With ADHD diagnoses increasing across the UK, and a better understanding of the condition emerging, it is about time that ADHD challenges are taken seriously in higher education.
ADHD often gets a bad reputation. Stereotypes tend to show a one-dimensional picture of the condition. But for many people, ADHD presents in a more complex way:
- Obsessive or ruminating thoughts
Impulsivity - Difficulty with distraction and focus
Time management and organisation challenges - Stimulation and motivation difficulties
These challenges can make studying with ADHD at university genuinely hard, especially when dense academic reading is involved. That is where Tailo comes in.
What is Tailo?
Tailo is a web-based platform that transforms the way neurodivergent students read and comprehend key information, providing tailored support and tools to help them succeed. By using intelligent extraction technology, Tailo creates a neuroinclusive experience that supports the strengths of different minds, eliminating the cognitive stress of rigid PDFs and long word documents.
How Does Tailo Help ADHD Students?
Transforms Hard-to-read PDFs Into a Clear, Concise Document
People with ADHD can struggle with concentration, especially when content is not presented in a stimulating way. Academic texts are often lengthy and visually unengaging. Tailo’s ADHD study tools address this:
- AI summaries condense long documents into clear, digestible overviews
- Text-to-speech lets you listen rather than read when focus is low
- Sections of text are broken down and presented in a visually clearer format
Creates a Customised Reading Environment to Enhance Focus
Academic papers often use busy columns and monochrome layouts that make it hard to stay focused. Tailo lets you customise:
- Background colour and text colour
- Font type, size, and weight
- Line spacing and reading width
Your settings are saved and automatically applied to every document.
Helps to Determine the Relevancy of a Text
If information processing, time management, and organisation are challenges for you, working out whether a document is even worth reading can waste significant time and energy. Tailo solves this:
- Key information and summaries are pulled out automatically
- Projects help you organise your reading list and prioritise which are most relevant
- Estimated reading times help you plan your sessions before you start
Making It Work: ADHD Study Techniques With Tailo
Problem: Dense academic text is not stimulating enough to hold attention.
Solution: Tailo’s reading tools for ADHD transform long documents into clear, structured summaries that are faster and easier to engage with.
Problem: Losing your place in busy, column-heavy academic papers.
Solution: Tailo’s customisable display removes visual clutter. Adjust fonts, spacing, and background colour until the page works for your brain.
Problem: Time wasted on documents that turn out to be irrelevant.
Solution: AI summaries and advanced search let you check relevance in seconds, so close reading is saved for texts that actually matter.
Problem: Organisation is difficult across multiple modules and assignments.
Solution: Projects groups all your readings by module or assignment in one structured space, so nothing gets lost or forgotten.
Where Can I Get Access to Tailo?
Tailo is available free of charge to eligible UK students through the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). DSA is a government grant covering the extra costs of studying with a disability, including assistive technology like Tailo.
To access Tailo via DSA:
- Apply for DSA through Student Finance (England, Wales, or Scotland)
- Attend your needs assessment and ask for Tailo specifically
- Receive your fully funded Tailo licence
DSA is available to all UK higher education students at level 4 or above with a qualifying disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Start Studying With ADHD Differently
Tailo provides ADHD students with a reading environment that adapts to how their brains work. Free to try for a full semester, or fully funded through DSA.