DORE have at last put up a brief confirmation on DOREtalk that DORE Australia are not operating due to being in financial trouble. If you’ve come to this blog looking for information on that, please read the post below this one first, I’m updating it regularly with any & all sources I can find.

I’ve tried to keep people up to date with the situation on the post below, and let people know what is going on when DORE haven’t – as a DORE supporter put it: ‘It would be nice to hear from someone in the know, rather than ‘dore bashers’ to hear whats going on either way’. So well done to DORE for putting a bit of info up eventually, though DORE Australia staff seem to have been sent home with no warning whatsoever, and DORE USA staff ‘have not heard any details at all. I wish I knew what to tell you.’ My post below has more info on the current DORE Australia situation & all the links I can find.

I am, however, going to have to take issue with the explanation that DORE have given for their difficulties. Quotations below taken from the only DORE announcement so far, a short post hidden on their forums.

‘The issues of learning and attention are problems that the Government should be taking responsibility for. They don’t even automatically screen every child in our schools. Dore has spent huge sums of money developing screening tests and providing them for parents who are concerned.’

I agree more should be done in schools. The Dyslexia Screening Test, as developed by Prof Nicholson & used in most of DORE’s research, is admitted by Prof Nicholson himself to lack specificity. The tests which DORE uses to assess suitability for the programme & their own diagnosis of ‘cerebellar developmental delay’ aren’t screening for learning and attention, they cost ~500 a time, and aren’t based on ‘NASA Technology’ as DORE originally claimed. Testing for working memory impairment is possible, there’s some interesting new research (some carried out here at York, research funded by the UK govt), & it’s certainly an important area to look at – but this is being done & funded, just not by DORE.

‘A project like this needs the support of Governments’

This has happened in Australia. DORE’s ‘ACE (Assessment of Cerebellar Efficiency)’ screening was trialled in Tasmania in 2006, and seems to have been rolled out further in 2007. I’ve not seen any research published based on this work, unfortunately – why not? Additionally, a town in Australia seems to have decided to integrate the DORE programme into its education system, launched by the Mayor. ‘The council established a $40,000 trust fund made up from a council grant and community donations to help subsidise local children through the program’. Given that DORE have only been in Australia a few years, that’s not so bad – the sort of pilot projects which *if properly evaluated* could support the wider use of an intervention programme.

‘We are doing our best to make it available now. If they came along today to put it into schools, we would help them all we could – and that is where it needs to be.’

If this was the case, then full information should be made available on all aspects of the DORE method – not hidden by ‘commercial confidentiality’, so that DORE can be properly evaluated. Any treatment needs to be researched and evaluated so the most effective methods possible can be used. If DORE really wanted to ‘help all it could’ and get the best treatments out there NOW, they would not use commercial confidentiality, and they would argue their corner with research instead of by sueing people.

I suspect that what’s contributed more to the difficulties of DORE is that the Australian press have been somewhat less uncritically accepting of DORE’s unsupported claims. In particular, ‘Four Corners: The Behaviour Business‘ did an excellent job of reporting on DORE, including making most of the relevant scientific papers available in full freely on their website. The programme’s still available to watch there, along with transcripts & related info, & I’d very much recommend checking the site out. It’s quite a balanced programme, including anecdotes from a family who believe that DORE worked for them, interviews with DORE staff, & a discussion of the Balsall Common studies & evidence by DORE researchers & critics. Probably the most informative 45 minutes you’ll spend if you are interested in the background to this.

I’ll leave the last words to Wynford Dore himself, in the ‘Four Corners’ programme:
“There is an attitude in Australia, kind of pioneering, straightforward, let’s get on with the job. If the Dore Program works then how do I get it? In other cultures they will look much harder for I want this research and that research and that proof and that evidence. The typical Australian is: does it work mate? Let’s do it then.”

And if it doesn’t work, what then?

Dear Dr Rutherford,

We have both been asked by the forum moderators at Dore Talk to move debate elsewhere.

I understand you were also less than happy at having your reply to the Guardian ‘Bad Science‘ article mentioning my blog deleted by the newspaper moderators on grounds of libel, as was I – I’d far rather debate with facts than lawyers & there’s a lot there I’d enjoy answering.

Therefore could I suggest that we continue our interesting discussion on Dore Talk in the comments section below this posting?

