Insights from Jamie Oliver's Dyslexia Revolution

The Autism Mums Podcast

 This week we are discussing Jamie Oliver's Channel four documentary Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution. We found this programme hugely impactful and we felt compelled to discuss the critical issues it raises about dyslexia, the shortcomings of our education system and how it affects neurodivergent children.

Key Takeaways

Dyslexia as a Brain Difference: Understanding that dyslexia is a brain difference rather than a lack of intelligence can be transformative. It shifts the narrative from feeling inadequate to recognising unique cognitive strengths and learning styles.

Impact of Early Screening: Early screening in schools can significantly change the trajectory for neurodivergent children. Identifying dyslexia early allows for tailored support, helping children feel understood and empowered rather than left behind.

Need for Teacher Training: The lack of adequate training for teachers on neurodivergence can hinder a child's educational experience. Proper training equips educators with the tools to recognise and support diverse learning needs, fostering a more inclusive classroom environment.

Importance of Advocacy: Advocacy plays a crucial role in driving change within the education system. By voicing concerns and pushing for better resources and support, parents can help create a more equitable environment for all children.

Empowering Children: Empowering children and celebrating their strengths is vital for their self-esteem. When children feel valued for who they are, they are more likely to thrive and develop a positive self-image.

Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution

Watch and share the documentary here

Let’s get the word out. Share it with friends, family – anyone who needs to see what’s really going on.

Tell the Secretary of State, Bridget Phillipson

Post on Twitter/X (@bphillipsonMP) or Instagram (@bridgetphillipsonmp) using #ComeOnBridget. Tell her what’s happening, what needs to change – and why kids can’t wait.

Write to your MP

Let them know you’re part of Jamie’s Dyslexia Revolution. Ask them to stand up in Parliament and speak out for change. Jamie has templates and tips here, but Jamie says your own story is the most powerful thing you can share.

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Transcript

Episode 15 Insights from Jamie Oliver's Dyslexia Revolution

​[00:00:00]

Hello and welcome to the Autism Mums podcast. I'm Victoria. And I'm Natalie. We are two sisters raising autistic children who know the joy, the challenges, and the everyday moments. This is a supportive space for honest conversations, practical tips, shared strength and expert advice.

Whether you are celebrating a win, surviving a meltdown, or just

trying to make it through the day, we are right here with you.

Join us as we share the ups, the downs, and everything in between parenting autistic children.

Today we are discussing Jamie Oliver's Channel four documentary Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution. We found this program hugely impactful and we felt compelled to discuss the critical issues it raises about dyslexia, the shortcomings of our education system, and how it affects neurodivergent [00:01:00] children.

Victoria Bennion: This morning I finished watching Jamie Oliver's

dyslexia revolution, and this was after Natalie, you told me that I

really needed to watch it when it came out, and I knew that you'd

seen it. And I can see why you said that it was really important. So we just thought we would chat round for anyone who hasn't seen it or even if you have seen it, some of the issues that were covered is for anyone who's worried right now that their child is being left behind.

Natalie Tealdi: It got me all riled up.

Victoria Bennion: Yeah, it did. I think it highlights again, what

is wrong with the school system, what's failing our children?

So. What is dyslexia? Yes, dyslexia is a brain difference. It's not a lack of intelligence, but unfortunately a lot of people with dyslexia can end up feeling like they're stupid or they're dumb.

This was something that the program highlighted because they don't learn in the same way as others.

Natalie Tealdi: You could see how emotional Jamie Oliver was when

he was just talking about what his school days were like, and you

think how much time has [00:02:00] passed and how successful he is.

Yet that still leaves such a mark.

Victoria Bennion: It's shocking that children of such a young at

age can believe that they're stupid. They just have a brain

difference. They're talented. They've got so much to offer, but that

isn't being celebrated and they're not being made to feel that. It's

highlighting to them because of the way of the education system, the

way of the teaching, that they can't access that.

I guess there's something wrong with you that you're not worthy, and that was also highlighted in the children that he spoke to, which is just so sad and so wrong.

Natalie Tealdi: There was that boy they were talking to, and they

were asking him how he felt about the future and he just said

hopeless.

Victoria Bennion: Awful. A child of that age should not be feeling

that their future is hopeless. There needs to be steps to change it.

I worked with a client, who had written a book on dyslexia last year,

and I know that there are moves to raise awareness and there was some really interesting statistics, which again, Jamie Oliver touched on

in the program. 50% of the [00:03:00] prison population were dyslexic.

Natalie Tealdi: That's correct. Yeah. That is huge, isn't it?

