5 Useful Chrome Extensions for ADHD
Reading can be difficult for me. When I open something to read, it’s like my brain hits a wall I can’t climb over. It’s frustrating because I know what I need or want to read, but I can’t get myself to do it. It took me years to realize that this barrier is related to ADHD. My diagnosis explained why I struggled, but it didn’t make reading easier.
It took me a long time to figure out what can make reading easier for me. Bigger text and more space between lines help me keep track of what I read. Changing the background colour of a page online helps too. Last summer I found Chrome extensions that help me make these changes to whatever I’m reading online. Reading now feels possible in a way it never did before.
I’m currently taking the Introduction to Accessible Content Creation and Media program offered by Mohawk College Enterprise and OWLware Ltd. In the past, online courses have felt like the enemy of my ADHD. This time, I have an awareness of what is helpful for me, and I have tools available to support me.
Reading, writing, and staying organized online can present a lot of barriers for someone with ADHD. With the tools I have now, I feel prepared.
Here are 5 of the Chrome extensions that I’ve found helpful both in and out of class.
1. Accessibility
What it does
Accessibility has a lot of different features that you can turn on and off as you visit a web page. The extension is flexible and what features you use are easy to change depending on your needs. Features I currently use:
- Text: The Text feature allows you to change the font on a web page to the one you select. You can also adjust text boldness and the amount of space between words or individual characters.
- Zoom: The Zoom feature increases text size.
- Contrast: The Contrast feature allows you to change font and background colours on a website. You can pick one of the built-in options the extension provides or choose a custom colour.
Each feature remains enabled until you turn it off again.
Why it works for my ADHD
I use this extension when I want to read something longer and keep it off when I don’t need it. The Text feature allows me to choose a font that is easier for me to read. Bigger text is often easier for me to read, so I use the Zoom feature most often out of the three of these. I set my Contrast feature to custom sepia colours (a light tan background with a dark brown font) because it helps my eyes feel less fatigued.
This extension could be helpful to you if
- You want an extension with many features that you can customize to your needs.
- You want an extension with a high degree of flexibility.
- You aren’t sure what would be useful for you, but you want something that has a lot of options for you to try out.
2. Line Height Adjuster
What it does
Line Height Adjuster allows you to increase the line height (the amount of space between lines of text) on a web page.
Why it works for my ADHD
I find it much easier to read something when lines of text are double-spaced. It’s harder to lose track of which line I need to read next when there is more space between them.
This extension could be helpful to you if
You find reading more difficult when lines of text are close together.
3. Session Buddy
What it does
Session Buddy saves records of groups of tabs you had open in your browser windows. You can also save your current “session” (the tabs you currently have open) so that you can check it again later.
Why it works for my ADHD
I always have many browser windows open at the same time, and they all have multiple tabs open. It’s easy to lose track of everything, but Session Buddy allows me to save what I have open to check back on later. (I might forget, but I appreciate having the option to check.)
This extension could be helpful to you if
- You tend to open 20 article tabs, hoping that you’d read them later, but they end up staying open for months.
- You often open a bunch of tabs on a topic and want to be able to save the whole group of them together to check again later.
4. Raindrop.io
What it does
Raindrop.io is a cloud-based bookmark service, which means you can access it anywhere once you log in to your account. It allows you to group your bookmarks into folders and to choose an icon to represent and distinguish each folder. You can add tags to each bookmarked page and search for other bookmarks with the same tag.
Why it works for my ADHD
I love being able to add icons to represent each of my folders, as it makes them easy for me to navigate quickly and visually. The ability to search for bookmarks according to their tags is incredibly useful. I use the search feature when I can’t remember what other bookmarks I tagged, or when I want to see all the bookmarks with that tag together.
This extension could be helpful to you if
- You tend to bookmark a lot online and you want to be able to search everything you’ve saved.
- You like to organize things visually. You like the idea of using custom icons to identify groups of your bookmarks.
5. Grammarly
What it does
Grammarly uses AI to help you with writing while you type. It can correct spelling and grammar, define words, and suggest synonyms. It can also make recommendations to improve clarity. Grammarly offers both free and premium versions. The free version is available once you create an account.
Why it works for my ADHD
I tend to make a lot of typos when I’m writing. Grammarly makes it more likely that I’ll catch these types of errors. I also love being able to check definitions and synonyms right where I’m typing. I’m less likely to get distracted from what I’m working on if I don’t have to open a new tab to look something up.
This extension could be helpful to you if
- You want live writing support right where you’re typing.
- You tend to miss typos or spelling mistakes even when you reread.
I like to approach ADHD solutions from the perspective of trying things out to see what works for me. If it works, that’s great, and I have another tool I can use. If it doesn’t, that’s okay too, and I know a little more about what doesn’t work for me.
ADHD symptoms can vary a lot, so what works for one person with ADHD might not be helpful at all for another, and that’s okay. I encourage you to try any of these extensions out for yourself to see if you want to add them to your ADHD toolkit.
I hope that some of these extensions will be helpful for you like they have been for me.
Written by Emily S