Since your Guardian post described me as ‘Bloggers … hide behind anonymity and make comments which are ill informed, based on limited knowledge, biased and have therefore been very damaging to Dore’, I do hope that you will find it worth your while to correct a few of the most painfully glaring of what must surely be my many mistakes on this blog. Pick anything you like, if I’ve been wrong I’ll be only too happy to correct it. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find something, I am after all an undergrad & therefore lower in the academic pecking order than a lab rat, and since you think I’ve been so ‘damaging’ then it must surely be worth your while to spend a few minutes setting me right?

To start this off, I’ve re-posted your Guardian comment in the comments section of this post. I promise not to delete anything you write (except for swearwords which tend to mess up my access) & the comments on here are un-moderated (except a standard spam-filter). If you’d rather have this discussion elsewhere on the same terms, please do suggest it. Anyone else with an interest in the research is of course very welcome to join in the discussion, though please be aware I’m aiming for more of a no-holds-barred academic debate than sharing personal anecdotes, otherwise I’d leave it on Dore Talk.

I’ve posted this invitation on Dore Talk, if anyone knows of other ways to bring this to Dr Rutherford’s attention, please do pass them on.

Thank you,

Duck.

Several sources indicate that US Dore centres have also closed down. It looks as though people will be switched to My Dore, a website giving videos and instructions for the exercises.

I’d suggest cancelling any payments which may be due or cheques you may have written that have not yet been cashed, as soon as possible. More information when I’ve got it.

*updated with info on administrators, Friday 31st May*

DORE UK have shut down, officially confirmed.

‘It is with great regret that we have to announce that Dore has been put into the hands of advisors. As a result Dore is closing all of the UK centres which deliver the Dore Programme with immediate effect.

We are determined to find a way for every client who is on the program to have their treatment completed. We are presently exploring alternative arrangements to ensure every client is cared for.

We will be updating this page of our website every few days with news regarding alternative arrangements for continued programme delivery so please check frequently.

We still want to help people to identify any learning difficulties they may be struggling with, so we are continuing to make our online symptoms test available. We will provide you with a personal report that outlines any learning difficulty and the likely severity.’

Staff were told at lunchtime on Friday 23rd. Clients have been discussing what to do next on DORE talk. I’ve set up an alternative forum (now completely run by DORE parents, I’ve turned over all admin powers) in case DOREtalk closes without notice. Hopefully people will be able to share information on what is going on and any legal steps which should be taken.

What to do now?

If you are a staff member with unpaid wages or a client with uncompleted treatment, probably the most important thing you can do to get your money back is register as a creditor with the administrators. Woodgate in Australia, this is a letter from the UK adminstrators. Unfortunately both the UK and Australian administrators have said that clients are very unlikely to get refunds from Dore itself.

Trading Standards is a good place to start for an overview of the relevant law. If you’ve paid by credit card that’s the first place to try claiming a refund, debit cards are less likely but worth a try. If you have a finance deal then you may also receive some money back (thanks Jon for info) The Insolvency Service has all sorts of useful albeit detailed information, including what to do if you are owed money by a company in liquidation. Citizen’s Advice Bureau may be able to help.

Staff should read this guide to getting some wages back, up to £330/week, more detailed information for employees here (pdf). Forms and how to apply are at Redundancy Payments Service. You should apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance immediately, as it can’t be backdated & will affect how much you can get from the Redundancy Payments Service.

Podblack makes useful suggestions for Australia. I’m no expert here, if you know more please pass it on. Since I originally wrote this entry the US has also shut, again I don’t know a lot about the law there but if you do please tell me and I’ll add it.

What Happened?

I’ve posted some of this previously – here I’m trying to put all the available information in one place in roughly chronological order, in the hope of building up a picture of what was going on.

In January 2008, Gimpy found that the DORE UK accounts showed that they had an accumulated loss of ~£6.8 million to 2006 (~US$13 million ~AUS$14 million). Gimpy and I raised this on DORE talk, but were told that ‘discussion was not appropriate’. Also in January 2008, Convex Capital, a consultancy firm, were brought in. The reasons for this may be inferred from Wynford Dore’s statement ‘I have no hesitation in recommending Convex Capital to any company that wants to make more money, quicker’. Gimpy has since looked at the 2007 accounts, which show an accumulated loss of £8.3 million. Treatments were being funded by the recruitment of new clients. It is difficult to see how existing clients could now be provided with services or refunds, particularly since it is clear that this will not now happen in Australia despite early suggestions that this might be possible, and UK staff having been ‘told they no longer have a job‘.

