Jamie Oliver admits his dyslexia made him feel 'dumb' and 'misunderstood' at school - after revealing some of his children are also neurodivergent

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Jamie Oliver has opened up about the struggles he faced growing up with dyslexia, revealing it made him feel 'dumb' and 'misunderstood'.
The celebrity chef, 50, is sharing his experience with the condition in a new Channel 4 documentary called Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution, which is due to air on June 9.
Ahead of the documentary, he told in a new interview that he wouldn't know where he'd end up if he didn't have his passion for cooking, due to the lack of support for dyslexia during his school days.
Speaking to Radio Times, Jamie explained: 'It's no secret that I didn't do very well at school.
'I felt misunderstood and, quite frankly, dumb.'
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He continued: 'I was a disengaged pupil but, growing up in a pub and being surrounded by food on a daily basis, I found cooking at a very young age.
'I had something I was good at, something that built my self-esteem when school – which I left with just two GCSEs – was eroding it.
'I was one of the lucky ones. If I didn't have cooking, who knows where I'd have ended up.'
Explaining his time at school with dyslexia, he said: 'In my day (the 1980s), I was removed from class to go to "special needs", which is now referred to as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
'It wasn't my teachers that were the problem, but our education system. It's simply not built to support dyslexia or neurodiversity, which together represent a whopping 25 percent of every classroom.
'That's why this issue is so important to me. It's this 25 percent of kids that slip through the cracks.
'We need change. We need to recognise that dyslexic brains just think and express their learning in a different way.
'Embracing that will be a game-changer for our kids with dyslexia, but studies show the whole class thrives in an inclusive classroom. It's better for everyone.'
It comes after Jamie revealed some of his children have recently been diagnosed as neurodivergent, telling how understanding how their children see things differently allows him and wife Jools to be 'better parents'.
He told how he navigates his 'bonkers family' with Jools, 50, and their children, amid diagnoses of dyslexia, ADHD and ASD (autism spectrum disorder) in the past year.
The TV star shares daughters Poppy, 23, Daisy, 22, and Petal, 16, and sons Buddy, 14, and River, eight, with his former model spouse, with the eldest two having flown the nest.
Though not revealing details on who was diagnosed, Jamie revealed to The Sunday Times Magazine that he and Jools discuss their children in bed every night and have 'learnt to understand that their behaviour is because they're seeing things differently'.
He added that being aware of their children's differences 'allows you to be a better parent'.
Neurodivergent is a term that describes people whose brains function differently, encompassing conditions like autism, ADHD, and dyslexia.
And amid the conditions affecting many members of his family, Jamie went on to joke that home life is 'bonkers', remarking: 'Imagine four neurodiverse people at the dinner table trying to get their point across.'
Jamie also went on to say that he feels attitudes towards neurodivergence are generational, noting that 'older people' tend to reflect on not having these issues 'when they were young',
However, the father-of-five counters that people 'didn't know as much about our brains 30 years ago'.
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that causes problems with reading, writing and spelling and difficulties with processing.
Jamie is using his platform to call for urgent changes in schools, including early dyslexia screening and more teacher training in neurodiversity.
He said: 'I've only got love for teachers, we need to appreciate them more. But they want to be trained, they want to have the tools to notice, understand and react.'
His hard-hitting documentary, airing soon on Channel 4, will question whether the UK education system is doing enough to support children with dyslexia - and if not, what needs to change.
Jamie has already met with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and says this campaign is even tougher than his famous fight for healthier school dinners.