What if I were dys…

Awareness workshop on dys disorders and attention difficulties

Project genesis

For many years, members of the DENDY axis (Development, Neurocognition, Dysfunctions) have been conducting research on language acquisition and cognitive neurodevelopment, both in typical populations and those with atypical developmental trajectories. Building on this expertise, we have developed connections with parent associations, notably during the National Dys Day. These exchanges led us to design awareness workshops on neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular focus on dys disorders and attention difficulties. The goal of these workshops is to have participants "put themselves in the shoes" of people with these disorders by having them experience daily situations, encouraging discussions about their feelings, and deconstructing common misconceptions.

Since 2015, we have been running these workshops every year during the National Dys Day, but also within the Lyon metropolitan area and the Rhône-Auvergne region, for primary, middle, and high school students, teachers from primary and secondary education, as well as professionals involved in integration wishing to better understand dys disorders. Given the very positive feedback from these interventions, we decided to formalize these workshops into an educational kit to broaden its dissemination.

This tool aims to raise awareness among a broad audience, whether professional or not, about the reality of dys disorders and attention difficulties. It is intended for teachers of all levels—from elementary school to higher education—for use among colleagues or with students. It may also interest staff of media libraries, community centers (MJC), disability missions, or associations seeking resources to better understand and support people with these disorders. Parents will also find it a valuable opportunity to immerse themselves in the difficulties their child faces.

This educational kit is therefore a tool accessible to anyone wishing to raise awareness among their community about dys disorders and attention difficulties by enabling:

• experiencing daily situations faced by people with these disorders,
• sharing feelings and experiences,
• better understanding these neurodevelopmental disorders.

Contents of the kit

Among neurodevelopmental disorders, this kit focuses on the following five:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder · DCD or dyspraxia
• Developmental Language Disorder · DLD or dysphasia
• Specific Learning Disorder in Reading · SLD-R or dyslexia
• Specific Learning Disorder in Mathematics · SLD-M or dyscalculia
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder · ADHD

Each disorder is the subject of a workshop comprising three activities. These activities present a range of difficulties that people with these disorders may experience.

The kit contains an explanatory booklet presenting first the neurodevelopmental disorders. Then, there are leaflets describing the workshops’ flow, necessary materials, and scientific explanations related to the corresponding disorders.

Figure 1 - Example of an activity proposed in the workshop on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

In practice, once the necessary materials are gathered, we recommend that one person take charge to raise awareness among other participants. The activities can be offered to a wide audience (children or adults), but favoring small groups (maximum 8 people per workshop) to facilitate exchanges. Each workshop takes about 30 minutes, i.e., half a day to complete all five workshops.

A collaborative work

The development of the workshops and the writing of the kit content resulted from a collective effort involving permanent members (teacher-)researchers, and IT staff (V. Boulenger, J. Krzonowski, A. C. Roy, and A. Witko) and PhD students from the DENDY axis (H. Guiraud, L. Lemarchand, M. Martel, M. Naffrechoux, and A. Marcastel), the participation of an associate researcher (E. Ailhaud), and speech therapy interns (ISTR Lyon - University Lyon 1). Illustrations were done by a professional illustrator (Mélanie Constantin), and graphic design benefited from the support of the communication service of University Lyon 2.

The printing of five copies was made possible thanks to the Pépinière des Talents, a non-profit association for awareness of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).

A downloadable version of the educational toolkit (including the explanatory booklet and all the materials), to be printed at home or in a professional setting, intended in particular for education professionals and relatives, is available at this address or here: