“It’s not me who will decide”, “fundamental rights”… As soon as he was appointed, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, stood out for having made several French mistakes during his recent speeches . Errors that he attributed to dyslexia, diagnosed when he was a child. “Through work and rehabilitation, I have almost erased all of my oral defects. However, it comes back when there is a moment of fatigue or significant stress, and I can’t do anything about it!”, he told Le Parisien. The choice of the word “dyslexia” is surprising, because it only affects the written sphere, and not language. When speech is affected, we rather speak of “dysphasia”, another disorder less known than dyslexia (but to which it can be added). Focus on this language development disorder which affects, according to estimates, between 1 and 7% of the population.
“Dysphasia is to oral language what dyslexia is to writing,” says Dr Olivier Revol, child psychiatrist, head of the reference center for learning disorders at Lyon University Hospital. “There are several forms of dysphasia, but generally they are people who have difficulty finding their words or who confuse words, who tend to make short sentences or even have difficulty conjugating verbs,” explains the specialist. , which specifies that we now speak instead of “specific oral language disorders”.
The specialist emphasizes that these difficulties in no way reflect the level of intelligence. “Dysphasia can give a false impression of mental retardation in children. But this absolutely does not affect intelligence. They are intelligent people who understand everything but whose region of the brain involved in language functions less well,” continues the doctor. In addition to difficulty expressing themselves, some also have problems understanding.
While growing up with two languages in your home is an undeniable asset for children in general, this is not really the case for those with dysphasia. “When parents each speak a language, we ask them to choose one for their child, otherwise it becomes a source of even greater problems for them,” reports Dr. Revol. However, if Stéphane Séjourné was born in Yvelines, he subsequently grew up in Spanish-speaking countries.
Dysphasia takes root in fetal life and manifests itself by changes in the functioning of one or more brain areas. “Current brain MRI techniques show that these are children who, when we ask them in terms of language, do not have the same brain regions that are activated as in ordinary children,” indicates Dr. Sybille Gonzalez , neurologist in the pediatric rehabilitation department at the Lyon mother-child hospital. No medical event (problem during childbirth, brain malformation, damage following a stroke in the newborn, etc.) can explain this disorder. The possibility of a genetic cause is the most plausible explanation. “When a child is diagnosed, there are often other cases in the family. There are certainly genetic factors behind this hereditary transmission,” specifies Dr. Revol. Note that boys are three times more affected than girls.
Many people combine dysphasia and dyslexia, one leading to the other. “Dysphasia can hinder the child’s acquisition of the phonological knowledge necessary for learning to read, which is why children with dysphasia are often at risk of developing dyslexia,” explains Dr. Sybille Gonzalez.
Contrary to popular belief, “dys” disorders are not temporary. “Some think that this will disappear as the child grows up, as he learns. But even if some manage to completely compensate for their disorder through speech therapy sessions, some adults will carry stigma throughout their lives,” illustrates Dr. Gonzalez. And be careful not to confuse dysphasia with simple delays in language acquisition which are transitory. “For example, in a child who says “mane” instead of “train”, speech therapy sessions for six months will be enough to improve the symptom. Whereas when you have a “dys” disorder, it’s forever. But we have our whole life to find strategies to get around them,” reassures Dr Olivier Revol. Among children who start speaking late (around 2-3 years old), about half catch up spontaneously.
The earlier adaptation strategies are put in place (during weekly sessions with a speech therapist), the better the child will be able to cope with their disorder. Hence the importance of making the diagnosis as early as possible. “If a two-year-old child does not speak, he must be examined by his attending physician who will begin by checking whether he can hear well,” recommends Dr. Revol. Repeated ear infections can in fact lead to a thickening of the eardrum, causing poor hearing. But how do you speak when you hear poorly or not? “If everything is normal in this area, it is worth requesting a speech therapy assessment. And at two and a half years, a psychologist will be able to carry out an IQ test,” continues the doctor. “If the child obtains a poor score in all the tests dedicated to language and not in the others, this directs us towards the diagnosis of dysphasia.” Brain imaging is not used, with some exceptions.
It is entirely possible to live normally with dysphasia, even if the school period is not always easy. “Many adults with dysphasia go completely unnoticed,” emphasizes Dr. Revol. “Gradually, automatisms will be put in place. But it is true that with fatigue or when a new situation presents itself, the disorder can resurface.”