BETC Paris Uses Minecraft to Uncover Dyslexia Symptoms through Gaming

Oct. 25, 2022

French healthcare charity PUISSANCE DYS was created in 1992 by neuropsychologist Beatrice Sauvageot to help people with dyslexia through an innovative method. It mostly helps children and young people that have trouble at school and in their social lives.

The motto of PUISSANCE DYS is to think of dyslexia not as a disability but as a super ability. The idea behind this thinking is that people that manage to live with dyslexia have to come up with unique ways of developing critical skills like problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication that, in fact, gives them superpowers !

So how can PUISSANCE DYS spread its message and help more people with dyslexia ?

It turns out that many people are not aware that they are currently dealing with dyslexia. It is estimated that many people are living with dyslexia without knowing it.

The game Mindcraft (released by Mojang Studios in 2011 and owned by Microsoft since 2014) is notoriously very appealing to people with dyslexia that enjoy exploring, interacting and modifying blocks into its lo-fi environment and 3D sandbox mode. The creator of Minecraft, Markus Persson aka Notch, himself revealed that he was affected by dyslexia.

That’s why, with the help of ad agency BETC Paris, PUISSANCE DYS has created MINDCRAFT. The goal of the operation is to help screen for dyslexia while playing a custom map of the game and deliver a high level of enjoyment through inclusive learning.

In the MINDCRAFT experience, players challenge themselves and get to wander in a wonderful immersive world built by dedicated members of the Minecraft community. They are greeted by an NPC (non-playable character) giving instructions and providing more information and they get to use their imagination and critical thinking skills while learning about themselves.

If you suspect that you or one of your friends/family is affected by dyslexia, let them know about MINDCRAFT. They will get to solve puzzles and perform tests while playing a playful adventure and they might even learn that they happen to possess a new super power. Lucky them !

Minecraft has long been used by educators and teachers around the world to unlock new ways to tackle any subject or challenge. In fact, Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios developed Minecraft: Education Edition, an educational edition of Minecraft specifically designed for classroom use that was released on September 14 2022 and includes pre-built lessons and features that makes the game more accessible and effective in a classroom setting.