DORE in the UK and in Australia kept trading as normal, and recruiting clients who were required to pay ~£2000 up-front, right up until they closed (Aus 15th May, UK 23rd May). Cheques in Australia were still being cashed the day parents were told, after the company had gone into administration. In an exceptional piece of bad judgement, Kenny Logan, a rugby player paid by DORE, discussed his dyslexia on BBC Radio Four ‘consumer programme’ ‘You And Yours‘ on 19th May. Although Logan did not mention DORE by name, the presenters went on to discuss the programme by name in wholly favourable terms, even though clients in Australia had already lost everything they paid, and DORE UK would suffer a similar predictable fate just four days later.

‘FAQs for clients of DORE‘

‘Couldn’t you see these problems coming?
Answer: We were very confident until just these last few days that funding would be
available to maintain the whole operation. We have spent considerable time in talks with
various investors who have expressed interest in supporting the venture. Unfortunately a
firm agreement has not materialised in time to save the situation.’ (emphasis mine).

DORE Australia did not inform clients or staff that they were entitled to attend the first meeting of creditors
on May 23rd, potentially preventing them receiving any refunds or back wages after liquidation. However, the first media reports a week after the receivership state ‘Giles Woodgate from the administrator Woodgate and Co says it is unlikely that creditors will get their money back’. The only official source of information for DORE Australia clients and staff remains appointments cancelled at short notice, and a post tucked away on DORE talk from Wynford Dore’s daughter, even the website is still up as normal (all as of Friday 23rd May).

Wynford Dore left another education-related company on May 15th, the day DORE Australia collapsed. On May 23rd, when DORE UK shut, Wynford emailed customers personally with an apology, again blaming lack of government support for the closures. DORE UK also placed an announcement on the front page of their website. Wynford’s daughter has also been posting on DOREtalk, wondering whether to keep the forums open for now.

Not much information on the rest of the world for now. A staff member in the Carribean is expecting to go to work as normal on the 24th, and New Zealand was still operating as of the 20th May. However, as the FAQs emailed to clients state ‘After many years and £15 million of funding provided by Wynford, it is clear that our ability to continue subsidising the programme to the extent necessary had become impossible’, it’s not clear how DORE worldwide could continue.

More info when I have it. As ever, if you know anything you want to pass on, please leave a comment or email brainquack at gmail dot com.

I’d also suggest keeping an eye on the blogs Gimpy, Podblack, LeftBrainRightBrain, HolfordWatch and Bad Science for emerging developments.

Why?

Regular readers will be unsurprised to know that I suspect the lack of decent research and evidence for the claims made contributed to difficulties. DORE blamed the Australian situation on their lack of government support, which I have countered previously. Without good evidence that the programme worked, it is unreasonable to expect it to be rolled out widely in schools and the health service. Myomancy has criticised the business model, but I suspect it was never meant to last this long without government funding. When the research didn’t justify further official funding, they couldn’t keep going indefinitely.

Wynford Dore’s farewell email talked about ‘Scientifically proven results‘, when the only published peer-reviewed research was the Balsall Common studies with just six participants who actually had a diagnosis of dyslexia (by comparison, my un-funded, single-handed undergraduate project looks at 12 people with a formal dyslexia diagnosis and 12 matched controls, so it’s not so hard to do). I’ve blogged Balsall Common and discussed it on DOREtalk. I’ve also discussed several pieces of unpublished DORE ‘research’ on this blog. I’m afraid that none of them together or separately even come close to supporting a claim of ’scientifically proven results’ for dyslexia, or for any of the other conditions which DORE claim to treat. Bad Science has discussed the Balsall Common studies. Podblack has discussed a recent paper on how DORE came to be as accepted as it was in mainstream teaching, and why such practice is not always evidence-based. HolfordWatch has also looked at how the research and the marketing claims do not always match up. LeftBrainRightBrain has gone through the same DORE research into Aspergers, published in a local newspaper, that I looked at. Many of the key research papers and journal letters are available in full for free, and if you’re half the geek I am make for interesting reading. It’s not much more expensive to do good research than bad, and with real results showing effectiveness then you could make a case for DORE to be publically funded. Such results have not been forthcoming. This has been covered up by glitzy marketing, positive anecdotes, and a habit of unleashing the lawyers on anyone who criticised DORE. The legal suppression of criticism has extended to academics, self-help groups, and most horrifyingly even parents who just wanted to say that the treatment didn’t work for their child.

