Scottish agricultural charity RSABI is working with Dyslexia Scotland to raise awareness of the challenges many people involved in farming face with dyslexia.
During the months of November and December 2023, RSABI will be offering farmers and crofters who may have dyslexia, but have never been assessed, a free professional assessment.
Around 25% of Scotland’s farmers are estimated to have dyslexia, according to research undertaken several years ago by Dyslexia Scotland working with farming organisations.
However, one of the challenges is that many farmers, particularly those over 40 years old, may never have been formally assessed for dyslexia and may even be unaware that they have dyslexia.
Around 25% of farmers are estimated to have dyslexia
Pete Black, who farms at Newton of Collessie, spoke openly about having dyslexia when the family appeared in the “This Farming Life” series.
Pete says he didn’t realise he had dyslexia until he was an adult by which time he had developed a range of coping strategies.
“When I was at school in the 1990s dyslexia wasn’t spoken about very much but I knew I was always last to finish my reading,” said Pete.
“The words would jumble in my head when I was looking at them and then they would jumble even more when I tried writing them down.”
He said there are times, such as when he wants to clarify something on official websites which involve monochrome and block text, particularly with complex jargon, can be very difficult to process.
He said it is great to see children these days benefitting from dyslexia being picked up much quicker and at an early stage in primary education, so that children can be taught techniques and strategies to help them from a young age.
Free assessments worth around £500 available through RSABI
“Teachers these days are spot on and for my age group and older the awareness is becoming better, which is fantastic,” he said.
“I am lucky to do a job I love but it was a great relief to me to discover that I had dyslexia and to know that the reason I was struggling wasn’t down to a lack of effort or not trying hard enough.”
To arrange a free assessment, which typically costs around £500, people involved in farming or crofting in Scotland should contact RSABI’s 24-hour freephone helpline on 0808 1234 555.
