Our Dore Experience

New Karate Belt

2010-02-23T10:16:00.001Z

I am pleased to report Harry finally took his karate grading. He is now a blue belt! He was due to take it over Xmas, but we got stuck in the snow :(

He passed with flying colours and very well deserved. He worked hard for it!

Harry's latest school report!

2010-01-19T09:10:00.003Z

I am so pleased with this report. In most subjects, he is predicted to do better than the target level for his year group. I'm also quite pleased they have decided to drop French and give him help with English.

He now has the tools in place to learn. Everyone agrees he is a lovely boy, and at a recent meeting with his teachers, they are quite simply amazed by him. He even gets on with his work when others around him are trying to disrupt the class. His focus and concentration is fantastic now.

Look at the predicted level for Drama! He wants to be an actor :)

Quick Update

2009-09-22T11:56:00.002+01:00

Just a quick update to say that Harry was downgraded to "Action" on the SEN register this year. In the words of the Senco: "Harry will be moving to Action as his hard work and progress warrants this. He will continue to be closely monitored so if things deteriorate we can change him back again. He seems very positive starting the new year." This is great news for someone who's been on School Action Plus since Reception! He just keeps on improving even now we're a year post-Dore!

End of Year 7

2009-07-22T07:54:00.002+01:00

Very, very happy with Harry's progress this year. Not only has he progressed socially, the end of term report says that he has exceeded nearly all of his predicted levels. He obviously prefers the practical lessons, as his best subjects are drama and art, but he is doing well in all other subjects. His focus and concentration is much better and if he continues like this he will do well.

His private tutor also awarded him with a Certificate for reaching the required level in his "structured phonic teaching programme".

2009-06-10T10:55:00.009+01:00

Another quick update - Harry is continuing to do well. He has loads of friends now and its difficult to fit in his social life around everything else

He's just passed another grading in karate. He's now a green belt (3 away from black - but quite a way to go yet). He is really progressing well in other areas, and his private tutor has commented how well he is doing in his lessons. Unfortunately, I haven't had any feedback from school, but thats another story.

Update

2009-01-27T12:19:00.004Z

Just a quick update - Harry still has difficulty focusing and concentrating, particularly in school, but is much improved. He is getting on well with his private tutor who specialises in dyslexia and he is catching up slowly.

Harry's confidence continues to soar. He has lots of friends and is now able to retain information on all levels. He has an enquiring mind and continually asks questions. He loves his rock music, and after buying him guitar hero for Xmas, he was keen to learn the guitar, so he now has lessons at school, and we have just bought him one to practice on at home.

I was pleased to read the email from Dore this morning on the future of the programme. Lets hope it goes from strength to strength now under the direction of Scott Quinnell.

http://www.dore.co.uk/

Another karate belt!

2008-12-15T21:45:00.002Z

We are now done with Dore, and it is strange how easily we have forgotten those daily exercises! Harry took his grading on Sunday and passed!

Wind Down

2008-11-17T08:23:00.004Z

We are now on wind-down, and I must say its nice just having 1 exercise to do in a session. Harry and I both feel ready to finish - its been a long slog, but sooo worth it.

We took Harry to his Scout swimming gala on Saturday night, and it was wonderful to see him standing with his friends, working out the race rules together (Harry being the main speaker, I hasten to add). Previously, it would be usual to see Harry wondering about on his own, being left out of everything.

With school, he is getting there, but it is a slow process. The main gains I can see is definitely with his confidence and speech. He now has lots of groups of friends and is a cheerful, happy boy. What a transformation!

If you're reading this and thinking about doing the Dore programme - I say, go for it!

With Harry, the process was slow and steady, but if you can stick with the exercises and do them every day, the improvements will be well worth it.

I have every confidence that Harry will continue to reap the rewards for doing the Dore Programme.

Thanks Wynford for not walking away!

Final Assessment in Kenilworth

2008-10-29T16:55:00.003Z

What an exciting few days Harry and I have had. Ellie and Kieran came to stay as they were having their assessment in Kenilworth. We drove there and met Wynford and his daughter Susie, and Harry also managed to have his final DST done and receive his medal and certificate - although we're not quite done yet. I couldn't see myself driving there again, so they kindly offered us an appointment for the same day as Kieran.

School

2008-10-06T12:26:00.002+01:00

I attended a meeting at the school last week and had the opportunity to speak with Harry's teacher.

She confirmed Harry is getting support in English and has been in regular contact with me via email which is wonderful.

Harry seems very tired, and I think the early starts are really getting to him, but with support in school and at home, I'm sure he will settle down in time.

Exercises

2008-09-26T08:34:00.003+01:00

We are now back to doing 1 set of exercises in the mornings, as doing 2 sets in the evenings was just too much ... and too late. We had a wobble board one this morning for the first time in a long time, and although Harry's body isn't straight, he can keep the edges off for 5 seconds at least....Dad was very impressed.

School is going well. Harry is very confident and happy and making new friends.....and we haven't lost any items yet, although we have 2 pairs of socks and shorts in the PE bag, which obviously belong to someone else!

We have also found a wonderful private tutor who specialises in multi-sensory teaching. This is working out very well. She is also helping Harry with his handwriting, which can be lovely when he tries, but is usually quite messy.

We are on our last book now with wind-down in sight. We feel we are ready to finish now. A hard slog, but so worth it. Harry doesn't even resemble the boy who started more than 18 months ago ... confident, happy AND learning. I'm so proud of him.

First day @ Secondary School!

2008-09-02T15:34:00.002+01:00

Harry had a great first day! Full of confidence. We are doing 2 sessions after school now, and his first session went well - all easy's.

Back from Scout Camp

2008-08-26T08:58:00.002+01:00

Harry has had 5 days off the programme as he has been away at Scout Camp. He came home very tired and very filthy and everything covered in mud, and just wouldn't stop chatting. He seems more grown up ... and even taller! His speech also seems to have improved again - lots of new words. Definitely a changed boy! Back to the exercises today - a new book - this will probably be our last one!

Back from Holiday

2008-08-17T15:08:00.002+01:00

Just back from a wonderful holiday in the Caribbean. Our room was lovely and big and it was a pleasure to do the exercises :)

Other people noticing

2008-07-29T07:51:00.002+01:00

It seems everyone is noticing how Harry has changed all of a sudden. My dad commented how grown up he sounds on the phone and he confused Harry with his sister who is nearly 3 years older. Previously, his conversation would have been short and difficult with his speech problems and lack of confidence.

The best praise of all was last night from his karate teacher - who is very strict - and doesn't give praise lightly.

He pulled me to one side and told me he is really pleased with Harry - how focused he is and how hard he is trying - particularly recently in his grading exam. He has noticed a big change in him.

End of year results

2008-07-21T08:17:00.004+01:00

I have mixed feelings here. Teacher assessment came out at Level 3 for Speaking & Listening and Science and 4s for Reading, Writing and Maths - what a jump from where he was - pre-Dore (Yr 4) Harry got 2C for English and 2B for Maths (both below level).

However, with the shambles this year over the SATS results, our English scripts are being sent back for re-marking and not due back until mid-September. The results we did get though were quite disappointing - Level 2 for Science (he hates science) and 3 for Maths.

.... another karate belt!

2008-07-17T21:55:00.003+01:00

Well done Harry! You deserve it!

Assessment

2008-07-17T15:46:00.005+01:00

Well, we finally made the assessment in Kenilworth after our disastrous attempt last Friday by train. This time we drove, and as we were early, we took a nice stroll to the Town Centre and had a coffee and something to eat in Costa Coffee.

Our assessment was done by Hannah, and I got to meet Donna, the lady on the video. I had a long chat with both, but the outcome was surprising ... Harry got reds again for test 3 & 4 and Hannah consulted with Support and Dr Roy and they feel Harry has probably reached the end of the programme, having been on the harder exercises for a while and on the programme for 18 months. They advised Harry should wind-down. It was a surprise as I was expecting to repeat the book again with additional exercises, so we agreed that I would finish my current book and then upgrade on MyDore for the wind-down exercises.

...and more progress

2008-07-13T16:33:00.006+01:00

We saw some friends last night we hadn't seen for a while, and they commented how Harry's stance had improved and how confident he looked. Hadn't noticed his stance was poor, so was pleased someone had taken notice. A Dore friend commented this means his balance is improving - I really wish we could have an assessment to confirm this. MyDore is great, but you can't beat that personal touch and the PS's always offered great advice. How do we know we're marking the exercises correctly without their regular guidance.

Today, Harry had his early birthday party (his birthday is in the summer hols, so we always have a party in July during term time) and here are a couple of pics. He looks so happy and confident doesn't he?

Scouts Sports Day

2008-07-06T00:00:00.004+01:00

Had a lovely afternoon watching the Scouts Sports Day. What a difference in Harry!

Assessments

2008-07-02T15:11:00.002+01:00

Wonderful news! We heard on Monday that assessments are being carried out in Kenilworth. Appointments will be prioritised for those due when Dore went into administration. Things are definitely moving forward.

Check out www.dore.co.uk for Wynford's latest video.

Good News

2008-06-23T08:27:00.006+01:00

Well, things seem to be moving in the right direction with the programme - at least for the UK.
See Wynford's last message. (http://www.dore.co.uk/).

Harry is doing well with this new set of exercises. Quite a lot of eye-tracking and light-bulbs which is pleasant for both of us, and we do seem to be going over old ground with mental tasks now. Time for some more learning at home to get some better ideas. :)

Unfortunately, he has become very "spacey" again - losing all sorts of things at school and his speech has deteriorated a bit - this usually precedes a leap forward, so fingers crossed.

He has a great attitude to the exercises though - asking me to do them every day, rather than hoping I won't remember!

On the reading, Harry still hates it, but I got a couple of books from the library - one about a boy wanting to be a Rock Star (Harry loves his music) and when I looked at it, it is a Barrington Stoke book (didn't realise at the time). I went up last night to turn Harry's light out, and he said he was really enjoying it, and could he read 2 or 3 more pages to me. How could I possibly refuse!

Horrible!

2008-06-12T16:44:00.004+01:00

We are now on the much harder exercises. Day 1 is this one. Harry hates it, although as the week has gone on, his attitude has improved as he has found it easier.

MyDore

2008-06-03T15:06:00.002+01:00

Today, MyDore has generated Harry's next set of exercises, so at least we can move on from where we were. This is still in the testing stage for the UK only, but they hope to release it to the US and Australia in the next few days. Things seem to be moving on in a positive way - at least Dore haven't left us high and dry, and they seem keen to help us complete the programme.

Update on Karate

2008-06-01T23:02:00.003+01:00

Harry was entered into a karate competition today (only the second one he's ever done), and gained a bronze medal in his individual "kata".

