Neurodiversity

Ayoa helps DSA students to

3 cartoon sticky notes to take notes with

Take Notes

Make knowledge stick by drawing a picture of your learning in the moment with Ayoa’s easy to use, punchy Speed Maps.

A cartoon sparkly checklist

Revise for Exams

Prepare for exams with structure, motivation and colour – all the ingredients in one app to remember every nugget of information!

A cartoon whiteboard to help students keep organised

Organise Effectively

Keep every part of your university life in Ayoa’s customisable whiteboards – your space to stay visually organised.

A calm student surrounded by their educational resources

Decrease Overwhelm

Find clarity by seeing the big picture and the finer details to prioritise the actions which will lead you to study successfully.

A magnifying glass focussing on revision notes

Improve Focus

With one app for everything, limit your distractions, set timely reminders, and focus on priorities with auto-focus in mind maps.

A presenter confidently sharing ideas via a mind map

Present Confidently

Deliver your arguments by following the natural flow of your thoughts with
mind map presentation mode!

 

Built with individual learning in mind

Nobody is the same, and neurodiversity is testament to that. That’s why personal needs assessments to help individuals find
bespoke tools for them form the basis of the DSA process.
It’s also why Ayoa hosts bundles of reasonable adjustments:

Colourful, visual and intuitive Ayoa mind maps

Coloruful and visual mind maps

Renowned for supporting the processing of information

Flexible communication offerings in Ayoa such as video calls and instant messaging

Flexible communication

Comments, instant messaging, audio notes, and video chat

Customisable organisation in Ayoa via different task board views

Customisable organisation

View collaborative projects in a way which suits individuals best

Different background colour choices within Ayoa

Background
colours

Switch background colours for improved contrast and reading

A box which shows Ayoa's neurodiversity-friendly font

Neurodiversity-friendly font

Open Sans used as default throughout the Ayoa app

 

 

How can Ayoa’s DSA software support neurodiversity?

Neurological differences simply mean that 1 in 7 students will learn differently – it does not impact intelligence nor should it hinder anyone’s ability to achieve their potential. That’s why Ayoa is proud to be a DSA approved piece of assistive software supporting numerous students with:

 

ADHD

Ayoa gives space for creation whilst also offering support when it comes to focussing and streamlining planning to guarantee outcomes thanks to plenty of features assistive with executive functioning.

ADHD in bubble writing on blue background with lightbulbs and clocks

Dyslexia

Built upon the visual and flexible foundation of mind maps, Ayoa provides a colourful digital workspace designed to make consuming information easier for people with dyslexia whilst also giving them the creative freedom to bring their innovative ideas to life.

Dyslexia in bubble writing on a purple background with notepads

Autism

As a neuro-inclusive tool, Ayoa gives people with autism the autonomy to streamline their task-management and reduce overwhelm whilst being able to seamlessly work with others for collaboration, accountability or assistance purposes.

Autism in bubble writing on an orange background with atoms and paints

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions about DSA


To give you more information about the DSA, whether you are a needs assessor or student, you will find answers to specific questions here:

DSA stands for Disabled Students Allowance and is a term used in the UK in higher education institutions.

The DSA (Disabled Students Allowance) is a grant that’s available to students that have a disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty or neurological difference (such as dyslexia or autism). It covers specialist equipment and software that can aid learning (such as Ayoa), as well as non-medical helpers and additional travel requirements.

The DSA is something that doesn’t need to be repaid, and it can be claimed on top of regular student finance. The amount somebody is entitled to will depend on their individual needs, not their household income. Please see the official GOV.UK website for more information, including how to apply for DSA.

If you live in the UK and have a disability or health condition that affects your ability to study, you are eligible for the DSA. This could be a physical disability, a sensory disability, a long-term health condition, or a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) such as ADHD or dyspraxia.

Once your eligibility for the DSA has been confirmed by Student Finance England or Student Finance Wales, you will need to get in touch with an assessment centre to determine what help you need. At this stage, you can express your interest in using Ayoa to aid in your learning, and find out how you can access it or upgrade your free account to use its full features through your DSA.

Find your nearest assessment centre in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland by clicking here.

Ayoa is a versatile piece of assistive technology, meaning that it can help a range of neurodivergent learners, studying various degrees and courses. The best way to discover how Ayoa can help your students is to book in for a one-to-one Ayoa Assistive Software Training session.

Ayoa also creates YouTube videos on its features, justification sheets which can be downloaded, and has a whole page dedicated to supporting needs assessors which can be accessed by clicking here.

 

 

Needs Assessors

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Looking for assistive software to recommend to your students?

Discover how Ayoa, our all-in-one, inclusive assistive software, helps aid students in their studies.

Book a bespoke training session

Software which your students will love


Ayoa is an all-in-one tool that helps students manage their studies, from capturing lesson notes and revising for exams to structuring essays and organising their workload.

Ayoa’s visual nature makes it perfect for neurodivergent students to easily capture and convey information. We also offer a number of interchangeable viewing styles for students to choose from, allowing them to work and study in the way that suits them best.

