Rugby Star Talks Of ‘Dyslexia Depression’

Former rugby international Kenny Logan has talked of the struggle he faced with dyslexia and praised a new programme which helps people with learning disabilities.

The 36-year-old won 70 caps for Scotland and is married to presenter Gabby Logan, but he was far from happy until he embarked on the Dore Programme, a treatment course for people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

“When my wife Gabby would talk to me about it when I was 27 or 28, I would actually cry because I was so upset and quite emotional about it,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“I think I had it in my head that if Gabby knew that I am dyslexic, that I can’t read – and I was 27 at the time – that she won’t want to be with me anymore because she will think that I am thick. It made me think about how I was at school.

“My school life was the worst time in my life. I suppose if I look back now on how I felt in those days and how I feel now, I definitely had some sort of depression,” he added.

“In the end Gabby was the one who made me do [the Dore programme]. But I didn’t really want to do anything about it. I had spent ten years at school trying to learn to read and write and it didn’t work. Then obviously I started the programme and within months I started reading better,” he said.

The Dore Programme uses exercises to stimulate the neural pathways in the brain, effectively retraining it.

Mr Logan says that he can now cope with his learning disability better and his reading and writing has improved dramatically.