Meeting Kathie and Kenny

2008-05-30T19:11:00.008+01:00

Had a lovely afternoon at the Science Museum in London as Harry and I met Kathie and Kenny today. They were over from Germany for their Dore appointment, so therefore had a free day. The boys got on famously, as did we! :)

Exercises

2008-05-28T15:12:00.002+01:00

We are carrying on with our exercises, with little or no moaning. Attitude during the exercises is not always good as the exercises are a bit harder, particularly when combining with mentals.

Today I was asked: "I'd appreciate it if you made me a sandwich please mum"! What! :)
Lots of good eye contact too, which was always something Harry found difficult to do.

Yesterday the current exercises with 2 extras were loaded onto MyDore to keep us going until we know more, so things are not as bleak as they appeared last Friday.

Dore Collapse

2008-05-26T17:13:00.004+01:00

Following the Dore collapse in Australia last week, we heard on Friday afternoon that Dore UK are also in administration. I am so shocked by this news and can't quite comprehend it. We are luckier than some, in that we are nearly at the end of the programme, but I still feel we have a way to go.

Hopefully we will hear more about the situation next week, but for now we are told to carry on with the exercises and then repeat the book until we hear further.

As we had an assessment booked for 2nd June, I'm hoping to hear something soon as to where we go from here.

The Dore Programme has been life-changing for us personally. The Dore staff have been wonderful and I am sad for the way it all ended. Special thanks to Sarah, Richard and Kevin at our Bromley Centre.

The future of our SEN children is once again left in the hands of the educationalist, pushing them to do things that they are not yet capable of doing, seeing them as naughty, lazy or stupid when in fact all they need is a few simple exercises twice a day that can bring them on.

Our "Mum's Army" will not stop fighting and we will be raising an e-petition to raise awareness of this wonderful Programme.

Changes?

2008-05-10T19:44:00.004+01:00

I'm not sure what's going on - hopefully more changes (?) The past week Harry has been out on his bike in the beautiful weather, but has fallen off numerous times. His arms and legs are a mass of bumps, bruises and grazes. He seems very mature and his speech is maturing again. Some wonderful conversations and he does make me laugh with some of the words he comes out with.

WII + Progress

2008-05-02T15:06:00.003+01:00

I may have mentioned before that Harry has been saving up for the Nintendo WII. He finally made it after months of saving. Last week the new game WII FIT was released and I was lucky enough to purchase one of the few that was on sale. It is great fun for all the family and has balance exercises like tightrope walking, slalom and ski jumping. Very good practice for the exercises. Well worth the money.

I also wanted to mention the importance of routine - Harry knows he cannot watch the TV or play games until he has done his exercises, and because he has this new game, he is now asking to do Dore the minute he wakes up and the minute he comes in from school. His attitude has definitely picked up, and although he does still find the exercises hard, I can tell he is really trying.

Good Attitude

2008-04-30T16:23:00.003+01:00

Well, after last week's disappointing results, Harry has been very motivated and has had great attitude to the exercises - often asking to do them. I feel more changes are going on - he is usually a very quiet, placid boy, but this week has been getting into trouble at school with supply teachers for misbehaviour in the classroom. Obviously has more to say for himself these days :)

2008-04-22T13:05:00.003+01:00

Not much change - bit disappointing really, but not surprised based on Harry's recent attitude and having the holiday without the wobble board and proper bouncing. Progress seems to be slow and steady. Having said that, the past few days have seen maturity, speech improvement (less stammering) and general calmness.

Eye-tracking: Smooth pursuit was practically spot on, and only 4 reds on the Saccades with two nearly green, so just a bit more work to do with the eyes, hence the light-bulbs, so we can really concentrate on the eyes.

Balance Machine: Harry is able to do No.3 as he can do it with his eyes closed, but the appointment was early and he was tired and this could be a factor. The next appointment is in the afternoon on one of Harry's Inset days off school.

Back from holiday

2008-04-17T14:41:00.007+01:00

Just got back from a very relaxing holiday in the Canaries. We only took the bean bags and poster, but probably should have packed the wobble board as we found ourselves skipping a few exercises to get to those we were able to do - hopping in a circle was particularly difficult! Harry had a wonderful time and made loads of friends. This holiday seems to have matured him and his confidence is soaring as he got involved in everything going. I particularly noticed that when he played water polo, he stayed with the entire game, rather than wandering off when he'd had enough. We have an assessment next week, so will post more later.

The Pogo Stick

2008-03-31T06:51:00.003+01:00

Not much to report of late, doing the exercises quite well and balance seems to be improving a little. To confirm this, Harry decided to get the pogo stick out of the garage yesterday morning. He started off managing only 2 bounces and by the end of the day he counted over 57 jumps! When he puts his mind to something, he is truly amazing!

9th Follow-up Assessment

2008-03-11T09:50:00.004Z

Harry did very well today at his assessment. He was very positive going in and didn't lift his toes once, although he still tends to fidget with his hands a bit. We have some repeat exercises and a lot of eye-tracking with lightbulbs (woo-hoo!) as his eye-tracking will be checked next time. He still got a low score when the platform moved with eyes open (although improved from last time), but we managed to get in the green with platform moving, eyes closed. Sensory Analysis all in the green for the first time since we started!

Update on the skipping!

2008-03-03T11:24:00.001Z

A good week!

