Dyslexia and PAP: how to obtain school accommodations?
The Plan d’Accompagnement Personnalisé (PAP) is the most accessible arrangement for pupils with dysorthographia. It makes it possible to obtain concrete, legally mandatory adaptations without going through the MDPH. Here is how to obtain it and enforce it effectively.
What is the PAP and what is it for?
The PAP is an official document listing all the teaching accommodations to which a pupil with a lasting disorder is entitled. It is signed by the parents, the main teacher and the school doctor, and must be respected by all the teachers in the school. It is reviewed each school year and follows the pupil from primary school through to sixth form. For pupils with dysorthographia, the PAP is generally sufficient — MDPH recognition is only necessary in the most severe cases.
The most important accommodations for dysorthographia
For a pupil with dysorthographia, several accommodations have a particularly significant impact. Not penalising spelling in subjects other than French is the simplest and most effective provision — it allows the pupil to be assessed on their knowledge without being systematically penalised by their spelling difficulties. The right to use a computer with advanced spell-checker compensates for the disorder when producing written work. Extra time — generally a third more time — allows the pupil to reread and correct their work. And adapted dictations — prepared, gap-fill or negotiated dictation — allow spelling to be assessed more fairly.
How do you obtain the PAP in practice?
The process is straightforward but requires being proactive. First, you need a recent speech and language therapy assessment — ideally less than a year old — confirming the diagnosis of dysorthographia. With this document, the parents make an appointment with the headteacher or the head of the establishment to request the setting up of the PAP. The school doctor is then called in to medically validate the needs. A meeting with the teaching team is organised to formalise the accommodations. The whole process generally takes 4 to 8 weeks — so it is best to plan ahead and not wait for a moment of crisis.
How can you make sure the PAP is respected?
Once the PAP is in place, you need to make sure it is actually applied by all the teachers. Regular follow-up is necessary — particularly at the start of the school year when a new PAP is set up, and at every change of school. If some teachers do not apply the accommodations, first talk to them directly, then with the headteacher if necessary. The PAP is a legally binding document — its provisions are not optional for teachers.
The PAP for national examinations
The PAP also grants rights during national examinations — the brevet and the baccalauréat. Pupils with dysorthographia can benefit from extra time, a computer with spell-checker, and not having spelling penalised in subjects other than French. These accommodations must be requested in advance — ideally from Year 9 (troisième) for the brevet and from Year 11 (seconde) for the bac. For comprehensive resources on the PAP and the school accommodations available, lesdys.fr offers up-to-date practical guides for families.