Whatever really happened, the obvious distress of those caught up in it doesn’t do anyone any good. I wish all the best to the clients, & staff who worked directly with them. The one thing all Educational Psychology research can agree on is the importance of hope, supportive and involved care-givers, and I’d add a good streak of determination to that. The families who have the commitment to tackle the DORE programme have every chance of doing well, with or without it. Good luck to all.

DORE have at last put up a brief confirmation on DOREtalk that DORE Australia are not operating due to being in financial trouble. If you’ve come to this blog looking for information on that, please read the post below this one first, I’m updating it regularly with any & all sources I can find.

I’ve tried to keep people up to date with the situation on the post below, and let people know what is going on when DORE haven’t – as a DORE supporter put it: ‘It would be nice to hear from someone in the know, rather than ‘dore bashers’ to hear whats going on either way’. So well done to DORE for putting a bit of info up eventually, though DORE Australia staff seem to have been sent home with no warning whatsoever, and DORE USA staff ‘have not heard any details at all. I wish I knew what to tell you.’ My post below has more info on the current DORE Australia situation & all the links I can find.

I am, however, going to have to take issue with the explanation that DORE have given for their difficulties. Quotations below taken from the only DORE announcement so far, a short post hidden on their forums.

‘The issues of learning and attention are problems that the Government should be taking responsibility for. They don’t even automatically screen every child in our schools. Dore has spent huge sums of money developing screening tests and providing them for parents who are concerned.’

I agree more should be done in schools. The Dyslexia Screening Test, as developed by Prof Nicholson & used in most of DORE’s research, is admitted by Prof Nicholson himself to lack specificity. The tests which DORE uses to assess suitability for the programme & their own diagnosis of ‘cerebellar developmental delay’ aren’t screening for learning and attention, they cost ~£500 a time, and aren’t based on ‘NASA Technology’ as DORE originally claimed. Testing for working memory impairment is possible, there’s some interesting new research (some carried out here at York, research funded by the UK govt), & it’s certainly an important area to look at – but this is being done & funded, just not by DORE.

‘A project like this needs the support of Governments’

This has happened in Australia. DORE’s ‘ACE (Assessment of Cerebellar Efficiency)’ screening was trialled in Tasmania in 2006, and seems to have been rolled out further in 2007. I’ve not seen any research published based on this work, unfortunately – why not? Additionally, a town in Australia seems to have decided to integrate the DORE programme into its education system, launched by the Mayor. ‘The council established a $40,000 trust fund made up from a council grant and community donations to help subsidise local children through the program’. Given that DORE have only been in Australia a few years, that’s not so bad – the sort of pilot projects which *if properly evaluated* could support the wider use of an intervention programme.

‘We are doing our best to make it available now. If they came along today to put it into schools, we would help them all we could – and that is where it needs to be.’

If this was the case, then full information should be made available on all aspects of the DORE method – not hidden by ‘commercial confidentiality’, so that DORE can be properly evaluated. Any treatment needs to be researched and evaluated so the most effective methods possible can be used. If DORE really wanted to ‘help all it could’ and get the best treatments out there NOW, they would not use commercial confidentiality, and they would argue their corner with research instead of by sueing people.

I suspect that what’s contributed more to the difficulties of DORE is that the Australian press have been somewhat less uncritically accepting of DORE’s unsupported claims. In particular, ‘Four Corners: The Behaviour Business‘ did an excellent job of reporting on DORE, including making most of the relevant scientific papers available in full freely on their website. The programme’s still available to watch there, along with transcripts & related info, & I’d very much recommend checking the site out. It’s quite a balanced programme, including anecdotes from a family who believe that DORE worked for them, interviews with DORE staff, & a discussion of the Balsall Common studies & evidence by DORE researchers & critics. Probably the most informative 45 minutes you’ll spend if you are interested in the background to this.