2008-02-28T15:47:00.004Z

Harry has had a very good week. Aside from the "London" event, I also found him sitting nicely in the front room wearing his slippers (he hates them) instead of rolling around on the floor, watching TV upside down. He has got some "easy" ticks for his exercises, and to top the week off, Harry came home tonight with "Star of the Week" for literacy! Wow!

Little Changes

2008-02-22T07:51:00.001Z

We are talking on the forum the other day about those little changes you barely notice during the course of Dore. This sprung to mind -

We went to London yesterday to the hospital. Usually Harry runs on ahead - hopping, skipping, jumping - you name it. Well yesterday, he held my hand from the train station to the hospital, which is a long walk of 15-20 minutes. We had some lovely conversations. He did the same on the way back too. I mentioned to the Dr that he had been diagnosed with ADHD - she asked if he was taking anything, and I told her briefly about Dore - she got him to walk heel,toe,heel along a line in her office and he did it perfectly. She was very impressed! Funnily enough, we have a new exercise today and he has to do exactly that across a room.

Parents Evening

2008-02-15T10:30:00.003Z

I was quite disappointed with Parents Evening. I can see Harry has come a long way and made huge gains, particularly with his spellings, reading and maths. He is now beginning to retain information and learn. What we have to do now is catch-up, so I will continue to work hard with him at home.

His current teacher did not know him last year and does not realise the gains he has made.
I actually got out his test results out and compared from Yr 3 - Yr 5. The improvement is amazing.

By the end of Year 6, Harry will be learning on a par with his peers, I'm sure of it!

Plodding on

2008-02-07T10:30:00.001Z

Harry had Cub Camp last week so 2 days off Dore. He came back so tired (don't think they slept much!) and actually felt ill on Tuesday, so had to have the day off school. He was very positive about doing his exercises though.

He is still struggling with the balancing exercises on the wobble board and standing on one leg - quite a frustrating time, although I have noticed he is improving with mental items, thinking of more than before.

I have Parents Evening next week, so will report back then.

8th Follow-up Assessment

2008-01-29T10:14:00.000Z

Harry's results were a bit disappointing, but Sarah said they were more consistent which was a good sign. He's still fidgeting and lifting his toes when the platform moves which have given him 2 more red scores - practically same as last time. HE CAN DO IT - so we must work on balancing exercises - more on the wobble board. His mental are still fluent which is good. She talked about him finishing once we can get his balance into the green for 2 assessments. His eye tracking (smooth pursuit) is just what they want to see at the end! He's also grown 2 cms. in 6 weeks.

A hard mental task!!!!

2008-01-28T06:59:00.000Z

Thought I'd post this video. This was early one morning, and Harry obviously struggled to understand what I was asking him towards the end !!

Spellings and Reading

2008-01-22T16:25:00.000Z

Just an update to say Harry had his spelling test last Friday and got them all right. I popped into school and had a chat with his teacher and she has given me ALL the spellings that have been done this current school year - there's quite a bit to catch up on.

He had his small group spellings today and, as usual, got them all right too.

With regards the reading, the Barrington Stoke books have been great, but they are beginning to seem fairly easy for Harry to read. His teacher has got the whole class reading Darren Shan books (vampires and demons), so Harry wanted to do the same and has just started Book 1 and doing really well.

Spellings

2008-01-16T12:20:00.000Z

Harry brought home both the class spellings and his small group spellings last night.
We tried both and he got 100% right for the small group spellings and 14 out of 17 for the class spellings, which I thought was excellent for the first day of learning. Started another new book - we're certainly racing through them. He even wants to read a Darren Shan book (all about vampires & demons) as they are proving popular with this classmates!

A sample of Harry's homework

2008-01-09T13:15:00.000Z

Here's Harry's homework this week from his Spellings Group. He did need some explanation on where to put the words, but once he understood it he worked well and he wrote slowly and neatly. He found the spellings easy.

On the wobble board with eyes closed

2008-01-08T20:16:00.000Z

As you can see, Harry is doing well with his balancing and spellings. I am going to ask his teacher if he can try the class spellings to see how he gets on with them as the special group spellings he is now finding easy. He is willing to give it a try.

An Alien took my son

2007-12-30T22:00:00.000Z

Harry had an amazing day today, I think an alien abducted him and left me with an angel. First I heard him washing in the bathroom and cleaning his teeth - then he got himself dressed and sorted out a nicely co-ordinated outfit to wear. He then proceeded to do his press-ups (for boxing and karate), reading and sat nicely on the sofa watching his favourite TV programmes for a while. Both sets of Dore were done with fun and laughter. At bedtime, before he was asked to, he got himself ready, had a wash, cleaned his teeth and got into bed to read his Simpsons mag. He then asked to read to me (!), so we started to read one of his new Barrington Stoke books that he got for Xmas. This may not sound amazing to most people, but I thought it was unusual behaviour! I expect I'll get the old Harry back tomorrow!

Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T14:36:00.000Z

We had a lovely Christmas with the family coming to me for the day and even more in the evening. We decided to have a day off exercises on Christmas Day, but Harry's attitude is now much better when doing his exercises - the break from school has been good. I notice his balancing on one leg is much better, and his mental task ideas are improving. We are still reading well and doing other 'learning tasks' over the Christmas period. Harry seems happy. I think 2008 will be a good year for him.

A good week!

2007-12-20T21:08:00.001Z

Harry is having a great week, but is incredibly tired with all the christmas festivities. We are struggling with the harder mentals, so are doing easier ones at the moment. He is enjoying his books and we have read 2 in one week - a miracle! To top the week off, Harry was awarded the red belt in karate, which he was convinced he'd failed at. Very happy!

