Dore exercises

[dana]

Hi all,

I've come across them and wonder if they are indeed so useful as the Dore centre claim them to be. Has anyone tried them before?

Any reply appreciated. Thanks.

 

Danaxxx

[Suze]

There have been quite a few threads on this before...........personally I,m not at all convinced, it could very much be down to each individual if it works for them.............and it isn,t cheap, which totally put me off.

[baddad]

Hi dana -

I started trawling for links on this, but when i got to the second one found that David Matthew Baker had already done it!

 

I've posted both, and the 'dnb links' are about halfway down the second:

 

http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.ph...985&hl=dore

 

http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.ph...041&hl=dore

 

Personally, I don't think these kinds of interventions really offer anything that you can't do anyway, charge a lot for what they do offer and make some pretty outrageous unsubstantiated claims along the way, but I know others feel differently.

 

L&P

 

BD

[dana]

Thank you Suze and Baddad.

My son has been recently dx with severe dyspraxia (apart from ASD, which he was dx in November last year) and I think that his cerrebellum is not developed because he has a very bad sence for balance. He finds even Sensory Circuits difficult. We decided to try Dore still. It IS epensive but I think we are desperate enough to give it a go. Private OT (who dx him) is almost as much expensive and it is a huge waiting list for NHS OT.

Wish us luck, please.

 

Danaxxx

Edited January 20, 2010 by dana

[Ian Jordan]

 

Two things - the cerebellum is only part of the problem in most cases - and sometimes addressing cerebellum procesing difficulties without addressing other difficulties can make the problems worse.

To achieve optimum effects you must understand what can be problematical - and get professional advice.

 

In cases of dyspraxia (simply put - motor control problems) there are numerous factors that MUST be addressed before looking at automaticity - vision and visual processing is critical (I have seen many cases when cerebellar exercises have reinforced visual processing deficits), you must address vestibular and proprioceptive difficulties, sensory integration, auditory processing, mid line and body mapping, temporal processing (this will often stop dyspraxia in seconds - yet is virtually never managed).

 

There are a number of questions you should ask about the Dore system

 

1 How does it differ from inexpensive methods eg the exercises in Madeleine Portwoods books - do you really need to spend £2000+ (I see little difference)

2 What qualifications and training have the trainers - is there a professional body that you can complain to if the system fails (who can you sue)

3 Why should cerebellar processing always be paramount - I would dispute this from a position of knowledge

4 What happens if the problem is visual processing for example - do they have the knowledge to recognise the difference (and instrumentation etc - I already know the answer to this one)

 

In general what a parent should do

 

1 make sure that body chemistry is optimised

2 make sure sensory inputs are processed correctly (more complex than you imagine - and difficult to access)

3 develop maps using exercises (Dore will do this - but so will virtually free systems)

4 feed back techniques may be used

 

Paying a lot of money - be VERY careful - it may be wasted (even if it works - you should consider inexpensive methods - there is little to suggest that high cost makes better results)

 

remember - addressing cerebellar "dysfunction" may cause problems as well as solve them.

Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

[dana]

Two things - the cerebellum is only part of the problem in most cases - and sometimes addressing cerebellum procesing difficulties without addressing other difficulties can make the problems worse.

To achieve optimum effects you must understand what can be problematical - and get professional advice.

 

In cases of dyspraxia (simply put - motor control problems) there are numerous factors that MUST be addressed before looking at automaticity - vision and visual processing is critical (I have seen many cases when cerebellar exercises have reinforced visual processing deficits), you must address vestibular and proprioceptive difficulties, sensory integration, auditory processing, mid line and body mapping, temporal processing (this will often stop dyspraxia in seconds - yet is virtually never managed).

 

Thank you for your reply.

I am willing to take your advice but, first, I don't know which kind of professionals do all these assesments? Where I live it is a huge waiting list for any of them and I had to seek advice from private (expensive) OT who assesed my son for Dyspraxa. I intend to seek her advice as well but is she a professional who can assess all those things you listed above? If not, do you know any private doctors in Cambridge who can? (We don't live far from Cambridge).

One more thing, please. My son is highly visual and has almost photographic memory. It is one of his strengths.

 

Danaxxx

Edited January 21, 2010 by dana

[baddad]

Hi again Dana - I didn't link this directly in my initial post because I assumed it was in the links DNB posted and i touched on the content myself...

But as Ian and I both said, what exactly are you being offered for your money and what are the credentials of the person offering the servise?

The link below is a checklist suggested by the NAS, and TBH if the person offering the service can't or feels uncomfortable about answering the questions on it you have to ask yourself why.

 

http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=16638

 

Hope that helps

 

L&P

 

BD

[lynne]

 

 

Hi Dana,

 

It is well researched that ASD children have different brain imaging on CT scan. Hence it is very difficult to assess and treat all ASD children the same as they are so complex. There needs to be lots more research done into ASD and the treatments we currently have. But until that time the parents will survive and do the best they can with the knowledge they have.