I’ll leave the last words to Wynford Dore himself, in the ‘Four Corners’ programme:
“There is an attitude in Australia, kind of pioneering, straightforward, let’s get on with the job. If the Dore Program works then how do I get it? In other cultures they will look much harder for I want this research and that research and that proof and that evidence. The typical Australian is: does it work mate? Let’s do it then.”

And if it doesn’t work, what then?

Last updated Saturday morning, GMT. I’ve written a timeline of UK & international DORE goings-on in another post, will be updating there from now on instead.

An offer: if anyone wants to make available information about what is going on without revealing their identity, I’m happy to re-post stuff anonymously, unedited and in full. Bung me an email on brainquack at gmail dot com. Doesn’t matter what I think of the research, ATM even DORE staff internationally don’t seem to have definitive info, and I’d rather not leave people in the dark unnecessarily. I’ll add any other sources of info if you let me know too, official or otherwise.

DORE Australia have gone into ‘voluntary receivership‘ from May 15th, according to a note tucked away on the DORE forums published Sunday afternoon. ‘Creditor information‘ documents confirm this. DORE New Zealand seem to be still keeping appointments. Unconfirmed suggestions that following the creditor’s meeting on May 23rd they’ve gone into liquidation. Creditors (including staff & clients) are ‘unlikely to get their money back‘. DORE UK are also in administration, this has been confirmed by staff.

DORE UK may also be sailing a bit close to the wind, though DORE staff have not been so keen to answer questions.

No gloating – I’d rather have the research they’ve apparently been planning to start (though a better look at the stuff they’ve said they’ve done would be nice too). I wonder if Australian families will get their money back from the rest of the DORE organisation?

More here as of Sunday 18th May lunchtime (GMT): Australian DORE customer has appointment cancelled, Gimpy’s latest – including comments from other DORE customers who’ve been let down, and it’s hit the DORE Yahoo group too, where USA staff don’t seem to know one way or the other what is going on. Still nothing on any official DORE site, though there’s been a few comments from parents on DORE talk.

Sunday afternoon: It’s official, DORE Australia are in ‘voluntary administration’. No info on what will happen next, or if parents will get their money back. More from DORE Australia staff on DOREtalk, who don’t seem to have been told much & are going home unpaid. Podblack, a (rather good) Australian EdPsych blogger, has explained a bit more about what might happen next under Australian law. She’s planning a visit when it’s Monday there, so worth a check later when I’ll be asleep. Holfordwatch have discussed the DORE official statement in more detail, so have I above.

Sunday evening: This rather interesting news dated Jan 08, c/o a comment by Tom on Gimpy’s blog reveals that DORE may have realised they needed to sort the financial side out for a while. Quote from Wynford Dore: ‘I have no hesitation in recommending Convex Capital to any company that wants to make more money, quicker’.

Monday morning: Creditor Information documents, c/o Gimpy. First creditor’s meeting is at Sydney Masonic Centre, Northcott Room, Fifth Floor, 66 Goulburn Street, Sydney, NSW on Friday 23 May 2008 at 11.30am. It also has the first helpful bit of information I’ve seen from DORE for parents ‘On 16 May 2008 temporarily suspended operations at clinics whilst business activities are reviewed. Clients with clinical questions should contact the company on 1300 55 77 11′ . Podblack has checked things out on the ground, apparently the only advice is to call back in 7 to 10 days, she also gives information which may be useful to ex-staff – check the comments for more from an ex-staff member.

Monday afternoon: Myomancy has picked this up, with an interesting question about intellectual property rights.

Tuesday night: more on the forums, seems DORE NZ are still going ahead with appointments.

Friday 23rd morning: The creditor’s meeting should have happened by now, without DORE ever announcing it to the parents who are creditors. A week on, there’s still only been the one post on DOREtalk as official notice of anything which is happening, and the Australian website is still up unchanged. Comment on Gimpy’s blog suggests that DORE Australia may have gone into liquidation, though of course this is as yet unconfirmed.

Friday afternoon: First media report. Programme & some head office staff have had their contracts terminated. The administrators say that creditors are unlikely to get their money back, will know whether the business is viable in the next few days.

Friday afternoon: DORE UK cancels appointments ‘as DORE are in adminstration‘, confirmed by UK staff. See here also.

Saturday 24th: Australian TV picks this up.

‘GILES WOODGATE, WOODGATE & CO: The company’s insolvent, they have substantial debts. They owe between $12 and $13 million and the assets aren’t there to match it.’