Sir Jackie Stewart, three-times world champion racing driver, can clearly remember the morning when, as a nine-year-old, he stood in front of the class in Dumbarton and felt the tears welling in his eyes at the jumble of letters before him. As a way of helping other people with dyslexia, he frequently recounts how "everyone was saying I was dumb, stupid and thick and, in the absence of any other explanation, I started to believe they must be right".

Yesterday, as president of Dyslexia Scotland, he was in Perth to launch a new booklet for teachers on the condition. Although it is nearly 60 years since the young Jackie trembled at having to read aloud, it appears that Scottish education has not moved on as far as it should. Many teachers are doing a marvellous job, but there are still some who are so dismissive of the idea of dyslexia that children become miserable to the point of developing serious problems such as eating disorders. Dyslexia Scotland says it receives calls every week from distraught parents complaining their dyslexic children are being victimised by teachers.

One problem is that dyslexia is not merely a simple transposition of letters; it can take many forms and may sometimes not show until the demands of the secondary curriculum are too great for the coping strategies children develop at primary school. With proper help, many are able to go on to higher education, yet some teachers still believe that the growing numbers of dyslexics are due to middle-class parents who want their children diagnosed as something other than underachieving. Schools have increasing numbers of children with special needs who require extra support, and that must be allocated fairly, but once dyslexic children have the right strategies, many can overcome their difficulties. Without appropriate help, frustration and feelings of inadequacy too often lead to problem behaviour.

We have known for many years now that a proportion of the population, possibly one in 10, has genuine problems deciphering and transcribing letters or placing numbers in the right column. Sometimes simple aids, such as translucent coloured sheets can transform their abilities. There is no excuse for teachers who are dismissive of such aids, but teachers also need all the help they can get. The booklet from Dyslexia Scotland is a welcome example of how a self-help group can improve matters rather than merely act as a pressure group.

Jackie Stewart is not the only household name to have been humiliated and branded as stupid at school, only to prove his teachers wrong in adulthood. Two generations on, teachers who dismiss dyslexia as an excuse for pushy parents have not learned their lessons. Dyslexia Scotland's booklet should be required reading for all, but so should training and expert advice in how best to help different forms of the condition. Instead of dismissing it, pupils, teachers and parents will all benefit by tackling the problem constructively.