Reading

2007-12-13T14:30:00.000Z

When we had our assessment on Tuesday, I mentioned Harry still has little interest in picking up a book, but his reading was definitely improving. Our Specialist mentioned "Barrington Stoke" were good books for reluctant readers as they are short stories. When I looked into it, it turns out they are a publishing house that specialise in books for dyslexics. The books have:

Cream or off-white paper which is more restful on the eye
A font that encourages a smooth read
Varied length of line to help readers keep their place
Challenging yet familiar vocabulary with clear language structure
Well-spaced text and short chapters

I got 3 from our local library and Harry is reading them keenly.

http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/

Handwriting and School

2007-12-12T14:16:00.000Z

Went in to school today for a meeting with the School Senco to get Harry going with the handwriting programme. Here is a sample of his work from today (the 1st word was written for him). I have also attached the 3 Rules. We noticed he has a tendency to rush, but when he slows down, he has lovely writing. He has also got in the habit of flicking at the end of letters.

He starts off by tracing the letters with his finger and then tracing a big letter with a highlighting pen, then gradually getting smaller, using first a pen and finally a pencil.

He also got his Neoboard and seems very pleased with it. He will start using it tomorrow as his teacher isn't aware he's got one yet.

We also discussed Dore and agreed Harry is a changed child from this time last year!

7th Follow-up Assessment

2007-12-11T09:57:00.000Z

Much improved on last time. Made it into the greens on all four, but the last two need to be more consistent - we have been given slighter easier exercises this time and repeats (but not so many 'light-bulbs') as the previous set were quite hard. His mentals were more fluent than last time and we did another questionnaire which showed good improvement in his schoolwork. Harry's profile was on the Dore DVD too which was great to see (see pic).

Alphasmart/Handwriting

2007-12-08T22:11:00.001Z

This week I have made contact with the Senco again. They have confirmed that Harry will get a scribe for his SATS next May. He won't get extra time as there is criteria to fulfill, and they feel the best option is to apply for the scribe (he had one last year). The school have also purchased some Alphasmart boards and Harry qualifies for one. It will help to get copy typing practice, so I have downloaded a programme from the web kindly provided by Lelly88 and the school have confirmed they will also put this in place during word processing time for Harry in-school.

Additionally, I have asked the school about handwriting practice - as I don't want him to rely on the Alphasmart, and this has prompted the school to start a programme that I can support at home. I have a meeting next week to start this off.

Karate Course

2007-12-02T18:54:00.000Z

This morning, Harry took part in the annual karate course. His listening and concentration, I noticed, is much improved. His balance in particular is loads better!

More improvements

2007-11-21T14:17:00.001Z

Well, we're having a great week. Harry is doing his exercises really well and with much improved attitude (makes life easier!) He is developing a good sense of humour and generally seems really happy with life. His balance seems a lot better and his ability to do the mental exercises at the same time seems to be getting easier for him.

He is also remembering his spellings from weeks ago - occasionally he will mix up the letters (ie., "froce" instead of "force") - this week's words, but realises almost immediately afterwards.

He can recall things that have happened more than a week ago (beats me hands down) and give me a blow-by-blow account of daily events.

So, all in all, a much better week, I'm pleased to say.

Good Day

2007-11-15T20:00:00.000Z

Before taking Harry to his karate tonight, we did his exercises - I have some great books for mental maths (http://www.qed.uk.com/mathematics1.htm), and we used these for mentals tonight. Using 4 digit numbers, he had to round the numbers up or down to the nearest 100. No problem tonight!

Driving to the karate class, we had a lovely chat in the car. His subject matter and speech was very mature and fluent, which just amazes me sometimes. I had to laugh out loud as it is just so out of character for him.

Spellings

2007-11-11T14:24:00.000Z

Harry has a spelling test every Tuesday, so we have been learning his words as mental exercises to help him. This week's spellings are harder and we have had a few difficult moments :) Today, we went through them again just sitting at the table, and we also did a few sets from a few weeks back. Previously, Harry would have forgotten the spellings from before, but today he got 100% right. I am very proud of him.

Exercises

2007-11-11T14:22:00.000Z

We've had some difficult exercises to do and to be honest I was thinking that Harry may possibly need to go back a step at the next assessment. However, today I have seen a vast improvement on Harry's attitude and ability to do mentals with a difficult exercise. I tried one of them on the ball and couldn't manage it at all, which helped me to understand Harry's frustration.

Restructuring Phase

2007-11-09T08:20:00.000Z

I think the combination of exercises and mental tasks has really kicked in with Harry at the moment. He doesn't seem to be "with us" and school have noticed too. It has become quite obvious at home, and when Harry commented about something his teacher had said, I made the decision to send in a letter explaining the Dore process, advising that this phase was only temporary. His teacher replied telling me has had difficulty staying on task, and she was pleased I had written the letter explaining the reasons why. Hopefully this phase won't last long as it is becoming very frustrating for all!

Maths Support

2007-11-02T12:06:00.000Z

As promised, Harry has started his small group learning in maths. Homework this week is division and he worked independently and confidently. Where the problems were written in text (Page 1), we had to explain to him it was the same as a sum, but once he grasped it, he was well away.

