Is Dyslexia Hereditary?

There is often discussion about whether or not dyslexia is hereditary. My observation is that high underlying levels of intelligence tend to be inherited and with that higher level of intelligence all too often come symptoms like dyslexia, ADHD or Asperger’s Syndrome. My theory is that the higher the underlying level of intelligence the more likely it is that there will be some degree of “eccentricity”, which often shows itself in a lack of ability to acquire some every day skill.

Clearly this is an area that deserves further research, but from everything I’ve seen parents can generally take comfort from the fact that they have passed on “positives” which have, in some cases, led to “challenges”.

'Government Grossly Underestimating Number Of People With Dyslexia'

The recent research which suggested that the government are letting children slip through the net revealed nothing new. The research was based on 1341 pupils and found that 55% of pupils who are failing SATs are at risk of dyslexia and other learning difficulties. Teachers have known this for a long time!

What an absurd statement from the Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman, "Dyslexic children are not slipping through the net - we are committed to making sure that children with all kinds of learning difficulties get the support that they need". I don't think that the thousands of pupils that come out of school without the basic skills in reading, writing and spelling would agree.

Government policies make the absurd assumption that the only that the only way learning is impacted is by the teaching process.

Teaching is only part of the process. This should be obvious as all to often teachers can work really hard in the classroom but only 25 children of 30 take in what is being taught. The other 5 don't have the ability to take it in - this is of no fault of the teacher. The third element of learning is practise, without which no skill can become fully automatic.

All three of these elements are crucial to the process of learning. The absence of any one of them makes the world of difference to how challenging learning is for children.

Ten Answers To Ten Questions

In a recent blog Amosoyo’s Weblog I was asked ten questions Ask Wynford Dore: The 10 Questions Here are my answers…

1. What is the success rate of the treatment? I’ve heard you claim to cure over 90% of people. Does this figure include everyone who comes in for an assessment or only those who complete a year or more of the treatment?

We can only quote results when we have both “before” and “after” measures on people. So we cannot include those that start the programme for a few weeks or so, find they are unable to commit to it and therefore drop off the programme.

We can only measure those who stay on the programme long enough to compare appropriate statistics. Of course results will vary according to the compliance, and in the case of prison studies (where we obviously have complete knowledge as to whether or not they are doing the exercises) we get an extremely high success rate.

2. By claiming dyslexia is personal problem that can be cured are you not devaluing the impact dyslexia has on people’s lives? Doesn’t this just put the blame on the dyslexic for not getting cured?

If you read my book you will find that I argue that dyslexia is not a “disease” and, therefore, cannot be “cured”. However many of our clients who experience very significant changes chose to say they are “cured”. Trevor McDonald used it in his excellent documentary following dyslexic suffers that they identified and followed them going through the programme.

We feel very strongly about the fact that in today’s society we, quite rightly, expect the Government to provide everything that we need by way of education and health - dealing with dyslexic symptoms is no exception. With this in mind we are determined to keep on carrying out the research and feeding it through to Government bodies until such time as they realise that it is their responsibility to provide this as part of our education system.

3. Recently Kenny Logan and Toyah Wilcox have spoken out in support of your treatment programme? What is the financial relationship between them and Dore? Were they paid to go on the programme or did they pay as a normal customer? Are any other celebrities trying Dore?

Both Kenny Logan and Toyah Wilcox have very openly spoken with sincerity and frankness about the transformation the Dore Programme has given them. I heard someone ask the same question of Kenny recently and he spelt out publicly that he paid to go through the programme just as any other client would. It was only when he was half way through the programme that he noticed that his sport was also improving significantly. As a result he contacted and wanted to recommend it to others for both sport and personal reasons. There are other celebrities using Dore but we are not at liberty to talk about them.

4. For some people your system does not work. What have you done to assess and mitigate the psychological impact of a failed treatment on children to whom you have claimed to be able to treat? What advice on other treatments do you give to those for whom the treatment fails?

There are a very small number of people for whom the programme appears not to work. We take every one of these cases very seriously, do our best to learn from it and ensure that if we can identify any reason that we build that into our screening process as we refuse to take anybody onto the programme unless we are convinced there is a very strong chance that we can help them.

