Hi all, I’ve not vanished, just had a summer job which mostly involved being in muddy fields far from the Internet.

For anyone else in Yorkshire, ITV Yorkshire are going to be doing a Dore anecdote / free advertising tonight in the 6 o’clock ‘news’.

I’ve phoned them up this afternoon and explained the background & problems with this approach (anecdotes are not data, lack of evidence base, Dore’s tendency to use lawyers to suppress negative anecdotes, the usual) and pointed them at some background reading and questions to ask. I will be surprised if they take this on board, since the person I spoke to said it’s ‘just a piece about a girl from Harrogate’. Still, they’ve now got less excuse than some.

Oh no, not again…

Company Number 1259796 View Certificate Of Incorporation Company DORE GROUP (NZ) LIMITED (IN LIQ) EMAIL CERTIFICATE Incorporated 27-NOV-2002 View Online Extract Entity Type Company EMAIL EXTRACT Constitution Filed Yes CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING Annual Return Filing Month June Print This Page Status Details Current Status In Liquidation From To Previous Status Registered 27th November 2002 23rd March 2009
Liquidation Details
Commenced: 23-MAR-2009    Status: Active Name Organisation Phone Email Downes, Timothy Wilson GRANT THORNTON AUCKLAND LIMITED +64 9 3082570 tdownes@gtak.co.nz Address: 152 FANSHAWE STREET, AUCKLAND Appointed: 23-MAR-2009   16:00 Sherriff, Gregory John GRANT THORNTON AUCKLAND LIMITED +64 9 3082570 gsherriff@gtak.co.nz Address: 152 FANSHAWE STREET, AUCKLAND Appointed: 23-MAR-2009   16:00 Reports First Report Filed 30-MAR-2009 Six Monthly Report Due by 21-OCT-2009
Previous Names
Company Name Date Changed DORE ACHIEVEMENT CENTRE (NZ) LIMITED 24-JUL-2007 W ARMOY LIMITED 27-MAY-2004
Address Details
Registered Office
C/-Spencer Financial Partners Limited
Level 4
16 Viaduct Harbour Avenue
Auckland
Address for Service
Grant Thornton Auckland Limited
Level 4
152 Fanshawe Street
Auckland
Directors
Name		Date Appointed:
CONROY, David John 01-SEP-2008 208 Campbell Road, Greenlane, Auckland 1061
Share Parcels
	Total Number of shares	100
	Number of Shares	100
	Shareholder(s)	DORE GROUP (AUSTRALIA) PTY LIMITED	Suite 2, Level 2, 4-10 Bridge Street, Pymble, NSW, AUSTRALIA

New Zealand Companies Office (‘Search the Companies Register’ for ‘Dore’). There’s a brief ‘administrator’s report’ on that site which may be worth people who have paid Dore NZ reading.

Thanks to ‘Joesmum’ for this comment:

‘Dore Group Ltd NZ put itself into voluntary liquidation on 23rd March, 2009. My son started the Program barely 3 months ago. They insisted on $NZ5500 upfront and had recently had a nationwide recruitment campaign.’

Anyone know what’s going on? Once again there’s nothing on the Dore NZ website or on any other official Dore sites as far as I can see, though this happened a few weeks ago.

‘Fri 15th August You and Yours, 12.00-1.00pm
12.30: Face the Facts: The Dore Programme: controversial treatment for
dyslexia has gone bust.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/newsletter/

Probably be on Listen Again here afterwards: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/facethefacts/

May be interesting – particularly in light of the appalling record of You and Yours as a vehicle for Dore advertorial, including an interview & plug the day before Dore UK went bust.

Other news – I’m offline having adventures again for a bit. Back September-ish. I’ve also tried another thing that dyspraxics probably should be warned off, in this case ceilidh dancing at a friend’s wedding. Good fun, and I only accidentally punched one person in the nose, no serious injuries. Folk dancing seems to be a bit like rugby, but with more fiddles and an accordion.

Hope to see some of you at the Science Blogging conference, look out for the Green Computer.

To follow up my previous post on Cartoon Church & SSGT, I’m re-publishing all Dave Walker’s original posts on SPCK on my blog as a PDF (Thanks to Matt Wardman for putting these together). I do not believe that SSGT should be allowed to use legal bullying to prevent some very mild-mannered comments from a Thoroughly Nice Bloke being blogged.

Other people who have done the same thing have had bizarre legal threats – I’m fortunate enough to be too broke to sue, and used to much scarier lawyers from the likes of Dore.

Without further ado, here are the missing ‘Cartoon Church’ posts.

Please re-publish them as widely as possible.

Who’s Supporting Dave Walker?

1. St Aidan to Abbey Manor – David Keen – Vicar (Yeovil)
2. The Wardman Wire – Matt Wardman (audio of BBC interview from 12/2007)
3. Gentle Wisdom – Peter Kirk
4. Bishop Alan’s Blog – Alan Wilson, Area Bishop of Buckingham
5. Blogula-Rasa – Ginny (detailed – worth a read)
6. Metacatholic – Doug Chaplin – Vicar (West Midlands)
7. Of course, I could be wrong – Madpriest – Priest (somewhere in England)
8. Seven whole days – Scott Gunn – Parish Priest (Rhode Island) and Lambeth Conference.
9. Thinking Anglicans – Simon Kershaw – Cambridge, England (likely to follow further press coverage)
10. The Jewish Blog Network – How to recover deleted pages. Firefox Resurrect Pages add-on.
11. Lingamish – Blogger Bludgeoned by Bozos – David Ker – Mozambique. Kudos for the cartoon above.
12. [Update: 23/07/2008] SPCK Watch – Gagging attempts by Mark Brewer – SPCK Watch. (Somewhere in Europe). Whole blog devoted to SPCK saga.
13. [Update: 23/07/2008] Elizaphanian – We are all Dave Walkers now – Sam Norton, Rector of West Mersea, Essex. Suggests that we reposts Dave’s ex-posts from Google Cache
14. [Update: 23/07/2008]Mad Hare – Solidarity post – SPCK/SSG and Dave Walker (New Mexico : United States).
15. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]The Cartoon Blog – Cease and Desist Demand from Mark Brewer Dave’s original post – now gone
16. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]GOD, CHRIST: QUESTIONS & FAITH – More and More on the Exploding SPCK Story & Dave Walker’s Cartoon Church Blog Check out the illustration from the 1950s
17. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Saintly Ramblings – Dave Walker Solidarity Post
18. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info – Comments on Moderation Expect comment when owner returns from holiday
19. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]PamBG’s Blog – Those Christian Bookshops
20. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Scatter Cushions – Nothing like like having an informed debate
21. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]connexions – Cartoon blogger silenced
22. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Turbulent Cleric – Libel law used as censorship Reflections on the Craig Murray case
23. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Exigency In Specie – Bullying the Bloggers Southern England
24. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Asingleblog – Brewers are challenged in court More detail on the attempt to put SPCK UK into Chapter 11 in the USA
25. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Philip’s Tree House – I’m also Dave Walker
26. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]John Inbetween – Yet another Dave Walker
27. [Update:24/07/2008 AM]Wormwood’s Doxy – Because there’s nothing I hate more than a bully….Standing up for Dave Walker & SPCK
28. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Dave Cole – I’m Dave Walker
29. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Ministry of Truth – SPCK owner seeks US bankruptcy protection for UK charity KEY POST – Digging into the Brewer “Legal Manoeuvres in the Dark”, and further posts
30. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Blogpower – Defending the Blog – Blogpower Roundup – The Civil Liberties Edition Civil Liberties Roundup – Understand the Wider Issues
31. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Brainducks Weblog – Cartoon Church blog target of legal bullying
32. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]D-Notice – D-Notice: Religious Nuts
33. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Back Towards The Locus – “Come Together, Raaaayt Nahahow, Over A Bullying Bookshop Chain”
34. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Sim-O Random Thoughts – I’m Dave Walker and so’s my wife
35. [Update:25/07/2008 AM]Safety Photo – Dave Walker Cease and Desist Notice
36. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Around the Worktable – My Name is Dave Walker, and Yours Should Be, Too Text of comment made on Slashdot
37. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]ASBO Jesus – 519 Dave Walker
38. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Rachel North – SPCK Up Shortlisted for Best Headline Award so far
39. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Bloggerheads – I support Dave Walker
40. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Johny Void – For God’s Sake Cease and Desist Ever so slightly satirical
41. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]42 My life, the universe and everything – Dave Walker
42. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth – Paul Sibley
43. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Supersimbo – Dave Walker we salute you
44. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Safety Joke – Safety Joke
45. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Decloned – William Lehman
46. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Squiggle Jones – Silence is not always golden…
47. [Update:27/07/2008 AM]Chris Luff, discomblogulating – Legal intimidation?
48. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Maggi Dawn – Dave Walker and SPCK
49. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Tim Abbott – Dave Walker solidarity post
50. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Mark Tiddy’s Blog and Website – News
51. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]SPCK / SSG Bookshop Posts – We are all Dave Walker now
52. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]A Skinny Fairtrade Latte in the Food Court of Life – Freedom of Conscience – Allegedly
53. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]http://gafcon.blogspot.com/2008/07/mark-brewer-brewerbplawcom.html – Mark Brewer: Responding to Dave Walker Funny
54. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]http://andjesuswept.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-spck-bullying.html – More SPCK bullying…
55. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Lingapotamus – save dave
56. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Program Your Own Mind – Supporting Dave Walker against Mark Brewer and his company’s legal threats
57. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Philobiblon – Britblog Roundup No 180
58. [Update:30/07/2008 AM]Talk to Action – Texas Religious Right Charity with UK Links Tries to Liquidate
59. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Kouya Chronicle – Blogs and Justice
60. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Way out West – Censorship
61. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]The Walsingham Girl – I Support Dave Walker ! Post from Orthodox Christian
62. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Revmusings – Free Speech
63. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Anne’s Blog – I am also Dave Walker
64. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]One Blog One Lord – One Blog one Lord
65. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Thoughts … and more thoughts – Chester SPCK? Visit to SPCK Chester, and found it closed