6th Follow-up Assessment

2007-11-01T13:40:00.000Z

Harry had his assessment this morning (first check after mentals) and he did very well. Unfortunately, we're now back with the reds, but they were pleased he didn't slip too far back and we have some more repeats - also more with the lightbulbs (ie., no mentals). Saccades has improved - he had 10 slips last time, and this time only 5. We're on the right track! Next assessment 11th December at our new Centre in Bromley.

New Exercises

2007-10-28T14:14:00.001Z

We now have a few exercises with the ball and lots of eye tracking ones. They are harder, but Harry is enjoying them and seems to be coping very well.

Back from Holiday

2007-10-25T21:40:00.000+01:00

We just got back today and managed the exercises well on holiday. Harry is still struggling with balancing exercises (standing on a cushion on one leg, he still finds hard), but he has tried to the best of his ability. I think the assessment next week will show more restructuring as he has seemed "out of tune" recently.

Parents Evening

2007-10-16T17:40:00.000+01:00

Just got back from the Parents evening. At the end of last term, it was agreed that Harry would try Maths within the classroom this year, but he is finding the fast pace hard, although he understands the basics. I have agreed Harry will return to Maths support after half-term, which I am happy with. I have talked to him, and although he doesn't like the small group learning, agrees that he is finding it hard to keep up. His teacher explained it isn't "set in stone" and if it doesn't work out, he can return to the class.

General comments on his IEP are that he has matured over the last term, appears happy, has lots of friends and is generally more confident. He is reading well, his handwriting has improved a little, but he needs help with spelling and punctuation and to proof-read his work. She mentioned he is very good at his times tables (mentals??!!) and that he has lots of ideas, and is keen to write them down - "lots of ideas" - wow!

A good start to Year 6 ....

School

2007-10-13T13:52:00.000+01:00

Harry has settled into Year 6 well and seems happy. His literacy support hasn't been available due to staff sickness, but I have just been told that he will get a lot of 1-1 help with another LSA and she will support Harry mainly in the class. He also has small group spelling help and the mental exercises are definitely helping in this area.

Update

2007-10-13T13:47:00.000+01:00

The mental tasks are going well, although we have had quite a few "melt-downs" with some hard exercises - Harry's favourite: standing on a cushion with one leg, passing the bean bag whilst reciting spellings or time-tables - NOT! I can't do it either.

Harry is also much quicker to "fly off the handle" over very little generally and I have noticed the exercises are much harder than the last lot. We are going away for half-term and usually manage with the bean bags and poster, but this time, all the remaining triangle exercises are with either the ball or wobble board, so will take the wobble board this time.

I can see there is probably a lot more restructuring going on, so look forward to our next assessment to see how he is doing. Next assessment is 1st November.

French Trip

2007-09-28T18:02:00.000+01:00

Harry has been away this week with the school to Rue in France (www.chateaudubroutel.com). He had a great time and seems to have come back with ALL his belongings! I have felt quite lost not doing Dore this week, or any spellings, reading etc.

He's now back, and although tired, he said he had a great time.

Dore Slideshow

2007-09-23T15:02:00.001+01:00

At our last assessment there was a DVD of current and past clients of Dore and their stories. Here is our application. See how neat his writing is when he tries!

Mental Tasks

2007-09-19T13:54:00.000+01:00

We are battling on. We have a list of mental task ideas, but unfortunately Harry finds most of them too hard. A lot of the suggestions he wouldn't have a clue about - his favourite seems to be numbers, but I have told him to make the most progress, we must vary the tasks a little. Last night he sang his favourite song to me, so he enjoyed that, but when he finished and I suggested Jack & Jill, he said he didn't know the words - can't remember them. It makes me realise why learning has been so hard for him - he hasn't had the tools in place to retain the information - I'm pleased to say, this seems to be improving as we go through the programme.

Exercises with Mental Tasks

2007-09-14T17:46:00.001+01:00

Well, this morning we made a start, and it wasn't too bad at all. We laughed about it - tonight, however, was a different story. We tried the times tables - which Harry found very much harder, and we had a bit of "melt-down". Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. :)

Mental Tasks

2007-09-13T12:22:00.000+01:00

We had our assessment this morning and - big surprise - we have now moved onto mental tasks. Although some of his scores dipped or remained the same, they were consistent and the spread was tighter than before...oh, and he's grown another cm!

They now have a slideshow at our assessment centre with success stories of those who have gone through the programme, so we are going to add Harry to that ever-growing list.

Concentration

2007-09-10T19:35:00.000+01:00

As I have mentioned on this blog previously, Harry is doing Toe-by-Toe to help with his reading etc. Over the weekend, I have started another workbook Stareway to Spelling which is written by the same author - both recommended to me by Lesley, Matthew's mum.

I was very impressed with Harry's ability to sit at the table and do the work - it took a little while, he enjoyed it and didn't complain at all. Such an improvement!

Letter

2007-09-05T08:17:00.001+01:00

A while ago, I pinned a list on Harry's bedroom wall to remind him of his morning routine. We re-discovered this note in his wardrobe last week and pinned it back up again. Harry handed me this note mid-morning (he had no help writing it):

Harder Exercises

2007-08-31T16:23:00.000+01:00

I have to say the exercises have gone quite well this summer. Harry found some of the repeats hard - the jetlag definitely played a part in him doing them half-heartedly on occasions, but we are now moving onto harder exercises, and I feel he is more than ready to move on. Today he has been very focused and it has been fun for all.