You just think if there was screening in schools at a young age, what impact that could have, like how much of that 50% would go in a different direction

Victoria Bennion: absolutely, and I know From the work that I've been

involved in that a very high percentage of entrepreneurs are also

dyslexic, which shows that there's something there that can be tapped

into. The book that my client had written was all about the Dyslexic

Edge, I know that he was involved with Richard Branson, who was

raising awareness of this, I very much feel.

Like you following the documentary that Jamie Oliver did, that if you could get it right at the primary school age for these children, it would make a difference to so many lives to society is these children have so much to offer.

Natalie Tealdi: I know. That's the thing. We shouldn't be casting

people aside 'cause they're not fitting into a box.

And that goes for all neurodivergent. Conditions.

Victoria Bennion: Yeah, and it's [00:04:00] a societal norm, I think our friend Carl would say, and it's just something that we've created, so we need to uncreate it. We need to do better for our children. Something that I found interesting as well about dyslexia is there's often a co-occurrence of another neurodevelopmental condition such as autism, A DHD and developmental language disorder.

Jamie Oliver is advocating for early screening and improved training for teachers on neurodiversity, because with dyslexia included, they believe that up to 25% of a class would be neurodivergent

Natalie Tealdi: and that's a massive chunk of a classroom,

Victoria Bennion: a massive chunk of a classroom who's not being

catered to, who has got needs that aren't being met and are being

failed.

Natalie Tealdi: And also it's not fair on the teachers, they

haven't been trained. So they have a classroom and 25% of them.

They dunno how to support.

Victoria Bennion: That's it. A hundred percent. It really shocked

me [00:05:00] when they talked about the amount of training that a teacher receives in Neurodivergence. So it was something ridiculous like four to five hours out of their whole three year training course.

Natalie Tealdi: If you think of how much we as parents have researched to be able to support our children, how many hours we've spent on courses and reading. We are living it, and they're teachers who are working in this environment and they don't have anywhere near enough knowledge.

Victoria Bennion: And there's a scene where Jamie Oliver is at the

house as a parliament and he's talking to mps and the woman comes up to him and she was a teacher and she acknowledged, having children in her class who. Would have not been having

their needs met. So it's great that he's raising awareness of that.

But that's a high number of children every year.

Natalie Tealdi: It is.

Victoria Bennion: I think we can talk a little bit about our own

experiences here. I know I've said before, I was very aware of one of

my children when he was in [00:06:00]

reception that a small group of them were pulled out for extra help

with handwriting, things like that. Extra help, extra support. It was the same four or five children. They're now 10 and 11, and as far as I know, every single one of them has a diagnosis. They have some kind of neurodevelopmental condition. So I think it gives more credence to the fact that there should be early screenings, because I think on some level it must be obvious that there's something that needs support. They are identifying, or they certainly identified in my child's class that these children needed extra support. So why not formalize it may make it something that every school does, just as a matter of course,

Natalie Tealdi: speak to the parents as well, why can't we have

that transparency? I don't understand.

Victoria Bennion: Yes. It can be like getting blood from a stone

one of my children always struggled with reading, always, and it was

a bit foreign to me because you [00:07:00]

and I, English has always been our favorite subjects. Love reading. I

used to demolish books, so they were coming out of my ears.

And then when I had my child,

she really struggled. And I remember going through those learning to

read books with her and we'd read. A word, we'd work out what the

word was. It would appear again, two or three sentences below, and

she'd say it differently again. And I couldn't understand what I

was doing wrong with her, why she wasn't getting it. Looking back

now, they implemented different support strategies for her from quite

a young age. Her writing was very messy.. She didn't leave a space

between words. So she had a spacer that she used.

They gave her one of those colored rulers to put over text to help her see it more easily. I remember querying at the time like, isn't this a dyslexia aid? Do you think she has dyslexia? And I was told no, she doesn't have dyslexia.

It's just to help [00:08:00] her. So I just continued and she consistently had trouble. When she was around nine or 10, I know she had quite a big spelling test at school and it was, over a hundred words and she got such a small percentage of them correct. And that was it for us really. We went, oh, there's something really off here. She's a bright girl, , she's intelligent, but this isn't translating.

She's very articulate. But this isn't translating onto paper. And I remember raising it with the school. I've got the email, still raised it at the school at the time, wondering if she has dyslexia. 'cause my husband also looked up what are the symptoms of dyslexia. And when we went down the list, we're like, okay, there's, she's doing loads of these things. And still the school said, no, it's not a problem. It was a hard spelling test. We actually took it upon ourselves and went privately for a

dyslexia assessment, and they said that yes, it came back confirmed

that she had dyslexia, and for her it was [00:09:00]

important for her self-esteem. It certainly helped her to know that

because there are the things that which were highlighted in the

program that you can feel stupid, you can feel dumb, you can wonder

why you are not able to keep up with your peers.

