushes the limits of the system whereas this isn’t the case in a language like Italian, and when the system begins to break down, the effects show up sooner in a language like English.

‘Do you lot have a close relation going thru the Dore programme?’

I’ve a cousin & a few people I know who tried it.

‘Have you read Wyford Dore’s book?’

I’ve read the scientific papers written by people researching Dore, & I’ve read Wynford’s story on a few websites.

‘Do you know he has never taken a penny from his work. Do you know he has spent £15 Million of his own money on subsidising the programme’

I’m aware of these claims, and have no particular reason to doubt them.

‘Do you have a Grandfather, Husband and Son,all Dyslexic? – And you aren’t?’

I have a father, brother, and many members of my extended family & friends who have SpLDs or developmental disorders such as dyslexia and ASD, as do I myself (dyspraxia).

‘Do you know the added work that goes into my life because of this’

I know the effects on myself and my family, I have also worked with many children and families with a variety of SpLDs, so in general I am well aware of the effects they can have, though I’ve never met you personally.

‘and pray tell me who has taken him or his staff to court because of intimidation.’

??? If you mean who has taken the Dore programme to court – unfortunately the families who have been threatened by lawyers, and the voluntary organisation AUSSPELD, decided they didn’t have the resources themselves to fight Dore’s expensive lawyers. However, when the laywers have been challenged, as in the case of academics such as Snowling, the matter was settled out of court and Dore were shown to be in the wrong.

‘Do I have a Son that 18 months ago I took out of school because he couldn’t cope and now can face going back to school? YES. Is he confident, bright, happy, able to cope with basic and more difficult things than ever before. Yes.’

This has happened to several people I know very well with SpLDs, unfortunately the education system doesn’t always cope well with us.

‘And why because he is 1 of 40,000 worldwide that have gone successfully thru the dore programme.’

None of the many people I know with SpLDs and very similar stories (school difficulties, often dropping out, then eventual success) went through the Dore programme, it is not possible to state definitively that the change was due to ‘cerebellar development’ rather than for example your 1:1 teaching and attention away from the difficulties at school.

‘Is he finished yet. No.(He will though). Am I from a low income family YES. Do I care that I will lose out on some money NO! I just wish I could have paid £3000+ then Wynford Dore might still have this wonderful vision and help many, many more.’

People with SpLDs can use many forms of support, and I’d rather people’s £2000 was spent in ways which have been shown to be of benefit. FWIW the most important thing in getting me & several other ‘successful people with SpLDs to & through Uni has been a laptop computer, sometimes with other assistive technology, costing £300 – £1000. I don’t think that anyone will argue that your money would be best of all spent on the administrator’s fees, but this is what is now happening.

Thank you for engaging in discussion, rather than resorting to personal insults. I hope this answers some of your questions.

I’m sceptical about the delayed cerebellar development theory, but the exercises do incorporate vestibular and ocular-motor training; vestibular and ocular deficits are common (but not universal) in dyslexics and in other developmental disorders – this would explain why the Dore ‘treatment’ has been successful in some cases but not in all.

If dyslexia is treated in research as a unitary condition instead of as a blanket term for a number of different reading difficulties, this would also explain anomalous research outcomes.

The danger of rubbishing the exercises with the Dore organisation is that an effective baby may be being thrown out with the bathwater.

By the way, this apparently isn’t the song performed by Melba Moore and by Dannii Minogue. That might not have been so effective.

Also, “Former vice president Al Gore billed [another song by Loggins, 'Conviction of the Heart'] as “the unofficial anthem of the environmental movement.” Presumably this was before Madonna released “4 Minutes to Save the World”.

If your son is still aged 16 or under and you haven’t already tried this, you could ask your GP to refer him to your local CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health service). The multi-disciplinary CAMHS team (incl. clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health practitioners) may be able to pick up something that has been missed by the community paediatrician.

Example, English people have no problem with the difference between “work” and “York” and yet (in the meeja at least) seem unable to cope with saying “Björk” in which the vowel is clearly not “o” but “ö”.

In Italian, there are 25 sounds and they are all represented by just 33 letters or spellings. Thus, when Italian dyslexics learn to read, they struggle with fewer variables.

“This research proves the existence of a universal neurological basis for dyslexia,” said Dr. Uta Frith of the University College, London, a co-author of the study.

It also shows, she said, that mild cases of dyslexia may appear far worse in English or French, while such cases among Italians may not even be detectable.