I'm very excited for him to start a new year at school, and wonder what his teachers will think. His speech has been improving again (longer, more mature sentences), and he makes us laugh with some of the comments he comes out with.

He is also doing very well with the Toe-by-Toe reading scheme - his reading generally is very much improved. He still has no interest in picking up a book (unless its @ bedtime and it delays "lights out"), but I live in hope!

Holiday Exercises

2007-08-23T20:08:00.000+01:00

Well, we managed to do the exercises for the entire holiday. Space was a bit of a problem, particularly when we were finishing the exercise "walking in a figure of 8 round the cushions", but Harry did really well. He just needs to slow everything down a tad - he does love to speed through the exercises if he can.

We flew home overnight, so did 2 sets before we left the hotel, and the next day (@ home) we did 1 set around lunchtime and the 2nd set around tea-time. So, well done to Harry!

Holiday

2007-08-04T06:32:00.000+01:00

We are off on holiday tomorrow, so planning to take the bean bags and poster only.
We will get up early to do the morning exercise - and hopefully manage one when we arrive in the Caribbean, as long as Harry isn't TOO TIRED! (flight is 9 hrs) :) Will check back in again on our return.

4th Assessment

2007-07-23T14:56:00.001+01:00

What a difference to the last assessment. Here is the print-out. I've added the assessment done previously so you can compare! Also, Harry looking like he's being strangled on the balance machine!

Low point?

2007-07-21T16:47:00.001+01:00

Over the past week, it has been difficult to motivate Harry to do his exercises. I am assuming it is because he is so tired from school. He has been messing about as much as he can to avoid getting down to them, and not really concentrating whilst doing them - so I'm really looking forward to Monday's assessment and hope it will "get him going again".

School Update

2007-07-12T07:10:00.000+01:00

Today I had a meeting with Harry's teacher to discuss how he is getting on. She tells me from the tests I mentioned previously that:

Reading (Harry jumped 6 grades, not 2 which I originally thought, because each grade is separated A,B,C,)
Writing - jumped 3 grades
Maths - he jumped 2 grades

The average jump in a year is 1.5 grades, so this is amazing.

Remembering also, that in Year 3, he did not do papers in reading or writing because it was felt it would affect his confidence. He was scored "below level" in spelling (getting only 2 marks) and in maths (getting 5 marks).

Year 4 was slightly better, but he was still scored "below level".

In his Annual School Report, he was below age appropriate for English, but the teacher commented it was only his writing that was letting him down, so this is an area I will try to work on during the summer.

She also commented that he was throwing himself into ALL PE activities and that he is so good, all the other kids now want him on their team!

Even the teacher had to admit that "everything is coming together for him now" and that the exercises MUST be helping. This is all before mentals as well. Wow!

Feedback from School

2007-07-09T20:11:00.001+01:00

Last week I emailed the school Senco thanking her for all the help she has given Harry during this year. I received her reply today:

I've seen a huge difference in Harry too. He is more sociable, plays well with the other children in the playground and his coordination is greatly improved. He is also more enthusiastic about his work and willing to try things. Good news for next year lets hope.

It is good to hear that the progress I have seen at home is also having a positive effect at school too.

School Report & May Test Results

2007-07-04T18:23:00.000+01:00

Just received Harry's school report. He has made good progress this year (mostly since starting Dore) and his teacher commented on his improved organisation of late. His reading level has jumped a few grades (from a level 2C in Year 4 to a current Level 4C). You'll see with his writing, he was only 1 mark away from a 3B! He is still struggling with the main subjects, but is showing good effort. I am confident these will improve next year (Year 6 - final year @ Primary School). We have just heard that Harry's teacher for next year is a good one. So watch this space for further improvement! I have scanned in the test results from Year 4 and this year, Year 5.

Also his age standardised score last year was below the national average, but this year he has scored in the national average range.

Sitting still on the ball

2007-07-02T17:32:00.000+01:00

Our current exercise is sitting on the ball, eye-tracking with the poster. Part of this exercise is to remain perfectly still for 30 seconds after the eye-tracking - eyes open AND closed.

We tried a similar exercise some time ago, and Harry was unable to sit still. This time around, he can manage it.

Buddy Application

2007-07-01T14:51:00.000+01:00

In September, the new Year 3's get a Buddy from Year 6 to show them round. Here is Harry's application - he did this with virtually no help. A good sign he is able to transfer his thoughts to paper better. I love the last section!

Skipping

2007-06-29T19:31:00.001+01:00

Ellie was asking on the Forum if anyone has improved with their skipping since doing Dore. If you scroll down this blog, you can see Harry skipping with his new karate belt, but just thought I'd add that he has been practicing with his friends at school and can now skip even better and is even doing cross-overs!

Reading

2007-06-27T18:40:00.000+01:00

Last night Harry asked me to read to him, so I asked him if he wanted to hear Harry Potter. Oh yes he said. I read a page or two and then he asked to read. He struggled on the harder words, but enjoyed it so much insisted on taking it to school today. The teacher was very impressed apparently!

Balancing Exercises

2007-06-25T12:48:00.000+01:00

We are still struggling with the balancing exercises (ie., feet together). As a joke, I said to Harry yesterday that I should tie his feet together. He thought this was a brilliant idea, so we're having a bit more success with his latest exercise.

Improved Effort

2007-06-20T11:24:00.000+01:00

Since Harry has realised these exercises are actually helping him with his memory and schoolwork, his effort to do the exercises this week has improved a lot. He has asked me to give him a set of rules before the exercise starts, so we don't have "words" when doing them. This is working beautifully and I can see he's really using his eyes with the eye-tracking exercises.

