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Quinnell's dyslexia triumph
Welsh rugby legend Scott Quinnell is facing his last - and hardest - test as he
tackles a highly controversial treatment which claims to cure the dyslexia that
has blighted his life.
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91Èȱ¬ Wales has followed Scott every step of the way through the highs and lows
of the exercise-based treatment, from the first assessment to the final
emotional day 11 months later when the results are revealed.
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Scott decides to try the treatment - the Dore programme - because he reads very
slowly and has trouble spelling and writing.
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"I've had fans throw autographs
back in my face because I've spelt their name wrong," he recalls.
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He also
reveals in Quinnell's Last Test (Tuesday 20 February, 91Èȱ¬ Two Wales), that he has never been able to send an email, use a computer or even write a note for
school for any of his three children.
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His father Derek - himself a rugby legend - remembers how frustrating it was
when Scott was failing at school.
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"As a parent it goes through your mind, well,
what is wrong?" he says on the programme.
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"It is terribly frustrating for the
individual far more than it is for the parents."
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In those days few had even
heard of dyslexia.
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Scott's wife Nicola explains how she has had to do everything for him from
writing cheques to filling in forms.
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And when Scott starts the Dore treatment -
which involves regular exercises with bean bags, wobble boards and bouncy
balls - she says: "Well, I'll be honest with you, I thought what a load of
nonsense."
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Producer Sally Davies filmed Scott for nearly a year.
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"We follow him into the
Sky Sports studio and record him as he gives an after dinner speech," she says.
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"We show him with his family at home and even in his hotel bedroom in London."
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Scott is tackling the course for the sake of his dyslexic children Lucy and
Steele, who go on it with him.
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"I don't want my kids to have to go through what
I went through at school," he says.
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"I want them to be able to do whatever they
want to do, rather than have to hide behind a persona."
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Sally says: "At first, Scott makes little progress. But as that classic
Quinnell determination kicks in he realises his life is changing.
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"For the first
time Scott is sending emails, writing notes for his children and reading books
much more quickly.
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"And the confidence boost it gives him is amazing to
witness."
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In this moving documentary - which also features archive footage of his most
famous rugby moments and interviews with family and friends - the normally very
private Scott Quinnell shows a vulnerable side to that tough rugby hero
persona.
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Quinnell's Last Test, Tuesday 20 February 2007, 91Èȱ¬ Two Wales /2W, 7.30pm
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JM5
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