We get asked this a lot, so here's a straight answer.
Is Dcode "evidence-based"?
Dcode is evidence-informed. It's built on Orton-Gillingham — an approach with a strong evidence base, practised by our founder for 40 years — and on the science of reading. What we don't claim is that Dcode has been put through a formal, published controlled trial as a standalone programme. It hasn't, and we'd rather say so plainly than overstate it.
So is there any proof it works?
Yes — real outcome data from real classrooms. Through the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Investor Readiness programme, we gathered reading-age results from the schools that ran Dcode with fidelity: seven schools, 74 children, across six counties. Over a single school year, children gained on average around 16 months of reading age, against the 8 months normally expected — roughly double. Every one of those schools beat typical progression, and most of the children had a diagnosed difficulty such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, ASD or ADHD. Some individual children gained more than three years of reading age in the year.
Why isn't there formal academic research yet?
Dcode is still a young programme, and we're building our evidence base the practical way — from real reading-age outcomes in real classrooms, growing year on year. Formal academic study is something we'd welcome, and we're open to working with university researchers who want to evaluate the programme independently. For now, what we can show is genuine classroom results rather than a published trial — and we think those results speak for themselves.
Who designed it, and who is it for?
Dcode was built by a practitioner, around the actual problem: teaching the struggling reader in front of you. Forty years of doing exactly that — not theory alone — shaped how it works. It's designed for the children who need structured, systematic literacy teaching the most.
Can I see the results?
Yes. We have a one-page summary of the partner-school outcomes and we're happy to share it Get In Touch — and we'll send it on.