Your point about psychological impact of failed treatments is an important one - with this in mind we have been trying to encourage others in the industry, for the last few years, to push for an introduction of a benchmarking system. This will require all programmes such as, phonics, tinted lenses, fish oils and exercise programmes to go through a rigorous testing programme before they are marketed so that teachers and parents can be informed openly and fully about the likelihood that they will receive benefit from such intervention.

5. Many dyslexics demonstrate great ability at balance and hand / eye coordination through their achievements in sports and art. How can the cerebellum be the causes of dyslexia when their cerebellum is clearly working correctly?

Another good question. Different parts of the cerebellum are responsible for different types of skills. For instance many sportsmen who are good at some aspects of their sport have weaknesses in others - this is usually explained by the degree of development of the relevant parts of the cerebellum.

What our treatment does is “audit” the cerebellum and usually we find that many areas are fully developed (these we don’t need to treat) and the other areas where further development is possible are the areas we focus on. Interestingly quite a number of those who suffer from dyslexia are very good at skiing - a process that relies far more on somatosensory inputs rather than vestibular inputs. The kind of neurological tests we do makes this very clear. If you visit our Dore Sport website http://www.doresport.co.uk/ you will find large numbers of testimonies of very high profile sportsmen who are gaining noticeable improvements in areas of their sport as a result of going through the programme.

6. You claim the cerebellum is the root of all dyslexia problems. Are you saying that all the research ever done on dyslexia is rubbish and that all other treatments do not work?

We are certainly not rubbishing other treatments for dyslexia - in fact there are three distinct elements to the process of learning. One is teaching, the second is practice and the third is the fundamental ability of the brain to acquire the type of skill being taught.

Most dyslexia research revolves around different types of teaching methods - that is very different to the research on the cerebellum and the way in which it can be developed to increase the impact of learning.

7. You have made lots of claims as to the nature and success rate of the treatment. What research has been done by independent scientists and in what peer-reviewed journal has it been published?

We do believe that the cerebellum is the underlying cause of not just dyslexia symptoms but the other symptoms associated with attention such as, co-ordination and frustration. We base this not only on the peer reviewed research that has been carried out by scientists on Dore (two articles published in “Dyslexia” and other papers presented to BDA Conferences). Our policy regarding research is to be completely open and share it with all researchers. We believe the industry would be better served if all other organisations had our same approach. We are strongly in favour of teachers and parents being fully informed at all times about all aspects of research done on this important area.

Why, if it is as successful as you claim, it is not offered to all schools?

With regard to it being offered to all schools - we will not stop until we have persuaded governments to make cerebellar remediation available to all schools. Children at 7 years of age should be tested to identify areas of potential development and given treatment early so that they can enjoy and benefit from the whole of their school life.

9. The Cost…
a. The treatment is very expensive, more than $3000 (£2000). Why does it cost so much and what refunds do you offer if it doesn’t work?

The cost - if just the tests that we do were done at a private hospital it would cost several times our total charges. We have worked very hard to bring down the cost to make it affordable to as many as possible. As I am sure you realise, the cost of research, development of neurological testing equipment and paying salaries and so on has to be borne - although up until now the many tens of thousands who have gone through the programme have been subsidized. One day the Government will pay!

b. Given the success of legal action in forcing the NHS to prescribe expensive and non-approved drugs, do you think there is scope for legal action to force schools to pay for the treatment?

Yet another good point - There is scope for this and we are taking advice on it.

C. We cannot afford the Dore programme, Are there any charities that will assist us?

Yes there are other ways of having the programme funded however unfortunately we aren’t at liberty to disclose the charities names on a public site but if you would like to email Dore directly they may be able to offer some suggestions.

One way that is appropriate for many is the use of Disability Living Allowance - in a significant proportion of cases Government funds are available for those who have to support their children or families.

d. I’m writing on behalf of my partner who is desperate to find help and feels like his dyslexia is alsways holding him back. As you will appreciate it can be very depressing for us both. Unfortunately we cannot afford your treatment. From a personal point of view what else could we try?

