INTERVIEW
In France, around 8% of pupils in an age group suffer from learning disabilities. In 4 to 6% of cases, it is dyslexia, estimates the French Federation of DYS. "Unfortunately, many dyslexics are still undiagnosed," regrets Doctor Louis Vera, child psychiatrist at the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital, guest of Sans Rendez-vous Tuesday. Dyslexia is a learning disability in reading and writing, especially spelling. "Children fall behind in the smallest classes," says Louis Vera. A student who cannot read fluently, who cannot read without stopping to decipher a word or a syllable, who has very choppy reading or who struggles to understand the meaning of what he reads, can do subject to a diagnosis.
How to diagnose dyslexia?
When in doubt, children should be given an oral and written language assessment by a speech-language pathologist. Among the youngest, difficulties in learning to read and write are the main signs. In adolescents who have not been diagnosed before, there are often great difficulties in learning a foreign language.
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More common in boys (four out of five cases), dyslexia is also transmitted from generation to generation. "Dyslexia is often an inherited disorder. It is looked for in families," explains Louis Véra. Sometimes a child's diagnosis can identify a disorder from which one of his parents suffered without having named him.
Be careful not to rush. "A child who does not read fluently in CP is normal," said Louis Véra. He invites parents to turn to a speech therapist if the child still has difficulties at the end of CE1.
Can we treat dyslexia?
No, but we can learn to compensate for it. "When you're dyslexic, you stay that way for life," says Louis Véra. Once the diagnosis is made, weekly sessions with a speech therapist are recommended. School accommodations can also be adopted. "We can help the youngster by reading the instructions aloud for example, or give him hole dictations rather than standard dictations," advises Louis Véra.
Unfortunately, he explains, the teachers are still insufficiently trained. "They are not sufficiently informed about the facilities to put in place," regrets the child psychiatrist. Removing points from a dyslexic student on a math check because of their spelling, for example, has a particularly discouraging effect. "I always remind my little patients that you can't be good everywhere ... You don't have to worry: when you are dyslexic you have many other strong points."