A video game that attacks dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that weighs heavily on the daily school and family lives of the children concerned. Convincing them to go back to work after school can be an obstacle course for parents. So the young French start-up “Poppins” had the idea of ​​designing a “serious” video game intended for 7-11 year olds, with which little players work on their reading, writing and coordination difficulties without actually notice it, she assures us.

Dyslexia generally reveals itself in first grade and affects 4 to 5% of children. Hearing confusions between “p” and “b”, or “t” and “d”, letter inversions by writing “fitre” instead of “frite”, difficulty reading or understanding words are some typical examples. Dr Catherine Grosmaitre from the Poppins team, neuropsychologist, head of the reference center for language and learning disorders at the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital in Paris, emphasizes that “in half of the cases, dyslexia is associated with a other disorder such as dyspraxia affecting the coordination of movements. When treated, dyslexia can fortunately improve with age.

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While parents are tearing their hair out when trying to practice dictation, Poppins suggests making the child “play” his difficulties. The “serious game” (from the English serious game) has several advantages: its playful aspect, its fluid and pleasant graphics (it was designed in cooperation with Ubisoft, a big name in French video games), and a progression that takes the form of passing levels or gaining points, far from stigmatizing school grades.

As in a classic game, the player makes a small imaginary character (beaver, alien or humanoid) evolve in a colorful environment of lush forests or old ancient temples. Several programs allow children to cultivate their listening skills, sense of rhythm, writing and reading. Rhythm and coordination are, for example, worked on by shaking the tablet to make a character jump at the precise moment a third note sounds. The progression is subtle because in the first levels, a mushroom visually signals the impulse to jump. Then, in the following levels, the player will only be able to rely on his listening skills because the jumping character will be hidden by a cloud.

Emmanuelle David, teacher in Brive la Gaillarde and mother of Clément, 10 years old and dyslexic, reports, moved that “Poppins has become a daily activity at home”. “Clément progressed in a few weeks,” she said during a press conference presenting the game. “When writing, he stopped skipping letters. He segments words better, makes fewer reading errors and has become more resilient with better working memory. His school results are better: a year ago he made 27 mistakes on a prepared dictation, but two weeks ago he came home without any mistakes.” She also appreciates the digital interface associated with the game for parents which allows exchanges, video conferences, news, podcasts, etc.

To respond to parents' difficulty in finding their way in the jungle of tools offered on the internet, Poppins has had its game validated by the National Medicines Agency, in the category "digital therapy intended for the rehabilitation of specific learning disorder by a cognitive and rhythmic training. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the game will be evaluated and compared to a placebo game (which does not intend to treat dyslexia). The preliminary results are encouraging regarding the reading speed and accuracy of dyslexic children, assures the start-up. François Vonthron, its co-founder, specifies that “it takes at least 3 months to observe progress in a child.”

Still, like any video game, Poppins has its limits. Faced with the risk of screen addiction, the company recommends limiting game use to 20 minutes per day. This tool must also be used as a complementary aid to speech therapy, and not as a substitute. The application is currently available for download on smartphones and tablets (IOS and Android), for a subscription ranging from 26 to 39 euros per month depending on the duration of the commitment. The cost is partially covered by certain mutual insurance companies.

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