The role of complementary therapies in supporting DYS disorders

Understanding DYS disorders: a plural reality

The term "DYS disorders" encompasses a set of neurodevelopmental learning disorders that share a common characteristic: they affect children whose intelligence is normal or above normal, but whose brains process certain information (sounds, letters, numbers, gestures) atypically. These are not disorders of will or laziness — they are differences in neurological functioning that manifest in academic learning and, more broadly, in daily life.

Dyslexia affects reading — more precisely phonological decoding, which is the ability to transform sounds into letters and vice versa. Dysorthographia is often the written translation of this. Dyscalculia affects the understanding of numbers and arithmetic operations. Dyspraxia (or Developmental Coordination Disorder) disrupts the coordination and planning of gestures — including writing. Dysphasia affects the development of oral language.

Speech therapy: the central pillar, but not the only answer

Speech therapy is the reference treatment for dyslexia, dysorthographia, and dysphasia. The speech therapist conducts the initial assessment that objectively identifies the difficulties, formulates diagnostic hypotheses, and defines the rehabilitation goals. Speech therapy directly targets the deficient mechanisms: phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, fluency, comprehension, production of oral language.

But speech therapy has its limits — not due to a lack of effectiveness, but by nature. It cannot, alone, address the motor difficulties of a dyspraxic child, the school anxiety of a dyslexic teenager exhausted by years of failures, the spatial coordination problems of a child with visuo-spatial difficulties, or the attention disorders that often accompany DYS disorders. This is where complementary therapies come into play.

The coordination between speech therapist and family: a fundamental issue

Before discussing complementary therapies, it is fundamental to mention the coordination between the speech therapist and the family. The exercises worked on in sessions only produce their effects if they are reinforced at home regularly and kindly. The Speech Therapist-Family Communication Notebook DYNSEO is a tool designed precisely to facilitate this communication — it allows the speech therapist to convey the week's objectives, the family to note their observations, and everyone to share the tracking of progress.

Occupational therapy: making daily tasks accessible

Occupational therapy is the most essential complementary therapy in cases of dyspraxia — and valuable in many other DYS disorders. The occupational therapist works on the adaptation of daily activities to the motor and cognitive abilities of the child. Their domain covers writing, daily living activities (dressing, cooking, using transportation), spatial and temporal organization, and compensatory tools.

Writing: the battlefield of the occupational therapist

For dyspraxic children, handwriting is often an exhausting activity that mobilizes all available cognitive resources — to the detriment of reflection on content. The occupational therapist works on several axes simultaneously. First, graphomotricity — the mechanics of the writing gesture: pencil grip, posture, pressure, direction of movements. Then, compensatory strategies when handwriting remains too costly: learning the keyboard, using a computer or tablet, voice recognition software.

Adapting the school workstation

The occupational therapist also plays a key role in recommending school adjustments. She may suggest a height-adjustable desk, an ergonomic chair, an easel to tilt sheets, a double-ended highlighter for children who struggle to follow lines. For middle and high school students, she supports the implementation of extra time and computer tools as part of the PAP (Personalized Support Plan). These concrete recommendations transform the school experience — by reducing motor load, they free cognitive resources for learning.

Psychomotricity: body, space, and learning

Psychomotricity holds a special place in supporting DYS disorders because it works at the interface between the body, space, time, and cognition. This link, which may seem abstract, is fundamental: learning to read also means learning that letters have a direction (b ≠ d), that words are read from left to right, and that syllables follow a temporal order. These spatiotemporal skills are precisely what psychomotricity reinforces.

Lateralization and body schema

Lateralization — the preference and mastery of using one side of the body — is often disrupted or delayed in DYS disorders. A child whose lateralization is not well established at 6-7 years old will have difficulties distinguishing left from right, orienting in the space of a page, and following conventional reading direction. The psychomotrician works on establishing this lateralization through body games, movement dissociation exercises, and spatial orientation activities.

The body schema — the mental representation a child has of their own body — is also a substrate for learning. A child who does not have a clear representation of their body (where their hand is in relation to their arm, how their body is oriented in space) will struggle to internalize the direction and orientation of letters and numbers. Psychomotricity, through body play and body awareness activities, builds these foundations.

Graphomotricity and the development of praxies

Graphomotricity — the motor skills specific to writing — is a shared focus between occupational therapy and psychomotricity depending on the countries and professional training. In France, the psychomotrician often works on graphic praxies: the trajectory of strokes, the formation of letters in space, the fluidity of sequences. Preparation exercises for writing (free drawing, guided strokes, modeling) strengthen the fine motor skills that underlie writing.