“

66. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Orthodox Christian Mission Yahoo Group – How NOT to do mission In the past it has been possible to see that in many instances Orthodox
    mission has been more culturally sensitive than Western Christian missions. But organisations like the St Stephen the Great Charity seem to have adopted
    some of the worst features of Christian missionaries in the past, and sought
    to emulate all their mistakes and display none of their virtues.

“

67. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]The Ongoing Journey… – SPCK and takeover + silence!
68. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Ancient Hebrew Poetry – Biblical Studies Carnival XXXII Part Two
69. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Intelligence and Ignorance – Dave Walker, victim
70. [Update:03/08/2008 AM]Deep Thought – Dave Walker solidarity post

The original copy of this list is on the Wardman Wire here.

This post isn’t anything to do with Psychology, it’s just a quick note to help out a fellow blogger whose work I like. For those of you who haven’t realised, I’m one of those annoying God-botherers, of the quieter Quaker variety. Grumpier atheist readers may wish to restrict themselves to looking at the pretty picture – not much to do with the topic, just one of my favourites from Cartoon Church.

Dave Walker, Cartoon Church.

Dave Walker of the Cartoon Church has been sent legal threats by ‘St Stephen the Great Trust’, a rather unpleasant organisation which has overseen the sad and messy demise of the SPCK bookshops. Basically, SPCK used to sell the more interesting, argumentative, thoughtful, and controversial sort of Christian books. What with the Internet and everything, such a specialist resource wasn’t getting so many sales. SPCK bookshops were brought up by SSGT, an American organisation with a much more evangelical leaning and a tendency to say stupid things about Muslims, and to get UK Orthodox Christians quite annoyed. SSGT screwed around with the staff in a variety of unpleasant ways, which were described on Cartoon Church ’till SSGT threatened Cartoon Church.

