Dore Talk

Hi I am new to this site.My son Morgan age 9 started the Dore programme at the beginning of August 09.Its kinda a last chance saloon and we are hoping beyond hope that he will improve.He has problems in most areas,maths is a big problem , writing, understanding ,concentration and reading.I feel that he may be coming on slightly but at the moment his behaviour at school is awful.Every week something is written in his home link book about him being rough with the other children and its such a worry.I  have read that others experienced probs like this but they seemed to have sorted themselves within a few weeks but this has been going on ssince the beginning of term.I would be grateful for any advice!   Thanks Sarah ( Morgan's mum)!

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the forum and well done for choosing Dore. You might have read some posts already.I was reading posts for months before joining in.I can't offer advice on the behaviour bit as B never posed a problem at school (which is why I think they let him slide so far) We had and still get meltdowns at home.He too was way behind in Maths.He just could not retain numbers. We are 4 months post Dore. He is on target for level 4 maths, possibly above, we have parent teacher meeting next week. He is year 6 now.He started the programme age 9 too. We were on it 18 months.

 His English comprehension went from 2a pre Dore to 4b (above average) by the end of the programme. His main problems were physical - still are -couldn't swim or ride a bike, etc etc.Trouble with knife and fork..... I could go on . He has achieved his 400 metre plus badge now. He still avoids most sports and won't go on the bike but I don't really care as he is progressing well. There may always be problems but Dore exercises opened the gates and enabled him.

 Good luck and don't lose faith. It is a long hard road but soooo worth it. There are many Dories out there that will support you.

Hi Sarah - glad you found Dore. It was our last ditch attempt also (you can read my blog for the details). Harry is now nearly a year post-Dore and is doing so well - full of confidence and learning at great speed. Because he is now able to retain information, he can now learn!

Like MotherofB, Harry never had anger issues, but with minimal budget for support was left to slide and lacked confidence. I now have a different child. He has just been taken off SA+ (he's in Yr 8) and is now on SA. I'm hopeful of more improvements as time goes on.

There are lots of progressive and backward stages going through the programme, but if you are aware of them, you can prepare and be ready. Just do the exercises daily - we took our kit on holidays and tried never to miss.  We did Dore for nearly 2 years - now you have MyDore and the exercises change daily, I believe the programme can be completed a lot quicker, but Dore is something I'll never regret....nor will Harry!

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them if I can. Good luck!

Hi all, thank you so much for your support.We are off back to Dore for our first assessment this weekend and will mention the problems and see if they can offer any further advice.Amazingly though, we went to school and his teacher has said he is improving and is not bottom of the class and that there are other children at the same level!We were not expecting this so that was a boost.Did you let the school know that you were involved in the programme?We haven't as we didn't want them looking for improvements,we wanted them to stand out and be obvious,however we wondered whether it would be better to let them know.

It is so wonderful to read about how the children have improved and I will report back after Morgan's assessment!!Fingers crossed!

Sarah

Hi Sarah - I did tell the school, but Dore was very much in the early stages when we did the programme, and they appeared disinterested. I only mentioned it at a Parents Evening as Harry's teacher had commented how "he was away with the fairies" (about 6 weeks into the programme), so I enlightened her a little. Additionally, they wanted Harry medicated for his ADD, and I was reluctant until I'd given Dore a try....so glad I did!

I did smile to myself when he left Primary School, as the Senco commented that Harry had changed so much in the last few months that he was like a different child!

Good luck with your assessment - let us know how it goes.

Hi again,

It probably depends on how much trust you have in the school/teachers. I told the Senco and her response was ' they will just take your money and then try to get more out of you..'   After I had stated my ( or Bs) case she had the nerve to suggest I bring the exercises in to do with other children that they could help!!!!  Absolutely beyond belief eh ? Anyway, I personally wish I hadn't bothered. We got no feedback on his progress so I monitored his progress myself  and enroled the support of trusted friends.This is the people that left him floundering  in the 'baby' pool for the 2 years (every week) that they were taking him swimming and still told me he had no problems.

Decide what's best for your child and go with it. Good luck on the assessment but remember - you will know better than anyone where progress is being made.

We actually mentioned the programme to both the SENCO and tha peadiatrcian(forgive my spelling), about 18 mths ago, and they both said we would be foolish to part with money etc for something that can't help.And to qoute one 'If there was a miracle cure then don't you think we would be using it!!' I also felt they thought I was bananas! Thats the reason prob we have chosen not to mention it. We feel though that nothing ventured etc and we will try everything to give him the help he needs and deserves.Anyway fingers crossed that he has made some improvement that can be measured officially.Thanks again for support I am glad I logged on.!

Happy to help Sarah - we've all been there! I delayed the programme by a year because of the same response from the Ed Psych who assessed Harry. I really wish Harry had had another year at Primary before moving onto Secondary School, but that's water under the bridge now. Good to hear from you again.

Hi Sarah,

Like the other Dories have said 'welcome to Dore Talk'.  Theres not much more advice I can offer you as it would be repeating what the others have said.  They gave it to me when I joined!

I only wanted to add that my son, Luke in Year 8 now, started Dore in March 2009.  We are now 8 months in and we all started to notice improvements around the 4 month mark.  The strops, moods eased around 6 months.  I didn't mention it to any teachers.  Like you said, I don't want them looking for improvements, I wish we had started him on Dore during his primary school years, but hey ho we didn't.  The changes are little things.  Even something like him remembering where he left his trainers is massive to us.  Anyway, like the other Dories have stated just remember you know your own child best. 

Good luck.

Hi all,

Morgan had his first assessment yesterday and he has improved on both of the tests they did, into the green(normal)area. I asked the lady we saw what it all meant (was he cured )and she explained that it doesn't matter if he is in the green area as such, its more about how many exercises he completes which will be what helps him. Is that what everyone has found? I would be interested to know when your children went into the 'normal' zone on the assessments and whether it coincided with their improvements.      

I must say that he was as fidgety as ever so I don't feel that side of things has improved at all!! I also asked about the bad behaviour and she said that hopefully it should calm down! FINGERS CROSSED!!!!

Look forward to hearing from you.

Sarah

Hi Sarah - thanks for the update and glad Morgan did well on the testings.  Harry never did very well on the tests - even at the end, particularly on that balance machine. As Jackie says, you will start to see little changes - we noticed them after a few months, but Harry himself started to realise these exercises were helping at around 5 months. They start coming out of "The Fog". Have you read Ellie's piece? Its very good. Copy and paste the link below.

http://doretalk.com/forums/p/52/6597.aspx#6597

Hi

Thank you so much.Yes I read the 'fog' and it was amazing.Leila sounds like Morgan, almost identical problems! Read about the cerebellum and it all makes sense.

Still can't believe we could be just a year away from things being so different!

Thanks again

Sarah

I too think 'The Fog' is a fantastic piece.

Don't look for perfection, just improvements.  For me it's about helping my child be the best that he can and not about sat results and levels.  Keep up the good work and the good work will reward you.  Whatever the outcome and result, I don't want to look back in 5-10 years time and think 'I wish he had done Dore then'.  All the kids are different but with similar difficulties.  But all the parents on here are the same and would do anything they can to help their children.  Good luck to us all. 

Well said Jackie. Every child is different - Harry will never be Brainbox of Britain, but he now has the ability to learn and he's going at it great guns. I love it when he questions things - he was in his own little bubble before Dore.