Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to find that pupils start secondary school with certain undiagnosed dys disorders (dyslexia, dysorthographia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and dysphasia).
In order to help these pupils as much as possible, we can use AI:
- by creating sample exercises focused on these themes to assess the following points: (part 1 of this case study)
- reading and comprehension
- writing and dictation
- simple calculations and measurements
- manipulation and diagrams
- oral comprehension and following instructions
- by transcribing the observed results and submitting them to AI (part 2 of this case study)
It is certain that AI in this specific case will only serve as an indicator. It does not in any way replace a human diagnosis made by professionals (doctor, speech therapist, psychologist, occupational therapist, etc.).
1. Creating exercises
a – Reading and comprehension
Let us ask a generative AI to generate a text suitable for Year 7 pupils:
Here is an example of text generated by ChatGPT:
A drop of water falls from the sky. It comes from a cloud, formed by water vapour that has condensed.
As it falls, it joins a river and flows towards the sea. There, under the heat of the sun, it evaporates and returns to the air in the form of vapour.
This vapour rises into the sky, cools and forms a cloud again.
This is the water cycle: an endless journey between the earth and the sky.
Water changes state several times: liquid in rivers, gas when it evaporates, and solid when it becomes ice or snow.
Without this cycle, there would be no fresh water on Earth, and life would be impossible.
Even the rain you see falling today may have crossed the oceans thousands of years ago!
The AI suggests comprehension questions to ask pupils:
- Where does the drop of water at the beginning of the story come from?
- What happens to it when it reaches the sea?
- What are the three states of water?
- Why is the water cycle important for life?
- What word sums up the transition from liquid to gaseous water?
Possible observations:
- Reading : Slow, hesitant reading, confusion (e.g. “steam” → “value”), difficulty reading aloud
- Comprehension: Off-topic answers, omissions, difficulty rephrasing in one’s own words
- Spoken language: Difficulty in verbally describing the stages of the cycle
- Behaviour: Rapid fatigue, visible stress, need to reread several times
The solid water gradually turns into liquid water.
If you heat this water, it turns into vapour: this is evaporation.
But when the vapour cools down, it turns back into water.
These changes in state show that water can exist in several forms without ever disappearing.
This phenomenon is essential in nature: it allows rain, snow and clouds to exist.
- Spelling: Missing letters, phonetic errors (“transphorm”), missing agreements
- Grammar: Incorrectly conjugated verbs, confusion of tenses
- Writing: Slow, irregular, illegible, rapid fatigue
- Structure: Disordered or incomplete sentences
- Strategies: The pupil rereads, spells, counts the sounds, and checks their sentences silently.
You record the temperatures every two minutes:
| Time (in minutes) | Temperature(°C) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 18 |
| 2 | 25 |
| 4 | 33 |
| 6 | 42 |
| 8 | 50 |
| 10 | 58 |
- What is the average water temperature throughout the experiment?
- How many degrees did the temperature increase between the start and end?
- On average, how many degrees does the water heat up every 2 minutes?
- If heating continues at the same rate, what will the temperature be after 12 minutes?
- Convert the final temperature (58 °C) to Kelvin. (Hint: 0 °C = 273 K)
- Calculations: Repeated errors in simple addition/subtraction, confusion of meaning (e.g. subtracting instead of adding)
- Conversions: Forgetting the unit, confusing °C and K, forgetting +273
- Organisation: Table copied incorrectly, difficulty following the logic of the exercise
- Reasoning: Difficulty explaining “how” they arrived at the answer
- Strategies: multiple attempts, errors corrected slowly
- You can give them a fake thermometer or a drawing to help them visualise.
- Observe how long it takes them, any hesitations, and their understanding of the link between ‘minutes’ and ‘temperature’.
- Then ask them to explain in their own words what the table shows: this will also reveal any difficulties they have with logical understanding (common among pupils with mild dyscalculia).
You have just learnt that water goes through different stages in nature: it evaporates, forms clouds, falls as rain and seeps into the ground.
« Using the words and images below, draw or complete the diagram of the water cycle. You must show all the important stages of the water cycle. Connect the elements correctly with arrows pointing in the right direction. »
| Elements of the cycle | Description/index |
|---|---|
| 🌊 Sea / Ocean | The water evaporates here. |
| ☀️ Sun | He heats the water. |
| ☁️ Clouds | Water collects there. |
| 🌧️ Rain | Water falls back to Earth. |
| 🏞️ River / Lake | Water flows towards the sea. |
| 🌱 Ground | Water is seeping in. |
Possible observations:
- Spatial organisation: Disordered arrows, omission of certain steps, reversed direction
- Fine motor skills: Difficulty cutting out (if images are provided), gluing, drawing, reversed orientation
- Scientific understanding: Incorrect order of phenomena (rain before evaporation)
- Memory/language: Forgetting key words (“evaporation”, “condensation”), confusion between terms
- Autonomy: Difficulty finding one’s bearings without a model, anxiety or agitation during the task
AI informs us that observing handwriting, understanding diagrams and the vocabulary used in speech provides many clues about dyspraxia or dysgraphia.
You will read the instructions aloud once (or twice, depending on the level).