 

It also depends on what treatments you have available in your area.

 

Ian Jordan spends alot of time assessing ASD children and prescribing glasses if they need them. However, Ian's method is not well acknowledge and accepted by the majprity of opticions in England. The same goes for sensory OT. If your local health authority employ a sensory OT you are lucky. Trying to get OT treatment is difficult, trying to get a sensory OT is even more difficult.

 

 

We have a 12 year old with ASD, Dyslexic, Sensory Integration dysfunciton with sensory modulation difficulties. Our child has continued to struggle with reading and being able to interpret language. He has been seen by a sensory OT for many years. He also has speech therapy and wears coloured glasses. We got tired of seeing him struggle with reading and writing so we decided to try DORE.

 

 

We undertook the DORE programme several years ago. At the time they did not have any experience with ASD children but was willing to work with our child and monitor the results. The out come was our child became a confident reader. His writing consistancy improved and also the amount he could write. Our son did find the exercises difficult to do and some of the exercises we had to break down futher so he could eventually build up to perform the whole exercise. So for example for our childto turn in a complete circle twice it would take him several meters before he could perform this exercise. Now he can perform the exercise more evenly and within a very short space. From an ASD point of view the exercises were part of our daily routine which was good. Also the monitoring of our sons eye tracking and balance improved drasticly. So from our point of view Dore exercises helped our son enormously from the sensory side of ASD and also improved his reading age and writing ability.

 

Lynne

[baddad]

Hi Lynne -

 

Firstly, I'm not saying that DORE hasn't helped your son so don't take this wrongly, but why are you sure that the advances he has made wouldn't or couldn't have been made without DORE?

Dore has been associated with ASD for a very long time, so presumably, 'several years' is going to be at least a quarter of his life? That's one hell of a time period, and it sounds as though you've tried a range of other things to help him in that time period too (sensory OT for many years, speech therapy, coloured glasses etc...) Children with autism do tend to learn in 'Quantum leaps' - certainly that has been my own experience with my son and I know many other people have posted similar observations, so big steps forward in reading and writing could very reasonably have happened without DORE and certainly coloured lenses and sensory OT would have helped his eye tracking and balance and other physical motor skills (his handwriting too, come to that, which is fine motor control)...

So taking all of that into consideration, really all you can say is that your son has made significant progress in the past 3+ years and that he has been following a (very expensive) DORE programme. Many parents here, myself included, could say with absolute conviction that their child has made significant progress in the past 3+ years and that they haven't been following a (very expensive) DORE programme.

As I say, I'm not saying that DORE hasn't helped your son, but how do you know? And having spent all that time and money on it haven't you got a huge psychological (as well as financial) investment in seeing any progress that your son has made as being connected to all that money and effort?

Finally - and please don't think of this as an accusation because it isn't, but i do think it's a reasonable question and a pertinent question: Are you now, or are you planning to be or is anyone connected with your son training or trained as a DORE instructor and/or earning or planning to earn part of your livlihood from DORE services or equipment or advice?

Again, I will reiterate, I'm not making any accusations or saying that DORE hasn't helped your son or anything like that. I can just see lots of flaws in the logic that assumes an absolute connection between DORE and developmental changes over such a prolonged period of time in such a young child, especially one who's had so much access to other strategies and interventions along the way.

 

L&P

 

BD

[lynne]

 

We will not be working for Dore now or in the for seeable future (but good question as some people will post things to get business from us stressed asd parents)

 

 

Our son wore coloured glasses and had sensory OT from the age of 4 years. Yet by the age of 8 years he reading age was 6 years. Within 3 months of doing DORE his reading age increase by 6 months at the end of 1 year it had gone up by 2 years. (These are reading tests his school conducted)

 

 

The other important point is our childs autistic meltdowns reduced from one episode per week to 2 per year. This was the most pleasing outcome.

 

 

Dore had no experience with a child with dyslexia asd and sensory integration dysfunction with sensory modulation difficulties, so they did not make any promises. In fact they said if there was no improvement we could have a full refund.

 

 

We know from research that ASD can affect emotion language. It is also known that children with ASD have high levels of serotonin in the central nervous system which suggests an abnormality in the neurotransmitter production. Abnormalities have also been identified in the frontal love and cerebellum area. The DORE programme works on the cerebellum area and helps the neuro pathways. Any repetative exercise will help the neuro pathway eg a baby practising sitting and gradually they can sit on there own etc.

 

Dore exercises are based on the assessment astronouts have when they return from space. Some of there reflexes are reduced muscle mass etc. The deficits are identifed from the equipement and than an exercise programme is form to ensure the space men return to the way they were prior to going into space.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2010 by lynne