Jay Blades: Being a dad with dyslexia never stopped me teaching my daughter

If you’ve ever been waiting at a bus stop, only to be surprised by the man from The Repair Shop waving a letter under your nose, give yourself a pat on the back. You helped him out when he really needed it.

As a new ��ý One documentary shows, the presenter Jay Blades has struggled with reading his entire life. He realised he had difficulties with reading at around the age of 12, and wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until adulthood. It means he has spent the first 50 years of life using ingenious - and occasionally cheeky - methods to cope with fact he is unable to translate the vowels, consonants, syllables and sentences on a page into words.

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Watch: Jay explains what it's like being a dad learning to read at 51

“I think one of the areas that’s developed a lot with having dyslexia, for me, is confidence,” Jay told Parents’ Toolkit. It means that the acclaimed designer and furniture restorer has rarely been shy about having his support network read things out for him, or even complete strangers at bus stops. The only exception has been during the filming of The Repair Shop. After three years, he had to admit to the production team that he wasn’t reading the long emails they were sending him.

A dad reading to his daughter

In the candid film Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51, he can be seen embarking on the challenging journey of picking up the knowledge and skills required to understand words for himself. It involves a phonics programme supported by a national charity, working one-on-one with tutors, and all the while meeting the commitments of his six-days-a-week filming schedule.

Image caption,
Jay Blades, best known for his work on The Repair Shop, is learning to read at the age of 51

The experience was tough at times but the prospect of finally reading a book to his teenage daughter continues to keep him on track (in the past, he would look at the pictures and make a story up around them), as does the opportunity to inspire other people in the same position.

If Jay’s situation feels relatable to someone in your life, he has this advice: “Look for support,” he said. “There is a lot of support out there, and a lot of local support, so just tap into the resources around you. I’m very fortunate that I’ve had family around me to support me - but when I’ve needed additional support, it’s there. It’s refreshing when you find it.”

Parents with dyslexia can still teach skills

In a period where one of his children was home-schooled, Jay found that he could still be a teacher, by concentrating on the skills he knew best. He explained: “Even when we decided to home school our daughter, I would be there for all the practical things - bringing her into the workshop, showing her the different tools and getting her on the tools.

“I knew my weakness. It’s a bit like business, if you know your weakness, you then get other people to support you in that, and if you know your strengths, you work towards your strengths.”

The first steps are the hardest

When it came to his latest challenge of learning to read after more than half a century without the skill, Jay had to call on reserves of strength to stick at it, especially in the earliest stages.

Image caption,
A young Jay at home with his mum - he never realised he had any issues with reading until he was around 12 years old

“The toughest part of this journey has been starting it,” he said. “I thought it was going to be easy. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, it’s insanely hard… You’re teaching a 51-year-old to learn in the same way that a nursery kid would learn. That’s hard.”

He remembered one pivotal moment: “I’m looking in the mirror and I’m trying to get the word ‘egg’. The ‘e’, because you’ve got to do the sound. Really, I felt like throwing the book down and saying, ‘No I’m not doing this, this is just too hard’. Now, I’m beginning to really enjoy it.“

When we spoke, Jay was beginning the third of five books he will complete on his course. Now, what used to be symbols on a page that made no sense to him are finally becoming clear. “I’ve learned syllables and vowels, and I can read stuff,” he said with a proud grin. His new skills have also enabled him to read a letter his daughter wrote for him for the first time, in what he described as an emotional experience.

He added: “You know when you’ve won a race, even when you’re little? That’s how it feels every time I get a word right. It’s not really a medal, it’s the virtual pat on the back you get, that’s the best feeling.”

The hidden challenges of dyslexia

But as well as each and every reading victory, Jay is also aware that being unable to read as an adult still has its embarrassing moments. He hopes that any raised awareness from his experience will make it easier for children and adults who struggle with reading to be more open about their challenges.

He explained: “Dyslexia is a hidden disability. Not many people take it seriously. I was on a training course the other day and someone said to me, ‘Alright, there’s some text, I’ll give you a minute to read it.’ Sometimes it’s taken for granted that people can read.

“Standing up in front of people and saying, ‘I can’t read that, can you read it out for me?’ can be embarrassing, especially when you’re in a professional forum. That saddens me, and I hope this documentary brings some kind of attention to that.”