Speech to Text Software for Dyslexia: A Mac Setup That Works

If spelling slows your writing down, speech to text takes most of it off your plate: you say the sentence, the software spells it. On a Mac, the setup that works best pairs a dictation tool for getting words down with a text-to-speech tool for listening back, and both can be free. If you write a lot (essays, reports, email at work), a dictation app that cleans up the text for you saves the most fixing.

We make Sayburst, one of the tools below. Everything said about other products comes from their official pages, checked October 31, 2026.

#Why speech to text helps with dyslexia

Understood.org describes dyslexia as "a lifelong language processing disorder that affects reading, spelling, and writing," and the NHS is clear that it does not affect intelligence. That gap is the whole point. Lots of people with dyslexia can explain an idea out loud far better than they can get it onto the page, because typing asks you to think about the argument and the spelling of every word at the same time.

Dictation splits those jobs. You think and talk; the software handles the letters. Understood's guide to assistive technology for writing covers dictation, word prediction and text-to-speech among its writing tools, and notes that text-to-speech helps you check for mistakes by reading your work aloud. That three-part kit is what this page sets up.

#The tools, side by side

#Dictation: getting the words down

Sayburst

Sayburst is a Mac app that puts dictation on a single key. Hold fn, talk, let go, and the text lands wherever your cursor is: Pages, Word, Google Docs, an email, a school portal. It removes "um" and "uh," drops accidental repeats, fixes capitals and punctuation, and turns "new paragraph" and "bullet point" into structure, so you aren't left fixing commas with the keyboard.

Here's a history essay paragraph, said out loud:

"So the main reason the, the treaty failed was, um, that Germany was never really consulted. New paragraph. Second, the reparations were set at a level the Weimar economy couldn't, uh, couldn't realistically pay."

What lands in the document:

So the main reason the treaty failed was that Germany was never really consulted.

Second, the reparations were set at a level the Weimar economy couldn't realistically pay.

Two things matter for dyslexia in particular:

• Vocabulary. Add the words you can never remember how to spell, like "Versailles," "photosynthesis," a manager's surname, and Sayburst spells them your way every time. If you correct a name by hand after dictating, it offers to add it.
• Nothing gets lost. If you click away before finishing, the text is kept and ⌃⌥⌘V pastes it. History keeps what you said, searchable, so a good sentence you dictated yesterday is still there.

Speech recognition runs on your Mac, and audio is never uploaded. It needs an M1 or later with macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, so it won't run on a school Chromebook or Windows laptop.

Apple Dictation (free)

Turn it on in System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation, then press the dictation shortcut or choose Edit › Start Dictation. Apple's Dictation guide says it inserts commas, periods and question marks for you in supported languages, and stops when it hears no speech for 30 seconds. A fine first step; Sayburst vs Apple Dictation covers where they differ.

Google Docs and Word

Google Docs has voice typing under Tools › Voice typing, in the latest Chrome, Edge and Safari. Word's Dictate button is on the Home tab and needs a Microsoft 365 subscription and an internet connection. Both work only inside their own app. See dictation in Google Docs and dictation in Word for how Sayburst compares in each.

#Text-to-speech: checking what you wrote

Dictation spells correctly, but it can still choose the wrong word when two sound alike. Listening back is the fastest way to catch that.

• Speak Selection is built into every Mac. Turn it on in System Settings › Accessibility › Spoken Content (called Read & Speak in the newest macOS), then select text and press ⌥Esc. Apple's guide shows how to highlight words, sentences or both as they're spoken.
• Speechify reads web pages, documents and books aloud, has a Mac app and Chrome extension, and includes voice typing on its free plan.
• Read&Write reads text aloud, including from images and scanned PDFs, and is often already paid for by a school or university.

#Word prediction: when you're still typing

Some writing is easier to type: a filename, a short form field, a code. Word prediction suggests the word after a few letters. Read&Write includes Co:Writer word prediction. On a Mac, the built-in Accessibility Keyboard (System Settings › Accessibility › Keyboard) shows suggested words as you type, and you click one to insert it.

#A writing routine that works

1. Plan out loud. Dictate the points you want to make, rough and in any order. Sayburst's Notes mode turns a spoken list into bullets.
2. Draft in one go. Talk through each paragraph without stopping to fix. Tap fn once for hands-free so you can look at your notes while you talk.
3. Listen back. Select a paragraph, press ⌥Esc, and follow the highlighting.
4. Fix by voice where you can. Select a sentence, hold Sayburst's rewrite shortcut and say "make this clearer" or "split this into two sentences."
5. Final read. One more listen before you hand it in or hit Send.

#For students

Schools and universities usually decide which assistive technology they provide, and many already license tools like Read&Write. Ask your disability or accessibility services office what's available and whether it's allowed in exams. If you write on your own Apple silicon Mac, Sayburst is a one-time $29, with no student subscription to renew each year. Our guide to dictation software for students with dyslexia goes further into coursework.

#Limits worth knowing

Speech to text needs somewhere you can talk, and a library or exam hall may not be it. It handles names and technical terms better once you add them to the vocabulary, and worse before. Sayburst inserts the text when you finish speaking rather than word by word, and it doesn't read text aloud, so keep a text-to-speech tool alongside it. If reading and writing are getting in the way at school or work, a specialist teacher or educational psychologist can assess what support fits you; the NHS notes that a dyslexia assessment is usually done by one of them, not a doctor.

Questions people ask

What is the best speech to text software for dyslexia on a Mac?

For writing in any app, a dictation app like Sayburst that cleans up punctuation and learns your vocabulary. Free options are Apple Dictation and, in a browser, Google Docs voice typing. Pair any of them with a text-to-speech tool to listen back to what you wrote.

What are good text-to-speech apps for dyslexia?

Every Mac has Speak Selection built in: select text and press Option-Esc to hear it, with words highlighted as they're read. Speechify and Everway's Read&Write add more reading features and work across more devices.

Is there speech to text and word prediction software for students with disabilities?

Read&Write from Everway combines dictation, text-to-speech and Co:Writer word prediction and is widely licensed by schools. On a Mac, the built-in Accessibility Keyboard also shows suggested words as you type. Ask your school's disability or accessibility office what they already license.

Does speech to text fix spelling for people with dyslexia?

It removes most spelling from the task, because the software writes the words. It can still pick a word that sounds right but isn't, so listen back with text-to-speech before you hand anything in.