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The Dore programme, previously known as DDAT (Dyslexia Dyspraxia Attention Treatment) is a drug-free course of treatment for dyslexia and other learning difficulties which has aroused controversy among researchers and doctors in Britain and elsewhere. Dyslexia is considered to be a Learning disability. It manifests primarily as a difficulty with written language particularly with Reading and Spelling In the United States and Canada, the term learning disability (LD refers to a group of disorders that affect a broad range of academic and functional skills including The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It consists of a series of exercises designed to develop the functions of the cerebellum. Dore was developed on the principle that the cerebellum coordinates brain functions and therefore plays an essential role in the learning process. The cerebellum ( Latin: "little brain" is a region of the Brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception Wikipedia articles related to Brain Function Visual system Auditory system Olfactory system In the fields of Neuropsychology, Personal development and Education, Learning is one of the most important Mental function of humans

In May 2008 Dore Australia went into voluntary administration;[2][3][4] later in the same month Dore closed all their UK centres due to financial problems. [5][6]

Contents

Introduction

The development of DDAT was initiated by businessman Wynford Dore. It is reported that when his daughter was diagnosed with severe dyslexia and he saw the negative impact the condition had on her life he decided to invest in research to try to find an effective drug-free treatment.

According to Dore, conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD, Aspergers Syndrome and ADHD were linked to Cerebellar Developmental Delay (CDD)[7], a condition in which neural pathways between the cerebrum and cerebellum do not develop fully, leading to an impairment of the brain’s ability to coordinate nerve impulses. Dyslexia is considered to be a Learning disability. It manifests primarily as a difficulty with written language particularly with Reading and Spelling Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder affecting about 3-5% of the world's population Asperger syndrome (also called Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's disorder, Asperger's or AS) is the Autism spectrum disorder (ASD Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder affecting about 3-5% of the world's population Cerebellar Developmental Delay ( CDD) is a term coined by scientists at DDAT / Dore (Dyslexia Dyspraxia and Attention Treatment initiated by Wynford Dore centres The telencephalon (tɛlɛnˈsɛfəlɒn cerebrum, or forebrain is the most Anterior or especially in humans most Dorsal region of the Dore states that he believed that it could be possible to treat some learning difficulties by developing these neural pathways, and that he hired specialists to develop a programme of practical exercises targeted towards cerebellar development.

The Dore method

The theory behind the Dore method is that skills such as reading and writing become automatic because the learning process eventually leads to the development of neural pathways specifically for these tasks. A neural pathway is a Neural tract connecting one part of the Nervous system with another usually consisting of bundles of elongated Myelin -insulated 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. They claim to be able to stimulate the development of the pathways affected by CDD and to strengthen the connections between the cerebrum and cerebellum.

The programme consists of a series of balance and coordination exercises which are carried out twice a day, typically for around twelve months. Gross motor coordination addresses the Gross motor skills walking running climbing jumping crawling lifting one's head sitting up etc The programme is individually designed for each patient based on interpretation of the results of tests of cerebellar function. These tests are designed to measure balance (posturography) and eye tracking (Electronystagmography). Changes in the patient's abilities are charted by repeating these tests regularly throughout the program.

Effectiveness

No studies on efficacy with the target clinical groups have been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, and where control data are available there is no credible evidence of significant gains in literacy associated with the Dore programme. Efficacy is the capacity to produce a desired size of an effect under Ideal or Optimal conditions traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write or the ability to use Language to read, write, listen, [1]

Criticism

Of the treatment

The treatment has been much criticized, for two main reasons:

First, Dore's research[2] was poorly conducted. For example, it did not make effective use of its control group. Scientific controls allow Experiments to study one Variable at a time and are a vital part of the Scientific method. There is also no independent rigorous research. This means that there is no reliable evidence about the effectiveness of the Dore method. A number of papers published in the British Dyslexia Association's journal have found the only piece of apparently independent academic research Dore initially offered in support of their treatment to be poorly designed and unreliable. According to an article published in the Times Educational Supplement in 2004, many of Britain's foremost academics maintain that the results are inconclusive. The Times Educational Supplement ( TES) is a weekly UK Publication covering the world of primary, secondary Critics have also pointed out that the research was carried out by a previous director of another Wynford Dore company, and so may not be independent. The Dore programme, previously known as DDAT (Dyslexia Dyspraxia Attention Treatment is a drug-free course of treatment for Dyslexia and other Learning difficulties Several bodies, including the Dyslexia Action, have recommended that the exercises in DDAT be shared so that they can be tested objectively in a clinical-type trial with proper sample quality and control groups.

Second, there is no evidence that motor training influences higher-level skills; for example, if training coordination, balance, and motor skill had the hypothesized effect, then children good at sports like skateboarding should have a low rate of dyslexia and ADHD, an effect that has not been observed. One reviewer concluded, "It is important that family practitioners and paediatricians are aware that the claims made for this expensive treatment are misleading. "[1]

The cost involved in following the Dore programme has also been criticised. [3]

Of misleading claims

Claims were made and widely publicised that the Dore method used physical training methods for astronauts used by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)[8]. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program 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[9].

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". The Independent Television Commission (ITC licensed and regulated commercial Television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales The Office of Communications (Y Swyddfa Gyfathrebiadau or as it is more often known Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the Communication Sir Trevor McDonald OBE (born George McDonald on 16 August 1939 is a Trinidadian -born British Journalist and Television presenter It repeated this decision about a later item on Richard and 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. Richard Madeley (born May 13, 1956) and Judith 'Judy' Finnigan (born May 16, 1948) are married Television presenters. A television advertisement or television commercial (often just commercial or advert (US or ad (UK is a span of television programming produced 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. "[4] 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. [5]

After the British journal Dyslexia published one paper about the Dore program in 2003,[6] the paper was followed by ten critical commentaries[7] and one commentator resigned from Dyslexia's editorial board. [1] 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. [8] The editor of Dyslexia defended the decision to publish. [9]

A very detailed criticism of the Dore treatment and publicity was published by Ben Goldacre[10]. Ben Goldacre is a British doctor and Journalist, and the author of the The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Bishop DV (2007). The International Dyslexia Association (IDA is a non-profit education and advocacy organization dedicated to issues surrounding Dyslexia. "Curing dyslexia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder by training motor co-ordination: miracle or myth?". J Paediatr Child Health 43 (10): 653–5. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2007.01225.x. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 17854448.  
  2. ^ Reynolds D, Nicolson RI, Hambly H (2003). "Evaluation of an exercise-based treatment for children with reading difficulties" (PDF). Dyslexia 9 (1): 48–71. doi:10.1002/dys.235. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12625376.  
  3. ^ "UK company claims breakthrough ADHD treatment", ABC, 08-01-06. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster.  
  4. ^ Chris Tregenza. "TV Complaints Upheld About DDAT", Myomancy, 06-07-2004.  
  5. ^ "[1] Balancing act]", The Guardian, 07-16-02. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.  
  6. ^ Reynolds D, Nicolson RI, Hambly H (2003). "Evaluation of an exercise-based treatment for children with reading difficulties" (PDF). Dyslexia 9 (1): 48–71. doi:10.1002/dys.235. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12625376.  
  7. ^ Critical commentaries of Reynolds et al. 2003:
    • Miles TR (2003). "Commentaries on the Reynolds et al. article". Dyslexia 9 (2): 122–3. doi:10.1002/dys.250. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12775084.  
    • Peer L (2003). "Commentary". Dyslexia 9 (2): 123–4. doi:10.1002/dys.246. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12775084.  
    • Stein J (2003). "Evaluation of an exercise based treatment for children with reading difficulties". Dyslexia 9 (2): 124–6. doi:10.1002/dys.247. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12775085.  
    • Snowling MJ, Hulme C (2003). "A critique of claims from Reynolds, Nicolson & Hambly (2003) that DDAT is an effective treatment for children with reading difficulties—‘lies, damned lies and (inappropriate) statistics?’" (PDF). Dyslexia 9 (2): 127–33. doi:10.1002/dys.245. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12775086.  
    • Rack J (2003). "The who, what, why and how of intervention programmes: comments on the DDAT evaluation". Dyslexia 9 (3): 137–9. doi:10.1002/dys.255. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12940295.  
    • Hatcher PJ (2003). "Reading intervention: a ‘conventional’ and successful approach to helping dyslexic children acquire literacy". Dyslexia 9 (3): 140–5. doi:10.1002/dys.254. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12940296.  
    • Richards IL, Moores E, Witton C et al. (2003). "Science, sophistry and ‘commercial sensitivity’: comments on ‘Evaluation of an exercise-based treatment for children with reading difficulties’, by Reynolds, Nicolson and Hambly". Dyslexia 9 (3): 146–50. doi:10.1002/dys.258. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12940297.  
    • Singleton C, Stuart M (2003). "Measurement mischief: a critique of Reynolds, Nicolson and Hambly (2003)". Dyslexia 9 (3): 152–60. doi:10.1002/dys.256. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12940298.  
    • McPhillips M (2003). "A commentary on an article published in the February 2003 edition of ‘Dyslexia’, ‘Evaluation of an exercise-based treatment for children with reading difficulties’ (Reynolds, Nicolson, & Hambly)". Dyslexia 9 (3): 161–3. doi:10.1002/dys.259. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12940299.  
    • Whiteley HE, Pope D (2003). "Reynolds, D. , Nicolson, R. I. and Hambly, H. (2003). Evaluation of an exercise-based treatment for children with reading difficulties". Dyslexia 9 (3): 164–6. doi:10.1002/dys.257. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 12940300.  
  8. ^ Swinford S. "Scientists quit in dyslexia ‘cure‘ row", Sunday Times, 2006-11-26. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 43 BC - The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" later "Caesar Augustus" Retrieved on 2008-04-10. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama  
  9. ^ EL(3)-09-07 : Paper 2 : Evidence to the Committee on Dyslexia Support in Wales - Professor Angela Fawcett - Director of the Centre for Child Research, Swansea University

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