Voice to Text for Processing Disorders
Typing requires multiple processing steps that many brains handle automatically — but yours doesn't. You have to think about the idea, translate it to words, map those words to letters, find those letters on the keyboard, and coordinate your fingers to press them in sequence. Each step consumes processing power that could be going toward your actual thought. Speaking is different. Speaking is direct. One step: think it, say it. Blurt captures your spoken words and converts them to text, removing the translation layer that makes typing feel slow and disconnected from your thinking.
The Typing Problem
Too many steps between thought and output
When you type, your brain has to perform a complex translation process. Think of the word, break it into letters, locate each letter on the keyboard, coordinate your fingers to press them in order, monitor for errors, correct mistakes. For many people this happens unconsciously. For you, each step requires active processing. By the time the word appears on screen, you've forgotten what came next.
Typing feels disconnected from thinking
When you're typing, you're not really thinking about what you're saying — you're thinking about how to type it. The mechanical process of translating thoughts to keystrokes dominates your attention. Your ideas feel distant, like you're observing them through a window rather than expressing them directly. The cognitive load of typing crowds out the cognitive space for thinking.
Processing speed doesn't match output speed
Your mind works at its own pace. Sometimes thoughts come quickly, sometimes they need time to form. But typing imposes a fixed bottleneck that doesn't adapt to your rhythm. When thoughts come fast, typing can't keep up. When thoughts need time, you're stuck staring at a half-typed sentence, losing the thread. The mismatch between processing and output creates constant friction.
Working memory gets overloaded
Your working memory is already handling the content of what you want to say. But typing demands working memory too — holding the current word, tracking where you are in the sentence, remembering what comes next. These competing demands overflow your capacity. You find yourself typing the same sentence twice or losing track of your argument mid-paragraph.
Fatigue accumulates faster than the work
Every piece of writing costs you more than it costs others. The mental effort of the typing translation process drains your energy reserves. A simple email leaves you tired. A long document leaves you exhausted. You avoid writing not because you have nothing to say, but because saying it through typing costs too much.
How It Works
Blurt removes the translation layer between your thoughts and written text. Speak naturally and let AI handle the conversion.
Hold your hotkey
Press your chosen keyboard shortcut anywhere on your Mac. A small indicator shows Blurt is ready to listen.
Speak your thoughts
Talk naturally, at whatever pace feels right. Don't worry about punctuation or formatting. Just say what you mean. One processing step instead of many.
Release and it's written
Let go of the key and your words appear as text, properly punctuated and formatted. No translation process. Direct path from thought to output.
Real Scenarios
Writing emails without the translation tax
You need to reply to a colleague. With typing, you'd spend most of your mental energy on the mechanics of getting words onto screen. With Blurt, you hold the button and speak: 'Hi Tom, thanks for sending the report. I reviewed the numbers and everything looks good. Let me know when you want to discuss next steps.' Direct expression. No translation overhead. Energy preserved for actual thinking.
Capturing complex thoughts before they fade
You've been working through a problem and finally see the solution. With typing, by the time you'd get halfway through explaining it, the clarity would fade. With Blurt, you speak the insight while it's vivid: 'The issue is that the database is being queried twice for every request because the caching layer isn't recognizing the normalized keys.' Thought captured at full fidelity.
Taking notes without falling behind
In a meeting or lecture, information comes at you faster than you can type. The translation overhead means you're always behind, always choosing what to skip. With voice, you speak your notes as quickly as thoughts form: 'Budget approved for Q3, need to allocate by Friday, Sarah handling vendor contracts.' Real-time capture without the processing bottleneck.
Writing longer documents in pieces
A report or essay feels overwhelming when every paragraph requires intense processing effort. With Blurt, you can speak one section at a time, taking breaks when needed. The reduced cognitive load means you can actually sustain effort across longer pieces. What used to take all day might take a few hours of comfortable work.
Responding in real-time
Someone sends you a message that needs a quick reply. Usually, you'd delay because even a brief response requires the full typing translation process. With Blurt, you can respond immediately: hold button, say 'Got it, I'll look at this after lunch', release. Quick responses become actually quick.
Brainstorming without bottlenecks
When you're generating ideas, the last thing you need is a slow output channel. Typing forces ideas to queue up and wait their turn, often losing momentum in the process. Speaking lets ideas flow at their natural pace. You can brain-dump a list of possibilities in thirty seconds, then review and refine without the ideas having faded.
End-of-day documentation
You know you should document what you did today, but after hours of work, your processing reserves are depleted. Typing feels impossible. But speaking? Speaking just requires talking about what you did: 'Finished the API integration, ran into an issue with authentication tokens, fixed it by refreshing the cache on each request.' Documentation done without the cognitive cost.
macOS includes built-in dictation. Here's why Blurt works better for people with processing disorders.
| Blurt | macOS Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Activation | Single hotkey, instant response | Double-tap Control or click microphone icon |
| Punctuation | Automatic — no additional processing required | Must say 'period', 'comma', etc. aloud |
| Capitalization | Automatic based on context | Must say 'cap' before words |
| Cognitive load | Minimal — just speak naturally | Requires remembering voice commands |
| Reliability | Consistent across all apps | Variable performance in different apps |
| Price | $10/month or $99/year | Free but adds processing overhead |
Frequently Asked Questions
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