Dictation software for dyslexia
Say it instead of spelling it. The sentence stays whole.
- 99%+ accurate
- Auto punctuation
- Names spelled right
Free to try. No card. Nothing to read aloud.
Apple Silicon · macOS 14 or later · Windows 11
The expensive part is where it happens. You are halfway through a sentence, you hit a word you are not sure of, and you stop — and the rest of the sentence is gone.
So you pick a word you can spell instead of the word you meant. Your writing ends up smaller than your thinking, and nobody can see why, including you.
Do you have to spell anything?
Step one
Hold one key
Right Option on a Mac, Right Ctrl on Windows. Change it to any key you like.
Step two
Say the sentence
All of it, normally. No punctuation out loud, no pauses, no waiting.
Step three
Let go
Finished text lands where your cursor was, spelled and punctuated.
Spellcheck only works if you were close
The words hardest to spell are the ones you land furthest from, so the suggestions are as far off as the attempt was. Names are worse: spellcheck has never seen them, so it has nothing to guess from.
Spelled right first time
The word arrives spelled, so there is no red line and no list of guesses.
Learns your words
Add a person, a place or a bit of jargon once. It stops being a problem.
Auto punctuation
Full stops, commas and capitals come from how you talked, not from you.
It fixes the spelling, not your writing
- Fillers and false starts come out
- Punctuation and capitals go in
- Every other word stays exactly as you said it
Plenty of writing tools improve your sentences. This one does not, so there is no reading it back to check it still means what you meant.
It types where your cursor is
Click into the email, the form, the document. Hold the key and talk.
To recruitment@harlow.io
Subject Application — site supervisor
Hello. I’ve attached my CV for the supervisor role. I’ve run sites of this size for eleven years and can start next month.
The second experiment used the same method but a smaller sample, which is probably why the results were less consistent.
I can pick everyone up at half seven if that helps.
Have it read back to you
Dictation gets the words down; reading is the other half. The pairing worth knowing is free and already on your computer: Mac and Windows can both read text back to you out loud. Dictate it, have it read back, fix what sounds wrong.
Better than the dictation you already have
Mac and Windows both include it. On anything longer than a sentence:
| Feature | JotMic | Built-in dictation |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | 99%+ | ~85% |
| Ready to send | Fillers taken out | Every um typed in |
| Learns your words | Taught once | No way to teach it |
| Languages | 99+, picked up as you talk | One, set in Settings |
| Controls your apps | Open apps, switch, scroll | Types only |
Free to try, no card. A week of email and a couple of the longer things.
Works in every app you already use
It types at your cursor, the same as a keyboard does. If there is a text box, it works.
Plus Outlook, Word, Teams and every other app on your Mac or PC.
Setup takes two minutes
- Download, allow the microphone, pick your key
- No voice training and nothing to read aloud first
- Free to try, every feature, no card
Read next
Dysgraphia
When getting letters down takes the attention the sentence needed.
ADHD
The four-day email, and why saying it is easier than starting it.
Offline dictation
Dictating with the wifi off.
Compared with the other apps
They all spell for you. They differ on whether they leave your words alone, and whether they learn the names you use.
Questions
Does dictation help with dyslexia?
It takes spelling out of writing. That is the part that interrupts a sentence — you stop to work out a word, and the thought goes. What you write ends up as big as what you were thinking rather than as big as what you can spell.
Will it change my words or my style?
No. It drops ums and false starts, adds punctuation and capitals, and leaves every other word as you said it. One switch gives you the raw transcript.
Do I have to say the punctuation out loud?
No. Full stops, commas, question marks and capitals come from the way you talk. Some other tools want you to say them, which is worth checking before you pick one.
Will it spell names right?
Add them once to your vocabulary and they stay right. People, places, companies, the words your job uses — the ones spellcheck is least help with.
Does it help with reading?
No. It helps you get words out and does nothing about getting words in. Mac and Windows can both read text back to you out loud, and that pairs well with dictation.
Is it better than spellcheck?
It is a different thing. Spellcheck works from what you typed, so if the attempt is a long way from the word, the suggestions are too. Dictation means there is no attempt to correct — the word arrives spelled.
Will it understand my accent?
It is not trained on you, so there is nothing to set up, and it handles most accents well. It also works in 99+ languages and works out which one you are speaking.
Does it work in the apps I use?
It types where your cursor is, so anything with a text box works. Email, Word, Google Docs, Slack, forms in your browser, a job application. Nothing to set up per app.
Is it better than the dictation built into my computer?
The built-in ones leave every um in and never learn your words, so you fix it at the keyboard afterwards. For a sentence or two they are fine, and they are free.
Can I use it for coursework or an application form?
It types into whatever you are filling in, so yes. Whether assessed work allows it is a question for the school, university or employer setting it.
Do I have to train it on my voice?
No. Nothing to read aloud first, which matters — reading a passage to a computer is the wrong first task here.
Is this a treatment for dyslexia?
No, and it is not an assessment either. It is a way to write with your voice instead of your hands. A specialist teacher or an educational psychologist is who those belong to.
Free to try, no card. Nothing to set up, nothing to read aloud.