Self Esteem

2007-06-15T22:20:00.001+01:00

Today Harry had a Limo ride and meal with his old classmates. When I picked him up, I was checking he had all his bags and asked him where his glasses were. He immediately told me they were in his pocket - I commented on his good memory. He said "yes, I'm realising it is much better now". He then added that he is now "going up in class - I'm now in the middle and getting better at things". Wow!

What the teacher said

2007-06-13T09:06:00.000+01:00

I have just had a word with Harry's teacher and she confirms she is happy for him to remain in class for maths as he has made "huge progress" and is "more than capable of doing the work".

His teacher added his concentration is better and he is taking more responsibility for himself - more organised. She has noticed how his confidence has improved too and is keen to improve on this.

She added that the end of year reports were due out soon, and although he is still below level, he has made great improvement this year.

Cub Football Tournament

2007-06-11T13:06:00.001+01:00

Harry is No.2

School

2007-06-08T23:35:00.000+01:00

As I mentioned earlier, Harry's LSA suggested he can manage in class now with Numeracy.
I spoke to the Senco this morning and she confirms that he only needs small group help with Literacy and he has made good progress with Numeracy.

She also added that she has watched him in the playground and he is joining in more and making friends.

Spelling out words

2007-06-08T23:32:00.000+01:00

Just another "new thing" Harry has started to do. When we talk generally, he has started spelling out words. I handed him his phone tonight and he said "P-H-O-N-E". I remember the mum of the dyslexic girl appearing on Good Morning saying all of a sudden she was spelling everything out. This is just what Harry has started to do this week. OK his scores were bad at the assessment this week, but wow he's doing so well in every other aspect.

Year 5 Sports Day

2007-06-07T22:40:00.000+01:00

Harry enjoyed his hurdle race! Look at him go!

Third Follow-up

2007-06-06T10:05:00.001+01:00

Well, I have noticed in the past week that Harry is finding it extremely hard to balance. We recently had "Standing and moving on the spot" where you put one foot in front of the other, and Harry has found this very hard.

Today we had our third follow-up and Harry constantly kept wobbling and falling off the Posturegraph machine. The Consultant thinks Harry's going through some more re-wiring, and did say it is still early days, but he has made a note for next time to fully explain what Harry needs to do before he gets on the machine. He had several tries and the Consultant thinks he can do it, but Harry may be tensing up making it worse. COG Alignment looks better - more crosses in the box!

Here are his results from last time:

2nd Follow-up (23rd April)
1. 85 (red) / Somatosensory 96 green
2. 82 (red) but spread was into the green / Visual 62 Red
4. 53 (red) but spread was into the green / Vestibular 35 Red
5. 30 (red) / Composite 52 Red

Anyway, the new exercises are slightly harder, but a lot of repeats again. They will review the exercises next time to see if Harry is managing. If there is more regression, they will step back a level.

On a more positive note, Harry is now working in a new small group for Literacy.

She did have Harry down for her group for numeracy and literacy, but his current LSA said that he had improved so much in numeracy that he was ok in class.

Pinata Bashing!

2007-06-02T23:16:00.000+01:00

Went to a wedding today. Hanging in the tree were some pinatas and inside were sweets for the kids. The idea was to bash the pinata until the sweets inside fell out. Great idea. Well Harry had a turn after a few other kids had had a go with no success (blind-folded) and bashed the hell out of the Spiderman pinata - down came ALL the sweets. He was just so pleased with himself. Everyone was telling him how great he was. Those exercises with closed eyes came to mind. Hubby was well impressed!

Arms wide throwing beanbag

2007-06-01T19:30:00.001+01:00

Hard ticks every day!

Little Steps

2007-06-01T13:37:00.001+01:00

One thing I have noticed today is that Harry is now making better eye contact with me when talking. He will now look me straight in the eye. He has never done this before.

Also, we've just done an exercise using the poster where I call out the numbers and he has to look for 2 seconds before quickly moving onto the next. He amazed me by remembering the numbers from yesterday (I had to keep checking). He also remembered the odd letters, but not so well. We only started this one yesterday, so I am impressed. I've noticed though that his head tends to tilt. I am trying to correct this.

Update

2007-05-30T09:59:00.000+01:00

I haven't posted in a while as apart from the odd difficult exercise, things are just "chugging" along. I am still amazed at his progress with organisation, memory and speech. I've heard nothing from the school regards his schoolwork, but hope this will come later in the program.

He seems to do well with the eye-tracking exercises and is doing well with the Toe-by-Toe reading scheme that Lesley recommended. We stopped for a while, but are now back on it, and I can see he is really trying hard and is definitely making progress in that area.

I met a friend last week that I hadn't seen in a while, and she couldn't get over the change in Harry. Her daughter had very similar difficulties, and still seems to struggle with the day-to-day stuff. I did tell her to look into Dore, and I got the impression she will definitely think about it - but she commented her daughter is making progress, albeit slowly. She is still pulled out for spellings and maths apparently.

We have our assessment next week so will post his scores here when I have them.

Harry and the Ball

2007-05-11T19:10:00.000+01:00

As expected, Harry is pleased to have an exercise with the ball!

Skipping

2007-05-11T18:55:00.000+01:00

Harry skipping with his new karate belt. He is very proud ! Last summer he was barely able to skip!