I would stick up some links on the background to this, but Cartoon Church has already been bullied into taking their stuff down, and they have provided the most through and detailed coverage so far. Anyway, have a look at this forum thread where several of those involved have posted.

As regular readers will know, I do not approve of using legal threats to shut down an argument, particularly as in this case when it’s just the fact of legal action rather than the merits of the case which appear to be deciding things. It’s a sign of a weak argument if you can’t defend it by arguing back better, and if SSGT would rather what they were doing wasn’t common knowledge then they shouldn’t have been doing it. Going for lawyers is just ducking the issue in a rather pathetic manner.

Just to let anyone who wants to know know, I’ll be offline for a couple of weeks – may occasionally pick up emails to brainquack at gmail dot com, but I won’t be on blogs & forums & stuff. I’ll be away completely for the next fortnight, probably not be online more than occasionally until September.

It’s the summer, I’m making the most of the last few months before I have to get a ‘proper job’, having adventures in places which still don’t have WiFi, graduating, Saving The World, working at festivals, doing more sport than can possibly be healthy for a person, getting into scrapes and back out of them, living out of bike panniers & tents & friend’s floors & hostels, risking life and limb just ‘cos it’s fun, and generally doing all the stuff my parents thought I’d never do when I was a Problem Duckling. I suppose it’s better that people worry for the things I do do now, rather than the things I don’t!

Hope you all have a good summer too, many thanks to everyone who has read or commented, hope to ’see’ you again in September, & don’t forget the suncream.

The ‘Sun’ newspaper today claimed that Wynford Dore had brought the assets – but not the liabilities – of the Dore programme from the administrators, at least in the UK. The Dore treatment may keep going in some form, but staff & clients won’t get their money back.

This letter from Wynford (PDF) suggests Dore are expecting to come back.

‘So, just to summarise, we will not be re-opening the majority of the original Dore Centres, but we will be developing relationships with local partners who will focus on their community and provide the Dore technology.’

Thanks to Holfordwatch for the Sun article, more there.

Dear Dr Rutherford,

We have both been asked by the forum moderators at Dore Talk to move debate elsewhere.

I understand you were also less than happy at having your reply to the Guardian ‘Bad Science‘ article mentioning my blog deleted by the newspaper moderators on grounds of libel, as was I – I’d far rather debate with facts than lawyers & there’s a lot there I’d enjoy answering.

Therefore could I suggest that we continue our interesting discussion on Dore Talk in the comments section below this posting?

Since your Guardian post described me as ‘Bloggers … hide behind anonymity and make comments which are ill informed, based on limited knowledge, biased and have therefore been very damaging to Dore’, I do hope that you will find it worth your while to correct a few of the most painfully glaring of what must surely be my many mistakes on this blog. Pick anything you like, if I’ve been wrong I’ll be only too happy to correct it. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find something, I am after all an undergrad & therefore lower in the academic pecking order than a lab rat, and since you think I’ve been so ‘damaging’ then it must surely be worth your while to spend a few minutes setting me right?

To start this off, I’ve re-posted your Guardian comment in the comments section of this post. I promise not to delete anything you write (except for swearwords which tend to mess up my access) & the comments on here are un-moderated (except a standard spam-filter). If you’d rather have this discussion elsewhere on the same terms, please do suggest it. Anyone else with an interest in the research is of course very welcome to join in the discussion, though please be aware I’m aiming for more of a no-holds-barred academic debate than sharing personal anecdotes, otherwise I’d leave it on Dore Talk.

I’ve posted this invitation on Dore Talk, if anyone knows of other ways to bring this to Dr Rutherford’s attention, please do pass them on.

Thank you,

Duck.

Several sources indicate that US Dore centres have also closed down. It looks as though people will be switched to My Dore, a website giving videos and instructions for the exercises.

I’d suggest cancelling any payments which may be due or cheques you may have written that have not yet been cashed, as soon as possible. More information when I’ve got it.

*updated with info on administrators, Friday 31st May*

DORE UK have shut down, officially confirmed.

‘It is with great regret that we have to announce that Dore has been put into the hands of advisors. As a result Dore is closing all of the UK centres which deliver the Dore Programme with immediate effect.

We are determined to find a way for every client who is on the program to have their treatment completed. We are presently exploring alternative arrangements to ensure every client is cared for.

We will be updating this page of our website every few days with news regarding alternative arrangements for continued programme delivery so please check frequently.

We still want to help people to identify any learning difficulties they may be struggling with, so we are continuing to make our online symptoms test available. We will provide you with a personal report that outlines any learning difficulty and the likely severity.’

Staff were told at lunchtime on Friday 23rd. Clients have been discussing what to do next on DORE talk. I’ve set up an alternative forum (now completely run by DORE parents, I’ve turned over all admin powers) in case DOREtalk closes without notice. Hopefully people will be able to share information on what is going on and any legal steps which should be taken.

What to do now?

If you are a staff member with unpaid wages or a client with uncompleted treatment, probably the most important thing you can do to get your money back is register as a creditor with the administrators. Woodgate in Australia, this is a letter from the UK adminstrators. Unfortunately both the UK and Australian administrators have said that clients are very unlikely to get refunds from Dore itself.

Trading Standards is a good place to start for an overview of the relevant law. If you’ve paid by credit card that’s the first place to try claiming a refund, debit cards are less likely but worth a try. If you have a finance deal then you may also receive some money back (thanks Jon for info) The Insolvency Service has all sorts of useful albeit detailed information, including what to do if you are owed money by a company in liquidation. Citizen’s Advice Bureau may be able to help.

Staff should read this guide to getting some wages back, up to £330/week, more detailed information for employees here (pdf). Forms and how to apply are at Redundancy Payments Service. You should apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance immediately, as it can’t be backdated & will affect how much you can get from the Redundancy Payments Service.

Podblack makes useful suggestions for Australia. I’m no expert here, if you know more please pass it on. Since I originally wrote this entry the US has also shut, again I don’t know a lot about the law there but if you do please tell me and I’ll add it.

What Happened?

I’ve posted some of this previously – here I’m trying to put all the available information in one place in roughly chronological order, in the hope of building up a picture of what was going on.

In January 2008, Gimpy found that the DORE UK accounts showed that they had an accumulated loss of ~£6.8 million to 2006 (~US$13 million ~AUS$14 million). Gimpy and I raised this on DORE talk, but were told that ‘discussion was not appropriate’. Also in January 2008, Convex Capital, a consultancy firm, were brought in. The reasons for this may be inferred from Wynford Dore’s statement ‘I have no hesitation in recommending Convex Capital to any company that wants to make more money, quicker’. Gimpy has since looked at the 2007 accounts, which show an accumulated loss of £8.3 million. Treatments were being funded by the recruitment of new clients. It is difficult to see how existing clients could now be provided with services or refunds, particularly since it is clear that this will not now happen in Australia despite early suggestions that this might be possible, and UK staff having been ‘told they no longer have a job‘.

DORE in the UK and in Australia kept trading as normal, and recruiting clients who were required to pay ~£2000 up-front, right up until they closed (Aus 15th May, UK 23rd May). Cheques in Australia were still being cashed the day parents were told, after the company had gone into administration. In an exceptional piece of bad judgement, Kenny Logan, a rugby player paid by DORE, discussed his dyslexia on BBC Radio Four ‘consumer programme’ ‘You And Yours‘ on 19th May. Although Logan did not mention DORE by name, the presenters went on to discuss the programme by name in wholly favourable terms, even though clients in Australia had already lost everything they paid, and DORE UK would suffer a similar predictable fate just four days later.

