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Miracles Take a Little Longer: Science, Commercialisation, Cures and the Dore Program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Jennifer Stephenson  and
Kevin Wheldall
Jennifer Stephenson*
Affiliation:
Macquarie University Special Education Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Kevin Wheldall
Affiliation:
Macquarie University Special Education Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Macquarie University Special Education Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia E-mail: jennifer.stephenson@speced.sed.mq.edu.au
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Abstract

In this article, the evidence regarding a proposed ‘cure’ for dyslexia and other, arguably related, conditions is examined critically. The origins and history of the Dore program and its progenitors, its introduction to Australia and its advertising claims are reviewed, with a focus on the claims made with regard to dyslexia, and particularly with regard to reading. The article compares the claims made about the program and the existing published research, considers whether the Dore program makes conceptual sense in the light of current scientific research and theory, evaluates the existing specific evidence adduced by its advocates as proof for the efficacy of the program, and compares the claims made by the program promoters with the scientific evidence available. It is concluded that none of the necessary desiderata to substantiate claims for a cure are met by the available scientific evidence for the efficacy of the Dore program.

Type
Research Article
Information
Australasian Journal of Special Education , Volume 32 , Issue 1: A Scientific Approach to Special Education , April 2008 , pp. 67 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 2008

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