Natalie Tealdi: Especially when you have to read aloud with your

peers.

Victoria Bennion: Oh my goodness.

Natalie Tealdi: You can't do that. The anxiety that would cause.

Victoria Bennion: So she talked about reading aloud, and I know

they covered this in the program, and she said in their English

lessons, they used to get the option of reading a sentence, a

paragraph, or a page.

But it went round the room, so you had to be following the text to know where you were so that you were able to pick up your sentence, your paragraph, or your page. And she said it was so stressful because for her, she finds it very hard to see where she is in text. The lines jumble. , Although she would always go for a sentence, just that, and knowing your turns coming up so stressful.

Natalie Tealdi: Yeah. You hear stories of how people have become

clever at, misbehaving so they get sent out of the room. [00:10:00]

And that really did make me think back to, being a child at school

and the naughty boy, in the class. He was just naughty and it makes

me really question how well was he naughty or was he actually quite

clever at just getting out of the room?

Because he couldn't cope in the environment, whatever reason.

Victoria Bennion: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. When my child got

her, dyslexia diagnosis, I spoke to one of my friends and she's a

really amazing web designer, really good, very successful.

And she has dyslexia. And she spoke to me a little bit about it and just said, just make sure that she knows how amazing she is anyway. It's really important for confidence. And she said she found ways of coping at school, managing to get by. It can go either way, can't it?

You can get very good at disguising that you're struggling or finding ways to leave the classroom, but it's that impact on self-esteem. And another thing that I found was once we got the dyslexia diagnosis, now, this could have been because we went privately. I'm not sure, [00:11:00]

but they didn't implement the things that were suggested in the

report from the assessor and the assessor.

She was registered with the British Dyslexia Association. We did our best to make sure that it would be counted, but it was things like, don't ask her to read aloud in class. No, I don't know. Maybe they don't get the memo, but she certainly she still complained of being asked to read aloud in class.

Natalie Tealdi: If we were working more on empowering these young

people and building their confidence rather than them having to find

ways to cope or, hide that they're feeling anxious, why can't we just

empower them and make them feel proud of their intellectual ability,

just in a different way?

Victoria Bennion: Absolutely, because we've all got different

strengths and they really need to be celebrated from a young age, and

we need to be building our young people up, not knocking them down,

and certainly not, their children. That's horrendous [00:12:00]

for you, to be in a position where you think that. You don't have

much of a future.

There's so much that could be done. I really believe that we need to change our attitudes and the system needs to change so that everybody is celebrated. I can take myself back to school and I had a friend and she was the most practical. She was brilliant. She could ride horses. She knew how to, look after a horse.

She was very practical but in school she struggled. And I remember her saying things like, I'm stupid.

But do you know? She was amazing and I know that she qualified as a veterinary nurse. She's a really fulfilling life.

Why are these differences not celebrated?

Can you imagine the difference it would make to so many children's lives if number one, they were screened when they enter school, when they're little?

. Imagine if you brought that in when they start school, because we know that they can pick up these differences from a very young age.

Imagine if those children were identified and imagine if the teachers [00:13:00]were given the right training and the right support in the classroom so that they could then support these children who are instead, feeling empowered, not run down like they're stupid or dumb.

Natalie Tealdi: They could educate the others in the classroom to

be more inclusive to difference.

Victoria Bennion: Yes.

Natalie Tealdi: ' That's what we're growing up in. And that's what

they'll see when they enter the workplace. There isn't dumb, stupid,

and brainy, it's complex.

Victoria Bennion: Yeah. Hundred percent.

So we want schools to be places where every child can feel seen, supported, and inspired. .Something that the program highlighted was that frustration that's felt in the classroom can then lead to the negative behavior and sometimes expulsion from school and that is how dyslexic people end up in the prison system.

Natalie Tealdi: One thing that really rings in my head is all

behavior is communication. So it's looking behind that behavior and

trying to understand where it's coming [00:14:00]

from.

Victoria Bennion: I think that's a really good point. I also

thought it was a good point that Jamie Oliver raised about when he

was discussing with the Secretary of State for education , she said

that money is being put into this, and he questioned, will that money

reach the actual schools? And I think that's something that we all

need to ensure is happening, that it is going to the right places.

Natalie Tealdi: So what can we do about it?

We need to join the campaign, write to our mps.

Victoria Bennion: Yes. And that was something that they

highlighted, wasn't it? We need to let the mps know. That we want

change, that we want to see change. We need to write them and make

our voices heard.. jamie Oliver had a meeting with the Secretary of

State for education, Bridget Phillipson, he mentioned the importance

of writing to your mp. Letting your MP know that you

want to see change and that,...