Over the last year or so, I’ve managed to pull together a small set of digital tools that help me organise my work (Outlook, Workflowy, chatGPT, Zotero). In this post access a catalogue of neurodiversity friendly tools, assembled by a team that does neurodiversity in the workplace training.
Hey BetterU peeps!
I was recently sent some fantastic resources by a colleague who had attended Neurodiversity Awareness training with ASA Analytics. While I don’t have the time to inspect and test each and every one of them myself, I didn’t want to keep this valuable directory to myself.
So, with the help of Gemini Notebook (the AI research assistant formerly known as NotebookLM), which I have been playing around with more recently, I’ve extracted some of the key tools that could make a real difference in your day-to-day study, focus, and organization.
Spotlight: Read&Write (Free Student Access!)
If there is one tool you should check out right away, that is in the list, it is Read&Write.
Flinders University provides free access to this premium literacy support tool for all our students! It’s designed to help with everyday academic tasks like:
- Reading textbook passages out loud.
- Deciphering unfamiliar words.
- Researching assignments and proofing your written work.
We actually have a detailed guide on our site, written by a student, all about it, so check out our previous post: Read & Write: The Free Study Tool I Wish I’d Used Sooner to find out how to download and get started.
Other Handy Tools to Explore
Here is a quick snapshot of other neuro-supportive apps and browser extensions highlighted in the resources:
1. Reading & Writing Assistants
- OpenDyslexic for Chrome: A free extension that changes website fonts to OpenDyslexic (which has weighted bottoms to prevent letters from appearing jumbled or rotating on screen).
- BeeLine Reader: Uses eye-guiding colour gradients to pull your eyes smoothly through long blocks of on-screen text, helping ease screen fatigue.
- GoblinTools (Formalizer): A lifesaver when you’re feeling overwhelmed. It can simplify or elaborate text, or break down long essays into bite-sized bullet points.
2. Focus, Time, & Energy Management
- StayFocusd: A browser extension that helps you stay on track by limiting the time you spend on distracting, time-wasting websites.
- Tiimo / Visual Timers: Planners and timers that represent remaining time as a coloured section of a clock face. This visual countdown is great for managing study intervals (like the Pomodoro technique) and scheduled breaks.
- F.Lux: Automatically adjusts your screen brightness and tint to match your room’s lighting as day turns to night, reducing eye-strain.
3. Meeting & Note-Taking Support
- Fathom or Fireflies: AI-powered note-takers that can transcribe and summarize voice conversations or online lectures so you can focus on the dialogue instead of worrying about writing everything down.
Personal Experimentation Required!
The term ‘neurodiversity’ includes many different brains and thus there is no one-size-fits-all tool.
What works wonders for your friend, or me, might not be the right fit for you.
Furthermore, because I can’t personally vouch for the quality or performance of every third-party tool listed here, personal experimentation is key!
Pick one or two extensions that sound interesting, download a few free trials, and see which ones fit naturally into your personal study routine.
Keep the ones that help. Discard the ones that don’t.
And yeah, like I said above, a great place to start would be Read&Write because of the university’s existing access to this tool.
Want the Full, Unfiltered List?
If you want to dive even deeper, I’ve bundled the complete “Handy ND-Supporting Tools” directory as a resource download alongside this post.
Quick Heads-Up: This comprehensive directory was originally compiled by ASA Analytics to support university staff, but almost all the digital software, extensions, and sensory techniques in it are 100% applicable and incredibly useful for students, too!
[Download the Comprehensive ND-Support Tools Directory][If you want to learn more about the organisation that created it visit ASA Analytics]
Want to connect with other neurodivergent students, share study strategies, or advocate for a more inclusive campus? Learn more about the Neurodiversity Community of Practice (N-CoP) and check out the student-led Flinders Neurodivergent Study Support and Advocacy (FNSSA) club!
