Clement’s mother, 10 years old and dyslexic, notices progress thanks to the video game

A video game specially developed for children with learning disabilities has proven itself: spelling progress and better sound recognition are observed.

A video game to help children with learning disabilities. France has more than a million of them. A first in the country, the start-up Poppins offers a fun app to “dys” kids aged 7 to 11 years. This device has been validated by scientific studies and developed with specialized doctors. It is reimbursed by certain mutual insurance companies and has already proven itself with parents of dyslexic children.

First, it is a typical video game: a cartoon setting in which a journey is completed. “On the screen, the smaller character follows two others with holes, Narrates François Vonthron, president of Poppins. If you don’t move at the right time, you will fall into the water.”

“By following the rhythmic sequence, you’ll really work on anticipating the sounds in the speech.”

François Vonthron, President of Poppins

at franceinfo

The manager talks about the drug game, but most of all, he calls the greatest video game specialists: Ubisoft and Warner Bros. And it worked well with 10-year-old, dyslexic Clement. His mother Emmanuelle saw progress very quickly. “In the beginning, it was every day. ‘Mom, I want to play Poppins. Mom, it stops after 20 minutes, unblock the game!’. Today, it comes in the evening after homework. Three to five times a week, that’s how the progress happens. He makes fewer errors in reading, he recognizes sounds better and there is better progress in spelling.”

The video game was tested in a clinical trial

During a clinical trial this video game was tested for eight weeks and showed: There was an improvement in reading accuracy and speed. “Poppins relied on previous studies by other researchers on the very specific difficulties dyslexics had in processing rhythm on the one hand and the fact that if we worked on rhythm, we improved pronunciation skills and reading” explains neuropsychologist Catherine Grossmaitre, head of the Reference Center for Language and Learning Disorders at the Neckar-Infants Malades Hospital.

The idea is to use Poppins in addition to speech therapy sessions. A one-year subscription to the video game costs 26 euros per month, with some mutual funds fully reimbursing it, the start-up’s founders hope to be reimbursed from social security in 2025.