While there are structures to support children with DYS disorders, the school system itself remains poorly suited to these pupils. As a result, schools specialised in these disorders, often outside the standard contract system, are opening up across France. Like the Edeys school near Bordeaux, created by the parents of a dyslexic child…

The birth of Edeys, a school specialised in DYS disorders

A one-of-a-kind school, Edeys welcomes 18 pupils aged 10 to 15 (from CM1 to 3e) with DYS disorders (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia…). Split into two classes, these teenagers scrupulously follow the French national curriculum, but with a methodology adapted to their difficulties.

A secular, independent school outside the standard contract system, the Edeys school is dedicated exclusively to children with a learning disorder who are unable to thrive or learn within the traditional school system.

This initiative was driven by the parents of Sacha, who has a very severe form of dyslexia, after two particularly difficult years in a mainstream secondary school. Together with a couple of friends, Éric and Stéphanie Bouget decided to create Edeys, in the town of Eysines (near Bordeaux), to offer children with DYS personalised support.

The goal: rediscovering wellbeing at school

When it opened in September 2021, the school trialled a teaching method adapted to its pupils’ difficulties: it relies on 4 teachers per class, each teaching several subjects, to help these pupils build connection.

Olivier Le Pape, Edeys’ director and a science teacher, points out that “the idea was to allow pupils who had been worn down by the mainstream school system to rediscover wellbeing at school.”[1]

With kindness and attentive listening, “in a year, we saw a huge change in some pupils: they’re less confrontational and less in conflict with the teacher,” observes Anastasia, who teaches French and history there.

Adapted teaching methods

At Edeys, all pupils have access to a computer, with voice-dictation software and spell-checkers, real compensation tools for children with DYS.

But beyond the equipment provided and the small class sizes, the teaching team has also adapted the way they teach. For example, Anastasia offers “negotiated dictations“: she dictates a sentence, displays each pupil’s answer on the board, and discusses the mistakes observed together with them. The goal is “to understand the logic of the language [to] create a mechanism [and retain] the rule,” she explains.

Edeys also offers adapted daily schedules to manage the fatigue experienced by children with DYS, which is more pronounced than average, and to reduce their stress: on one hand, core subjects (French and maths) in the morning, sport and art in the afternoon; on the other, homework done during school hours with the teachers, to prevent days dragging on at home.

 

Finally, this school specialised in DYS disorders is supported by professionals: an occupational therapist (present one morning a week), as well as a speech and language therapist and a neuropsychologist (regularly present on site).

[1] Citation: https://www.letudiant.fr/college/immersion-au-coeur-d-une-ecole-pour-les-eleves-atteints-de-troubles-dys.html