Jamie Oliver has bravely revealed that his children are neurodivergent as he spoke candidly about his "amazing but bonkers" family. The 50, shares five kids, Poppy, 23, Daisy, 22, and Petal, 16, and sons Buddy, 14, and River, eight, with wife Jools, who he married in 2000.
Jamie, who is dyslexic, speaks openly about his own health concerns in new documentary, . And now he's revealed that his children have been diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD and ASD (autism spectrum disorder) in the past year. Speaking in a new interview about the challenges the family face, he said that he and wife Jools discuss their children in bed every night and have "learnt to understand that their behaviour is because they're seeing things differently".
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While not revealing which child had been diagnosed with each condition, talking to , Jamie said that being aware of his family's differences "allows you to be a better parent", adding: "Imagine four neurodiverse people at the dinner table trying to get their point across."
He also pointed out how different things were when he was young regarding neurodivergence, saying that people "didn’t know as much about our brains 30 years ago".
Neurodivergent is a term that describes people whose brains function differently, comprising of conditions including autism, ADHD and dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that causes problems with reading, writing and spelling and difficulties with processing.
Jamie's comments come as the Channel 4 star recalled being branded a "stupid dunce" at school and said his tough learning curve left him feeling "worthless, stupid and thick".
Ahead of his documentary release, he said: "I'm unpacking quite a lot of stuff and I'm oversharing with you because I've got to f***ing work this s**t out, I thought I'd buried it but it's hitting a nerve.
"I didn't have any extra time in exams, there were no strategies, just a bit of extra tutoring help," he revealed, adding: "There was no robust dyslexic knowledge then."
Off the back of his new programme, Jamie is now calling for urgent changes in schools, including early dyslexia screening and more teacher training in neurodiversity.
Praising teachers, he insisted they were doing a good job, but claimed they needed to be properly trained to deal with particular pupils.
His eye-opening documentary, which airs soon on Channel 4, will ask whether the UK education system is doing enough to support children with dyslexia - and if not, what can be done to help them.
The Jamie's School Dinners star has already met with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and says this campaign is even tougher than his famous fight to get healthier food for kids in the UK.
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