To track these progressions in a structured way, the DYNSEO Skills Tracking Table allows the psychomotrician to document the child's evolution in various areas (coordination, body schema, spatial organization) — valuable for coordination with the multidisciplinary team and for showing the child and their family the progress made.

Orthoptics: when the eyes complicate reading

Orthoptics is often the great forgotten aspect in the reflection on DYS disorders — yet it deserves a rightful place in certain cases. Oculomotor visual disorders (and not refractive) can significantly complicate reading for a child who already presents with dyslexia. Convergence — the ability of both eyes to point together at the same nearby point — is often deficient in dyslexic children. When the eyes do not converge well, words "move," double, or shift during reading, generating intense visual fatigue and difficulties in fixation.

The orthoptist conducts an assessment of oculomotor abilities (convergence, saccades, tracking) and proposes rehabilitation exercises. In some cases, prism glasses may be prescribed to correct binocular issues. These interventions do not treat dyslexia itself — but they can remove an additional visual obstacle that complicated reading beyond the underlying phonological disorder.

Sophrology and mindfulness meditation: treating school anxiety

An often underestimated aspect of DYS disorders is their emotional impact. A dyslexic child who fails to decipher a page while their peers seem to do so effortlessly, who hears "you could do better if you tried harder" dozens of times, who sees their school results reflecting something other than their actual intelligence — this child often develops school anxiety, a depression of self-esteem, and a painful relationship with learning.

Sophrology

Sophrology offers muscle relaxation and positive visualization techniques suitable for children from 6-7 years old. Dynamic relaxation reduces physical tension related to school stress. Positive visualization — seeing oneself successfully completing a reading, an exam, a paper — activates the same neural circuits as actual activity and boosts confidence. Sophrology exercises of 10 minutes before assessments can significantly reduce performance anxiety.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness meditation adapted for children (programs like Eline Snel's "Calm and Attentive like a Frog") is validated by studies to reduce anxiety, improve attention, and enhance emotional regulation — three benefits directly useful for dyslexic children. Practicing 10 to 15 minutes a day of adapted meditation improves the ability to refocus after a distraction, to tolerate the frustration of a difficult task, and to observe negative thoughts without amplifying them.

The DYNSEO Emotions Thermometer can be used with dyslexic children to help them identify and name their level of anxiety or frustration — a first step towards emotional regulation. The Choices Wheel helps the child select a regulation strategy from those they have learned (breathing, temporary withdrawal, drawing...) when anxiety rises.

Neurofeedback and neurophysiological approaches

Neurofeedback is a biofeedback technique that teaches the individual to modulate their brain activity in real time. Electrodes on the scalp measure EEG activity, and a visual or auditory signal informs the child in real time of their brain state — gradually allowing them to learn to self-regulate their brain waves. Pilot studies show positive effects on attention (ADHD) and on certain components of reading (dyslexia), but the evidence remains less solid than for other approaches.

Neurofeedback remains a complementary approach to be used with caution and discernment — ensuring that the practitioner is rigorously trained and that the family understands the limitations of the available evidence. It can be particularly useful in cases where ADHD is comorbid with dyslexia and resists other approaches.

The Davis method: an alternative approach through creativity

The Davis method (created by Ron Davis, who is dyslexic himself) offers a fundamentally different approach from conventional rehabilitation. Instead of working directly on phonological decoding, it starts from visual and spatial thinking — often highly developed in dyslexic individuals — to create associations between trigger words (articles, prepositions, and small non-visual words that pose problems) and three-dimensional representations in clay.

The Davis method is not recognized by the speech therapy community as a first-line treatment, and its scientific evidence is limited. But some parents and children report real benefits, particularly in managing "disorientation" — this spatial and temporal confusion characteristic of dyslexic thinking. It can serve as a complement for certain profiles but should never replace speech therapy rehabilitation.

Sensory approaches: sensory integration and the DORE method

Jean Ayres' sensory integration

Sensory integration is an approach developed by A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist and neuropsychologist, which posits that the way the brain processes and integrates sensory information (proprioception, vestibular, tactile, visual, auditory) underlies all learning. When this integration is disrupted — as is often the case in dyspraxia and certain DYS profiles — learning difficulties may result.

Sensory integration therapy typically takes place in a "sensory room" equipped with swings, trampolines, tunnels, and materials of various textures. The exercises engage the vestibular and proprioceptive systems to improve the brain's integration of sensory information. Studies show benefits on coordination, attention, and certain components of learning, especially in comorbidities with dyspraxia.

Auditory therapies

Several methods of auditory stimulation have been proposed for DYS disorders with a phonological component: the Tomatis method (stimulation through filtered sounds), the Auditory Training Program (PEA), and the Fast ForWord method (computerized auditory discrimination program). Their common principle is to strengthen sound discrimination through intensive training, based on the hypothesis that deficient auditory processing is at the root of phonological dyslexia.

The DYNSEO Complex Sounds Imagery is a visual educational tool that enhances phonological awareness through image-sound association — usable in sessions or at home to consolidate the gains from auditory therapies or speech therapy.

Educational kinesiology (Brain Gym)

Brain Gym is a program of simple physical exercises designed to "activate" certain brain functions and facilitate learning. The exercises specifically target the integration of both cerebral hemispheres, lateralization, and coordination. Although its theoretical foundations are contested by the neuroscience community (the concept of "specific activation" of brain areas through these exercises is scientifically debatable), some teachers and rehabilitators report benefits on attentional mobilization and readiness for learning — likely via the overall effect of physical activity on the brain.

Brain Gym can be used as a warm-up routine before work sessions — a few minutes of body exercises to prepare the brain for learning. Without expecting miracles on dyslexia itself, its effects on attentional availability and stress reduction are positive.

Digital applications: therapies of tomorrow?

Digital cognitive rehabilitation applications represent a new generation of complementary tools. Unlike weekly 45-minute sessions with a professional, they allow for daily, progressive, and engaging training. The COCO application from DYNSEO — designed for children aged 5 to 10 — offers progressive cognitive activities addressing memory, attention, and language in a playful and non-threatening environment.

These applications do not replace therapists — but they extend their action between sessions, which is fundamental: brain plasticity responds to repetition. 15 minutes of daily training on a well-designed application can effectively complement a weekly speech therapy session.

How to choose and combine therapies: a practical guide

Start with the multidisciplinary assessment

The first step before any therapeutic decision is the multidisciplinary assessment. This assessment — which may involve a speech therapist, a neuropsychologist, a pediatrician or child psychiatrist, and depending on the case, an occupational therapist or psychomotor therapist — precisely identifies the deficient and preserved cognitive functions, any comorbidities, and priority needs. It is on this basis that complementary therapies are chosen — not on the basis of "let's try everything".

The issue of therapeutic overload

The organization of therapies over time

A sequential approach is often more effective than an unlimited simultaneous approach. For example: initially, intensive speech therapy + occupational therapy for writing. Once the basics are consolidated, psychomotor therapy is integrated for body schema. Emotional support (sophrology or brief therapy) is added if school anxiety is significant. This organization avoids overload, allows for the evaluation of the effectiveness of each intervention, and adapts to the child's evolution.

The coordination table: who does what in the multidisciplinary team

The role of parents: first therapists in daily life

Therapies are weekly — life is daily. What happens at home between sessions is often more determining than the sessions themselves in the long term. Parents play an irreplaceable role in reinforcing acquisitions, adapting the home environment, and maintaining the child's motivation.

This role is demanding, and it is important that parents are trained and supported in this accompaniment. Resources like DYNSEO training allow families to understand the mechanisms of DYS disorders and adapt their daily practices. To organize and track homework, the DYNSEO session tracking sheet enables parents to note the activities completed, observations, and questions for the next appointment with the therapist.

Tools to reinforce at home

The DYNSEO spelling proofreading grid structures the proofreading of written texts according to a systematic protocol — ideal for dysorthographic children who struggle to proofread methodically. It can be used during evening homework, under the parent's supervision, before submitting work. It gradually teaches a proofreading strategy that the child will internalize over time.

The DYNSEO articulatory tracking table is useful for families of children with dysphasia or oral language disorders — it allows tracking progress on sounds worked on in speech therapy and identifying sounds that require more practice at home.

School accommodations: essential complements to therapies

Therapies, no matter how effective, can only produce their effects if the school environment is adapted. School accommodations — PAP, extra time, right to use a computer, adapted font, simplified instructions — are not "unfair advantages": they are necessary compensations that allow the dys child to demonstrate what they can do without being hindered by their specific difficulties.

The school doctor, the national education psychologist, and private professionals can collaborate to define relevant accommodations. DYNSEO cognitive tests — concentration test, executive functions test — can objectify certain difficulties and support requests for accommodations.

FAQ