BBC Gardeners' World presenter Adam Frost has spoken candidly about the "rough time" his family has endured, sharing how his son's neurodiversity journey mirrors his own past struggles with the education system.
A Shared Struggle with the Education System
Adam Frost's son, Oakley, was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) just before his GCSEs. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting brain development, often leading to challenges with focus and concentration. Adam revealed that Oakley "struggled at school" and, like many, "didn't suit the system," facing a particularly stressful period during his A Levels.
This experience echoed Adam's own youth, where he faced significant challenges due to dyslexia, a learning difficulty primarily affecting reading, writing, and spelling. He described himself at sixteen as "a bit lost and a bit angry," until finding direction through gardening under the mentorship of the late Geoff Hamilton.
Finding Purpose Through Hands-On Skill
Seeing his son's distress, Adam encouraged Oakley to leave formal education and pursue an apprenticeship. Oakley initially tried landscaping, which he enjoyed, before Adam suggested stonemasonry, a craft suited to their local area.
The transformation was profound and rapid. "Just three months into the apprenticeship, Adam noticed a huge change in his son. "He's carving stuff, he's making stuff, he's literally a different human being," the proud father shared on the My Time Capsule podcast. He observed that Oakley had finally found his purpose, coming home excited to share his new skills.
A Family's Broader Health Battles
Adam Frost has been open about his family's wider health struggles over the years. He has three other children with his long-term wife, Sulina: Jacob, Abi-Jde, and Amber-Lily.
In a previous interview on the Loose Ends podcast, he disclosed that his wife Sulina had been hospitalised with sepsis. This traumatic event coincided with a difficult period for one of his daughters, who, at age fifteen, developed an eating disorder. These cumulative challenges led the family to make a conscious decision to scale back their lives and relocate, prioritising time together, even if it meant Adam having a smaller garden to tend.
Adam Frost's story highlights the transformative power of practical, hands-on careers for individuals who think differently, proving that success can be carved from stone, or grown from the earth, outside traditional academic pathways.