‘FAQs for clients of DORE‘

‘Couldn’t you see these problems coming?
Answer: We were very confident until just these last few days that funding would be
available to maintain the whole operation. We have spent considerable time in talks with
various investors who have expressed interest in supporting the venture. Unfortunately a
firm agreement has not materialised in time to save the situation.’ (emphasis mine).

DORE Australia did not inform clients or staff that they were entitled to attend the first meeting of creditors
on May 23rd, potentially preventing them receiving any refunds or back wages after liquidation. However, the first media reports a week after the receivership state ‘Giles Woodgate from the administrator Woodgate and Co says it is unlikely that creditors will get their money back’. The only official source of information for DORE Australia clients and staff remains appointments cancelled at short notice, and a post tucked away on DORE talk from Wynford Dore’s daughter, even the website is still up as normal (all as of Friday 23rd May).

Wynford Dore left another education-related company on May 15th, the day DORE Australia collapsed. On May 23rd, when DORE UK shut, Wynford emailed customers personally with an apology, again blaming lack of government support for the closures. DORE UK also placed an announcement on the front page of their website. Wynford’s daughter has also been posting on DOREtalk, wondering whether to keep the forums open for now.

Not much information on the rest of the world for now. A staff member in the Carribean is expecting to go to work as normal on the 24th, and New Zealand was still operating as of the 20th May. However, as the FAQs emailed to clients state ‘After many years and £15 million of funding provided by Wynford, it is clear that our ability to continue subsidising the programme to the extent necessary had become impossible’, it’s not clear how DORE worldwide could continue.

More info when I have it. As ever, if you know anything you want to pass on, please leave a comment or email brainquack at gmail dot com.

I’d also suggest keeping an eye on the blogs Gimpy, Podblack, LeftBrainRightBrain, HolfordWatch and Bad Science for emerging developments.

Why?

Regular readers will be unsurprised to know that I suspect the lack of decent research and evidence for the claims made contributed to difficulties. DORE blamed the Australian situation on their lack of government support, which I have countered previously. Without good evidence that the programme worked, it is unreasonable to expect it to be rolled out widely in schools and the health service. Myomancy has criticised the business model, but I suspect it was never meant to last this long without government funding. When the research didn’t justify further official funding, they couldn’t keep going indefinitely.

Wynford Dore’s farewell email talked about ‘Scientifically proven results‘, when the only published peer-reviewed research was the Balsall Common studies with just six participants who actually had a diagnosis of dyslexia (by comparison, my un-funded, single-handed undergraduate project looks at 12 people with a formal dyslexia diagnosis and 12 matched controls, so it’s not so hard to do). I’ve blogged Balsall Common and discussed it on DOREtalk. I’ve also discussed several pieces of unpublished DORE ‘research’ on this blog. I’m afraid that none of them together or separately even come close to supporting a claim of ’scientifically proven results’ for dyslexia, or for any of the other conditions which DORE claim to treat. Bad Science has discussed the Balsall Common studies. Podblack has discussed a recent paper on how DORE came to be as accepted as it was in mainstream teaching, and why such practice is not always evidence-based. HolfordWatch has also looked at how the research and the marketing claims do not always match up. LeftBrainRightBrain has gone through the same DORE research into Aspergers, published in a local newspaper, that I looked at. Many of the key research papers and journal letters are available in full for free, and if you’re half the geek I am make for interesting reading. It’s not much more expensive to do good research than bad, and with real results showing effectiveness then you could make a case for DORE to be publically funded. Such results have not been forthcoming. This has been covered up by glitzy marketing, positive anecdotes, and a habit of unleashing the lawyers on anyone who criticised DORE. The legal suppression of criticism has extended to academics, self-help groups, and most horrifyingly even parents who just wanted to say that the treatment didn’t work for their child.

Whatever really happened, the obvious distress of those caught up in it doesn’t do anyone any good. I wish all the best to the clients, & staff who worked directly with them. The one thing all Educational Psychology research can agree on is the importance of hope, supportive and involved care-givers, and I’d add a good streak of determination to that. The families who have the commitment to tackle the DORE programme have every chance of doing well, with or without it. Good luck to all.