Around 10% of the UK population has dyslexia. Millions more have visual impairments, ADHD, chronic illness, or reading fatigue. Audiobooks are often the best — and sometimes the only — way to access a text. Here's what you need to know.
Dyslexia is a difference in how the brain processes written language — it's not a problem with intelligence or comprehension. Audiobooks remove the visual decoding step entirely, allowing full access to complex ideas and narratives without the friction of decoding text.
Research consistently shows that listening comprehension in dyslexic individuals is often equal to or exceeds that of non-dyslexic readers. The barrier is the text, not the understanding.
Speed control is particularly useful: many dyslexic listeners prefer slightly faster audio (1.25× to 1.5×), which keeps the brain engaged without losing comprehension. Freedible lets you set any speed from 0.75× to 2×.
The term "print disability" in UK law covers: blindness, partial sight, and any condition that prevents a person from reading standard printed text — including dyslexia, physical disabilities that prevent holding a book, and some cognitive conditions.
If you have a print disability, audiobooks aren't just useful — they're often the primary means of accessing literature and information.
Many people with ADHD find sustained silent reading difficult, particularly for long books, even when they're highly intelligent and motivated. Audio engages a different attention mechanism. