DYSLEXIC DYLAN

DELPHINE PESSIN

Dylan has a secret... He's dyslexic.

Dylan, 12, is dyslexic. At the start of Year 8, everything goes wrong: his French teacher, Ms. Nas, gets off on the wrong foot with him following an incident in a lesson, and as a result the boy is excluded from school for three days. His parents are lost: his mother tries to understand her son and his disability, as opposed to his father who does not want to recognize his reading disability and calls him lazy. However, during a school trip, Dylan attends a play. This is a real revelation for him: everything makes sense when the characters come alive on stage. Following this breakthrough, Ms. Nas decides to set up a theatre troupe and invites Dylan to join the project, aware that he enjoyed the play. Reluctant at first, his friends insist, especially Pauline, whom Dylan seems to be gradually getting closer to. In the end, Dylan participates in the play and receives great acclaim from the audience. He goes out with Pauline as he seems to have been falling in love with her for longer than he realises. The bond that seemed to have been lost between Dylan and his father comes back: both decide to have a fresh start.