The student should not write as you read, but wait until you have finished reading before carrying out the actions.
The aim here is to test comprehension, auditory memory and planning skills.
Next to it, draw a big sun that is very hot.
Then draw an arrow rising from the container to show that the water is evaporating.
Above the sun, draw three small clouds.
Finally, write under your drawing: Water evaporates when heated. »
- Auditory memory: Forgets one or more steps, reverses the order of actions.
- Verbal comprehension: Confuses words (“draw a container” → draws a bottle).
- Spatial organisation: Places elements without logical connection (clouds under the bowl, upside-down arrow).
- Written language: Difficulty rephrasing or writing the final sentence
- Behaviour: Stress, need for repetition, looking to the teacher for help with each sentence
Once again, advice is offered to the teacher:
- You can discreetly time the student to observe their processing time and the strategy they use.
- Repeating the instruction a second time allows you to assess their progress with repetition (which often reveals a specific disorder).
- You can also give two similar instructions 10 minutes apart to observe their long-term memory.
2 – Transcription of results
For each of the previous exercises, we took the time to fill in the following table (also provided by the AI):
| Pupil | Ex.1 Reading / Comprehension | Ex.2 Writing / Dictation | Ex.3 Calculations / Measurements | Ex.4 Manipulation / Diagrams | Ex.5 Listening comprehension / Instructions | General observations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lina | Reads smoothly but skips lines; comprehension is correct after rereading. | Legible but slow handwriting; a few agreement errors. | Good reasoning, sometimes confuses units. | Clear diagram, correct arrow direction. | Follows instructions well; needs rehearsal. | Serious student, consistent profile; slightly slow execution. |
| Noah | Hesitant reading, confusion of sounds (“flour” → “flower”). | Phonetic spelling, missing letters, illegible handwriting. | Difficulties in conversions, omissions of symbols. | Inverted arrows, poorly organised drawing. | Omisses 2 out of 5 steps; requires several repetitions. | |
| Maya | Smooth reading, good comprehension. | Very neat handwriting, a few careless mistakes. | Correct and well-presented answers. | Clear, attractive layout, perfectly logical. | Quick, orderly execution. | Very good student. |
| Enzo | Correct but monotonous reading; loses track of the text. | Slow writing, pressing hard on the pencil; pain in the hand. | Correct calculations but disorganised on the sheet. | Confusing layout, crossed wires; clumsy motor skills. | Forgets every other step; loses concentration quickly. | Slowness, spatial disorganisation, tense movements. |
| Sarah | Speed reading, confuses lines. | Spelling is correct but some words are missing. | Skip the intermediate steps in the calculations. | Diagram correct but reversed left/right. | Confuses “draw” and “write” in the oral instructions. | Difficulty retaining multiple pieces of information at once. |
Let us submit this table, which we have completed ourselves, to the AI and ask for its opinion on each of the pupils:
1️⃣ Lina
- Strengths: Good overall understanding, correct outline, follows instructions carefully.
- Difficulties: Occasional skipping during playback, slow dictation with a few agreement errors, slight confusion in units.
- Overall comment: A serious and focused student, slightly slow but consistent. No suspicion of significant DYS disorder, but may benefit from extra time or oral proofreading to support reading and writing.
2️⃣ Noah
- Strengths: Understands the essentials when things are repeated to him.
- Difficulties: Phonetic confusion when reading, very poor spelling, illegible handwriting, disordered layout, forgetting oral instructions.
- Overall comment: Profile suggestive of dyslexia + dysorthographia. Need for educational accommodations: oral proofreading, extra time, adapted fonts, segmented dictation.
3️⃣ Maya
- Strengths:Fluid reading, excellent comprehension, neat handwriting, correct calculations, clear diagram, follows instructions perfectly.
- Difficulties: None observed.
- Overall comment: High-achieving and independent student. No signs of DYS disorder.
4️⃣ Enzo
- Strengths: Adequate knowledge of calculations and diagrams; can succeed with assistance.
- Difficulties: Clumsy motor skills, disorganised writing, confusing diagrams, forgetting verbal instructions, tiring quickly.
- Overall comment: Profile compatible with dyspraxia: motor, spatial and organisational difficulties. Recommendation: progressive practical activities, fine motor skills exercises and guided patterns.
5️⃣ Sarah
- Strengths:Quick read, correct outline.
- Difficulties: Forgets steps in calculations, confuses certain instructions, mixes up left and right, has difficulty remembering verbal instructions.
- Overall comment: Profile suggesting mild dysphasia or oral language disorder: need for simple, repeated instructions and visual illustrations to aid comprehension.
To conclude this case study, AI can be a very valuable tool in helping teachers identify certain learning difficulties. It is clear that the exercises proposed must be validated (revised if necessary, adapted, etc.) before being given to students.
The use of AI here is recommended for teachers who do not have specific knowledge of dys disorders. Teachers who are already familiar with these disorders may not need to use AI, as their personal experience and vigilance may enable them to question certain difficulties encountered by pupils.
Finally, even though the use of AI can provide indications of hypothetical dys disorders, it cannot replace humans and their medical diagnoses.