See 9c - It always hurts to come across folk who cannot afford the treatment, this is what drives us to work very hard with all the research we can to persuade governments. An American charity is funding what we believe is the world’s largest ever research project with the specific view of coming up with the data that will change government policy. Sadly this will take another two years to be finished - but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel.

10. A great deal has been made about the treatment programme being created to help your daughter. When did she do the programme and what were the effects?

Susie was 27 when she started the programme and, of course, she was the first guinea pig. She very quickly got to the point where all of the reading skills that teachers had given her many years ago became accessible to her and she started to read, write, increase her social skills, etc. If you would let me have your address I will gladly send you a copy of my book which gives a fuller story of Susie.

Many thanks for some very appropriate questions.

Driving With Dyslexia Or Dyspraxia

There are many incredible drivers who suffer from dyslexic symptoms - Jackie Stewart is just one great example. However many affected by these symptoms find that the co-ordination required for good driving never becomes “automatic”. This means they are likely to go into “overload” in stressful situations when driving and are likely to hold their hand on the horn for a while or make other impulsive reactions.

If such a person gets stopped by the police their impulsive reactions can get dramatically worse! If they are asked to stand on one leg or walk along a straight line the lack of co-ordination from their vestibular/cerebellar often means that this is difficult or even impossible to do. There have been many cases of dyspraxic sufferers accused of being under the influence when it is nothing of the sort - through no fault of their own, they are like that all day every day.

Don’t Blame Teachers - It isn’t their fault!

Despite Governments' promises of, “Education, education, education” or, in the USA, “No child left behind”, far too many parents are faced with the problem of their child being let down badly. The temptation is to blame the teacher, they represent education policy to the parents. Of course it isn’t their fault, although it is often difficult to remember this when speaking to them.

In my experience teachers are desperate to help children all they can, they will spend as much time as they can possibly spare, and use all the initiative they can muster. They do feel guilty that they know it is woefully inadequate to get the child to where they need to be in the education process.

So if you are a frustrated parent, please try and remember this when you are talking to the teacher - the current Government policy isn't their fault! They know what is needed and would love to have the time and the resources to spend on your child.

A Positive Look Into 2008

Well, 2007 was really a mixed bag! On the positive side some very influential researchers made it clear that they were looking very hard at the possibilities of using Cerebellar Development to transform children’s lives. On the negative side those with vested interests seemed to dig their heels in even harder.

So, what does that mean for 2008? My hope and expectation is that the research results and thousands of wonderful case studies will spread the word to the millions who are currently unaware that you don’t have to live with problems such as; poor reading, poor concentration, poor physical co-ordination and low self-esteem – something can be done to help!

Let’s hope that the Government policy makers hear about it and act on it in 2008. It should be painfully obvious to them that their actions in recent years has had very little impact on the lives of children and families affected by learning issues, and that it is time to try something that really works.

The Government's Pledge To Do More For Dyslexics

Well, let’s celebrate the good news - the British Government are spending more to help dyslexia. But, now for the bad news - they are doing even more of what has already proven to be a huge disappointment.

Research has shown that extra phonics teaching is of negligible benefit - children are already given plenty of effective phonics teaching. The problem with reading is nothing to do with the amount of teaching that is given on phonics, it is very often down to the fact children don't have ability to use that skill. The process of reading involves working memory, visual processing and other functions, which are all linked to the cerebellum.

When the right parts of the cerebellum are developed we frequently discover that children already have all the phonics teaching they need to be able to read and comprehend far better than before.

We have recently been told that the Government have spent an extra half a billion on programmes to help children, yet they have been completely ineffective. So why, oh why are they now doing more of the same?

If dyslexia wasn’t so serious it would be laughable, but even the American Government makes exactly the same mistakes. The graph below shows how the American Government have dramatically increased spend on literacy programmes without having any effect on reading ability.

When will they realise that they are getting the wrong advice? When will they realise there is a highly effective solution to the root cause of not just reading but for so many of the other symptoms that are linked to learning difficulties?