Scott's story
There is no doubt in my mind that the Dore Programme has transformed my life and transformed the lives of my children. To see my story watch the BBC Wales documentary about our experience
(This link goes to the BBC Wales website where you can view the inspiring 30 minute documentary)
Five years ago I could barely read or write – in fact my literary skills were so bad that I couldn’t even write a cheque or reply to an email. Reading a book would take months. I also had a very poor attention span and I struggled to concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. This made life incredibly frustrating.
Today, thanks to the Dore Programme, I am not only able to read and write but I am able to do things I never thought would be possible. It feels like my world has opened up and everything seems so much easier.
I remember when I was captaining Wales against South Africa I was absolutely petrified before the match. My nerves had nothing to do with facing the Springboks in front of an audience of 72,000. I was worried because after the game I’d been asked to make a speech in front of players, their families and dignitaries.
One reason this was so nerve wracking was that I had no confidence in my own abilities. Although I knew what to say in my head, communicating these thoughts was always incredibly difficult for me. Whenever I had to stand up in front of people I was always consumed by stomach churning fear. I even remember when I was 18 I was asked to open a school fete… all I had to say was “I declare this fete open”, but the thought of doing this kept me awake all night.
Although I wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until I was 21, learning difficulties had dominated my life. School was a nightmare and my poor concentration meant that it wasn’t long before I began to fall behind. My teachers did everything they could to help me, but it seemed as if I had an inability to retain information. Even the basic things like copying from the blackboard were a struggle and in the end I spent most lessons staring out of the window daydreaming.
After school, my career focused on rugby. Over the following years I played for Wales 52 times, captaining the side on seven occasions. I also played for the British Lions and the Barbarians.
Although I’m incredibly proud of what I achieved in my rugby career, the shadow of learning difficulties always hung over me. I remember once a middle aged woman threw a carefully signed autograph back in my face because I’d spelt her name wrong – this sort of thing happened all the time.
The moment that learning difficulties really came back to haunt me was the moment when my wife and I had to face the fact that both our children were showing signs of learning difficulties.
My son, Steele, had terrible problems with his co-ordination and struggled to ride a bike even though all of his friends could. We later found out he had dyspraxia. Meanwhile my daughter Lucy had huge difficulty with reading and found school very frustrating, just as I had years earlier.
It was ex-Scotland international Kenny Logan who first introduced me to the Dore Programme. I met him when we were working at Sky Sports and he told me about the problems he had in his own life with learning difficulties. As we chatted I realised we had a lot in common. Kenny told me about a treatment he’d just gone through, which he said involved bean bags and wobble boards.
Kenny said the Programme has made a huge difference to his life and that I should give it a go. At the time I thought it was too late for me, but I was keen that my children should have the opportunities that I had never had. In the end, after talking to my wife, I decided to do the Programme together with my children.
In January 2006 we all went to the Dore Centre in Cardiff. I was diagnosed as severely dyslexic. My problems were a lot worse than Lucy and Steele’s. We were all prescribed different exercises and when we got home we started straight away. My wife, Nicola, was as sceptical as I had been, but we all felt it was worth a try.
It wasn’t easy keeping up with the exercise regime. I was away with work a lot and had to be sure to take the equipment with me. You can also imagine the dramas we had getting two young children to settle into a routine – I had to be strict with them and strict with myself.
As a father I was far more concerned about the impact the Programme would have on my children than it would have on me. Over the course of a year it was an absolute delight to see the impact it had on them.
After about six weeks Steele was keen to try riding his bike again. It had been heart breaking to watch him fail so many times before and I tried to convince him to wait a little while longer. But he wasn’t having any of it and so I held his seat as he rode along the pavement. After a few minutes he shouted “Dad let go!” What he didn’t realise is I had let go a long way back and he’d been riding all by himself. It was a magical moment.
I first started to notice a change in my own abilities when we went on a family holiday. At the airport I bought a couple of books to read on the plane, knowing that in reality I’d probably be reading these books for the next year. I started reading the first book as the plane took off – three days later I’d read the whole thing. By the end of the week I’d read both books and suddenly it was like a switch in my brain – I couldn’t get enough of reading.
It was a very emotional time and just as I was noticing a difference in my own ability my kids were also flourishing. Their school reports showed improvements in all subjects and their teachers were amazed by their progress.
A year later when I went back for my final assessment in Cardiff nothing could have prepared me for the results. Having started the year in the lowest 5% for reading and writing, the test results revealed I was now above normal in both those areas.
Having suffered so much growing up with learning difficulties it was a incredible feeling to realise I was finally winning the battle. More importantly my kids were really coming out of themselves and starting to shine and grow in self-confidence…. it was fantastic to watch!
Since completing the Programme I have met hundreds of individuals and families who say that Dore turned their lives around. Some of these stories are incredible and I’ve met some truly amazing people. So many people have had really positive, life changing experiences and they want to tell their stories to allow others to experience it too.
Just like these people I passionately believe Dore can have a huge impact on the lives of people suffering with learning difficulties. This is the reason why, in April 2009, I formed an elite management team of professionals to re-launch the Dore Programme and firmly establish its presence in the UK.
I know with all my heart that the Dore Programme can make a difference and I hope we can help you.
Good luck.
Scott