Last updated on 1 May 2026
How can we better welcome DYS students? GMF provides free resources for teachers.
In a class, we know this: We want to do well, but we often lack time. And when a student has a DYS disorder (dyslexia, dysorthography, … dyspraxia), goodwill is not always enough. Between the supports to be adapted, the instructions to be reformulated, the student’s fatigue (and sometimes his own), one can quickly feel helpless. I can testify to that, ….
It is estimated that one to two pupils per class are involved. However, many teachers find themselves alone in these situations, without always knowing where to start or what tools to use. It is in order to meet this specific need that GMF Assurances has compiled a complete educational file, which is freely available for download online.
The idea is not to add one more layer of recommendations. On the contrary: this kit is mainly used for save time, to find your way around, and choose simple layouts This relieves the student without turning each session into a worksite.
Table of Contents
A clear pedagogical kit on DYS students, to get to the essentials
The GMF file “Accepting and accompanying DYS children” brings together content to better understand these disorders (identification, partners, … devices) and is accompanied by Factsheets for teachers from primary school onwards : warning signs, advice, adaptation paths, tools that can be used in the classroom.
Please note: the file was made in partnership with Nathan and the sheets are very pratico-practical (we go straight to the concrete, without jargon).
It feels like it was written by people in the field.
In the “dyslexia/dysorthography” sheet, for example: Arial, interline 2… and even the idea of highlighting one line out of two to guide the reading. And on the dyspraxia side, we find simple spatial landmarks (beginning/end of line) and really airy supports.
This “folder + sheets” format is valuable for a simple reason: we can Draw Quickly what we need, without having to go through ten different sources. And this is often what is missing: a synthetic, accessible basis that helps to make concrete choices.
There is also a working philosophy that speaks to me a lot: adapt without overloading. In the kit, the idea comes up regularly: it is better to have some coherent, tenable arrangements rather than an accumulation of tools that cannot be maintained over time.
Basically, it is enough “insuredly human” as an approach: the aim is less to ‘make perfect’ than to create realistic conditions for the pupil to learn, and for the teacher to be able to keep up with everyday life.
A good strategy: starting from the need (not from the catalogue)
This educational kit for DYS does not claim to solve everything. There is no one-size-fits-all recipe for DYS students, as the factsheets explicitly state. Entry through the pupil’s need, not through the catalogue of adaptations, remains the basic principle.
Faced with the multitude of tools available, the temptation is great to try everything at the risk of quickly running out and raises it too.
The kit recalls a very effective principle: starting from the pupil’s need, observe what really blocks, talk about it with parents and professionals who follow the child, and then test one or two layouts, analyse the … effect and adjust.
This is a simple logic, but avoids a lot of dispersion.
Easy adaptations to put in place (and that change everything)
Among the proposed avenues, several developments come back as effective ‘classics’, because they reduce the cognitive load.
1) Take care of the readability of the supports
A few adjustments are often enough:
a no-frills font and a comfortable size;
a ventilated document (margins, line spacing);
avoid unnecessary visual clutter;
guiding the gaze (e.g. highlighting or landmarks).
This is not spectacular, but for a student who is already struggling to decode or write, the layout can make the difference between “I give up” and “I put myself in it”.
2) Adapt reading and understanding
The kit offers common sense, very “field” tracks:
accept half-voice reading if it helps;
preference should be given to passages rather than text that is too long;
use oralisation (teacher, peer, digital tools);
record certain lessons;
redraft instructions and check understanding.
These are actions that often benefit the whole class, not just DYS students.
3) Lighten the copy and vary the terms
Many DYS students can understand, reason, explain … but find themselves blocked by writing (copying, dictation, note-taking). In this case, the objective is not “to do less”, but to allow to do otherwise :
texts with holes, already structured supports;
reduction in the quantity to be copied;
dictations (dictation with holes, dictation at fault …);
use of the computer if relevant and already worked.
Again, the value of the kit is to give concrete ideas that can be quickly transposed.
If you have a student concerned (or if you simply want to anticipate), the easiest way is to go directly to the dedicated GMF page and download the sheets:
https://www.gmf.fr/education-nationale-dys
(To get the kit, answer the questions in the chat that opens at the bottom right. You will immediately get the download link)
Nothing revolutionary: but a good resource clear, structured … and above all useful to save time where we lack the most.
Obviously, this kit does not replace a PAP/PPS or the lighting of professionals who follow the student. But to get off to a good start, avoid classic mistakes and test 1 or 2 tenable fittings, this is a very good basis.
Please note: GMF does not only offer this kit around DYS disorders. Other free teaching resources on a variety of topics (prevention, media literacy, etc.) and sometimes in the form of kits or ready-to-use tools can be found in its teachers’ area. This is the case for an excellent first aid kit rescue. Gmf is also present at various teachers’ fairs and congresses where it also distributes these kits free of charge.
See also Tice Tools: Dysmaths helps students "write like others" in math and our selection ofReading aids for children DYS.
This article is proposed in partnership with GMF
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