The expression and learning difficulties of Katelya, 7 and a half years old, first manifested themselves when she was in the middle section of kindergarten: “At school it was very complicated, they made fun of her a lot,” explains her mother. , Amandine Robejean, to BFMTV.
Katelya is dyslexic, dyscalculic and dysphasic. These three medical terms designate, in order, a reading disorder that involves difficulty expressing oneself and incomplete understanding, a disorder manifested by difficulties in counting and calculating, and, finally, a disorder that manifests itself as a language disorder, both in expression as in understanding.
Before being diagnosed, the little girl had the impression of being “very different, really different from the others. She verbalized it, she told us: ‘I’m a terrible mom anyway,'” explains her mother.
7 million people affected in France
Dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysphasia are part of the category of “learning disorders”, commonly “dys disorders”. Far from being isolated phenomena, they affect almost 7 million people in France, or around 10% of the French population. Among them, almost a million children, which corresponds to an average of one or two students per class. Despite the frequency of these disorders, their treatment is not always known or adapted.
“It’s really this feeling of loneliness at the end, of having to find professionals, of moving forward, of not knowing where we are going, of having half evaluations, evaluations that are not completely complete,” laments Amandine Robejean.
Speaking to BFMTV, Catherine Grosmaitre, a neuropsychologist at the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital in Paris, explains that for parents, it is possible to question a possible disorder if significant weaknesses are observed after six months of learning to read (dyslexia, dysorthography). ), mathematics (dyscalculia) or the manipulation of objects such as pencils, rulers and other school supplies. Therefore, this observation usually occurs in the middle of the CP class.
“As soon as these weaknesses appear, we will implement interventions at school and it is when we see that the child is not progressing despite his interventions that we must alert ourselves and go to his doctor,” indicates the specialist.
Language disorders such as dysphasia can be detected earlier, from 24 months, the age at which the child “will have difficulties associating words, constructing sentences”, but it is not until 4 or 5 years when it can really be done. a first diagnosis, explains Catalina Grosmaitre.
“What should sound the alarm is the long-lasting nature of the difficulties. (…) It is the evolution of the difficulties over time that will allow (doctors) to orient themselves towards a disorder,” summarizes the doctor.
The child can progress absolutely
Once the diagnosis is made, it is time for rehabilitation, which can greatly improve the situation. Although these disorders are defined by their duration over time, “this does not in any way mean that the child does not progress and his abilities improve, in particular thanks to rehabilitation,” according to Catherine Grosmaitre.
But it is still necessary to have access to specialists, as Katelya’s mother explains: “I live in the countryside, so these professionals are usually available in the city: it is 30 or 40 kilometers away. I am lucky to have a speech therapist not very far away, so it is less cumbersome, but the neuropsychologist is about thirty kilometers away, the orthoptist 45”.
“Today is better because we have a real following and I feel heard a little better, but it is not there yet,” adds Amandine Robejean.
But it is also common for families to wait up to two years before obtaining an evaluation from health professionals, because in France there is a shortage of staff, especially speech therapists. So much time during which the child has no support.
A video game to help dyslexics
To facilitate waiting for these sessions with specialists or to complete this support, Elodie Bernard created Poppins, a video game available for smartphones and tablets and which aims to specifically help people, in particular children, affected by dyslexic disorders.
For 25 to 40 euros per month, an amount reimbursed by some mutual insurance companies, Poppins offers varied activities with fun characters that evolve in a colorful and interactive world, using video game codes. The medical effectiveness of the application has been proven through a clinical trial, a procedure similar to that which medications undergo, for example. It is recommended to play it for about 20 minutes a day.
The game’s teams hope their therapeutic creation will one day benefit from health insurance reimbursement, as was the case with TILAK, an app designed for the visually impaired and the first system of its kind to be reimbursed.
Source: BFM TV
