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The 11th edition of National “Dys” Day will be held on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. Created by the Fédération Française des DYS, it mobilizes parents who are members of associations together with professionals from across France. The various learning disabilities that begin with “dys”, and which are now better understood by the general public, affect around 6 million people in France [1](METTRE CHIFFRE). An event is held in Paris each year, attended by around 10,000 people. This year, it will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Université Paris 8.

There are five main learning disabilities: dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysphasia, and the attention disorders. Dyslexia, dyspraxia and dysphasia are the most common. In cases in which these difficulties persist, solutions can be envisaged to improve and/or compensate the impaired functions.

* Dyslexia

Dyslexia is the poor association between graphemes (written characters) and phonemes (sounds). It also involves the inability to quickly grasp a word in its entirety, meaning that the person deconstructs the words slowly and makes mistakes. That is why dyslexia is very often confused with dysorthographia.

In 2015, Inserm showcased a solution proposed by an Inserm team, which involves correcting dyslexia with the help of music. Since music and language are processed in the same part of the brain, a relationship has been established.

To learn more, consult our article : “Corriger la dyslexie en rythme” [Correcting dyslexia in rhythm (in French)]

One cause of dyslexia could be a visual attention disorder. A team of Inserm researchers is studying this hypothesis, which has been partially confirmed.

To learn more, consult our article : “La dyslexie pourrait être liée à un problème d’attention” [Dyslexia could also be related to an attention disorder (in French)]

Read our press release : “Une seule anomalie à l’origine des trois manifestations principales de la dyslexie” [Just one abnormality responsible for the three main signs of dyslexia (in French)]

* Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is the difficulty to program, plan and coordinate complex movements, which prevent sufferers from automatizing a large number of voluntary movements, such as writing, and thus leading to dysgraphia.

Caroline Huron, researcher at Inserm Unit 992 Cognitive Neuroimaging, is also president of the association Cartable Fantastique, founded in 2010. This association combines the expertise of researchers in cognitive sciences with that of teachers to facilitate the schooling of children with dyspraxia. As part of a partnership with the French Ministry of National Education, a bank of language study exercises, Les Fantastiques Exercices, intended for elementary school pupils, has been made available to everyone. These exercises have been created in a digital format to meet the specific needs of dyspraxic pupils and then adapted on paper for the other members of the class, so that everyone can do the same exercise at the same time.

* Dysphasia

Dysphasia represents a verbal language development disorder, i.e. difficulty with verbal expression (indistinct words, syntax disorders, poorly constructed words…). Dyslexia very often appears in the wake of this disorder.

For more information, consult our report : “Troubles des apprentissages : les troubles “dys”” [Learning disabilities: the various “dys’s” (in French)]

[1]Source: www.ffdys.com

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