Yap for ADHD
Get the thought onto the page before it slips away.
Hold one key, say it, let go: Yap types it with punctuation in the app you are already in, whether that is an email, a document, a chat or a to-do list. No app switching, no typing, and your voice stays on your device.
Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. $6.90 USD a month or $69 USD a year. 3 days free with a free account, no card, then a 10-day trial with a card.
Why speaking helps
Fewer steps between idea and text.
In a 2022 review, most studies found students with ADHD have more difficulty with higher-order writing than their peers, and working-memory differences in ADHD are large on laboratory tasks. Typing a sentence holds it in working memory while you spell and type it; speaking it skips that step.
That points to dictation as a way to get a first draft down. We found no controlled study of dictation in people with ADHD, though, so the honest test is your own work. More in our guide to dictation for ADHD.
Right where you are.
Hold Fn on a Mac or Ctrl + Win on Windows and talk; on a phone, switch to the Yap keyboard. Nothing to open first.
At work.
In the UK, Access to Work can help pay for assistive software; in the US, acquiring equipment is a reasonable accommodation, and employers report a median one-time accommodation cost of $300.
Private.
Speech is recognized on your device and never uploaded. Read our privacy policy.
Questions.
- Does dictation help with ADHD?
- It can help get a first draft down, because speaking skips the typing. Research on ADHD writing and on dictation for students with learning disabilities points that way, but we found no controlled study of dictation in people with ADHD, so try it on your own work: Yap is free for its first days with an account.
- Does Yap organize or summarize what I say?
- No. Yap writes down what you said, with punctuation and capital letters; in English it drops "um" and "uh". It does not reorder, summarize or rewrite your words.
- Can my employer pay for it?
- Possibly. In the UK, an Access to Work grant can help pay for assistive software; in the US, the EEOC lists acquiring equipment among reasonable accommodations. Ask your employer or the scheme with this page.
- Does it work in every app?
- Yes. Hold Fn on a Mac or Ctrl + Win on Windows, speak, and let go: the text appears where your cursor is. On a phone, switch to the Yap keyboard and tap the microphone.
Want to try without installing anything? Free online dictation runs in your browser.
From the library
Speech to Text for Accessibility, RSI and Disabilities
Dictation moves writing from the hands to the voice, so it can take most keyboard work off people with RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis or a motor disability, and it lets people with dyslexia, dysgraphia or ADHD write at the speed they think. It is a tool rather than a treatment: it works best alongside medical care and good ergonomics, with the accommodations the law provides at school and work, and with recognition that handles the way you actually speak.