 

Ayoa's Whiteboard View

Whiteboards

Students can start from a blank slate to capture their ideas and organise their entire life in whatever way they see fit with our highly visual whiteboards.

✓ Easily break down information

✓ Create a visual mood board for coursework and revision

✓ Visually organise information

✓ Use our intuitive drag and drop functionality

✓ Add images, videos and files for visual stimuli

Ayoa's mind maps view

Mind mapping

A popular visual thinking tool among students, mind mapping in Ayoa combines colours, images and visual-spatial arrangement to help students:

✓ Aid revision and boost memory

✓ Structure essays and homework

✓ Use visuals for recall and association

✓ Add clarity to lesson notes

✓ Show/hide information to reduce distractions

✓ Choose between 4 unique mind map styles to suit their needs

Ayoa's various task management views

Task management

For students looking to manage their homework and revision plans, Ayoa’s colourful task boards give students a space to organise their work, including:

✓ Visual indicators on tasks, such as urgency and importance tags

✓ Progress percentage bars on tasks

✓ Start and due dates

✓ Checklists and notes

✓ Add cover images for visual recall

✓ Choose between 3 different task board styles

 

Ayoa Ultimate also hosts a number of additional features

 

Designed with neurodivergent individuals in mind don’t miss out on the further benefits of Ayoa Ultimate to take your students’ learning, productivity, and overall wellbeing to higher levels:

 

Bibliography Builder

Allow students the ability to focus on their theses rather than getting overwhelmed by fiddly style guides with the automatic creation of references and a bibliography.

Bibliography builder icon

Voice Notes

Give students the gift of sound within the visual realm of mind maps to create a sensory combo which makes articulating thoughts and remembering ideas that much easier.

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Freehand Draw

Activate for when students want to create mind maps as if they were drawn by hand on paper and truly reflective of their thoughts, with all the added benefits of digital mind mapping.

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AI Mind Maps & Whiteboards

Help students overcome task paralysis, work more sustainably around a task, and receive extra guidance on a difficult essay when they don’t know where to start. The possibilities are endless.

AI Mind Maps & Whiteboards icon

Presentation Mode

Let students present the organic flow of their thoughts directly from Ayoa. Presentation mode is distraction free, intuitive and creates the most dynamic presentations.

Presentation Mode icon

Gantt Timeline

Make students’ first impression of Gantt visual, flexible, and immersive, so they can track their progress in a way that combats time blindness and overwhelm, whilst developing management skills.

Gantt Timeline icon

Integrations

Reduce the app overload of modern students with Ayoa’s collection of integrations, making it easier for students to evaluate everything they have going on – both academically and in their day to day life.

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Video Collaboration

Bring interaction back into student learning with the ability to launch video calls directly in Ayoa for collaboration with fellow students or study skills tutors.

Video Collaboration icon

Brainstorm Solo

Whilst working on group projects shield students from the ideas of others to reduce groupthink issues plus overwhelm, and make space for individuals who might need extra processing time.

Brainstorm Solo Mode icon

 

We’re here to help!

Interested in recommending our assistive software to your students?

We’d love to offer you a free bespoke training session to introduce you to Ayoa’s neurodiversity-friendly features and how they can help those with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism and other neurological differences – which you can then demonstrate to your students.

By booking, you’ll receive a personalised, one-to-one demo with a member of our team, who can answer any questions you may have. You’ll even get an Ayoa licence and certificate upon completion!

Book your free place
Ayoa active on three computers

 

Claim your FREE Ayoa Ultimate licence

 

Perfect for needs assessors, disability advisors, assistive technology trainers or study skills tutors, your free licence will allow you to:

Explore our software and learn how to use our range of features, before training others.

Work together with your students when planning their essays, using collaborative mind maps, tasks & more.

Experience Ayoa first-hand so that you can become an expert on how it will support your students.

Use Ayoa with your students remotely, with comments, video chat and instant messaging.


Book a bespoke training session with a member of our team to guide you through our software and upon ‘graduation’ gain your free licence!

Claim your free licence

 

Think differently about newsletters

Subscribe to our monthly neurodiversity newsletter, Pathways, for the latest neurodiversity news, fresh content
for assessors and students, plus updates from the Ayoa team.

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Subscribe today!

Templates for students

Give your students the head start they need with their time at university with Ayoa’s templates:

 
Critical Thinking template - Ayoa
Morning of the Exam template - Ayoa
Storyboard template - Ayoa
Essay planner template - Ayoa
Destress template - Ayoa
Class Notes template - Ayoa

Further reading

If you’d like to learn more about how Ayoa as an app and as a company is helping neurodivergent students, check out our recommended reading below:

 
How can I improve my study skills with mind mapping?
Mind mapping & dyslexia software tool - Ayoa
7 mind mapping uses for students
Dyslexia case study
6 ways to get exam ready with mind mapping
How to structure an essay using Ayoa: A guide for students
Mind maps for pre and post-assessment

 

DSA approved software DSA approved software

Recommend with confidence

Ayoa is a DSA (Disabled Student Allowance) approved supplier for Student Finance England, and assured by the British Dyslexia Association. Being an assured product means that in the opinion of the British Dyslexia Association, Ayoa is effective at supporting dyslexia.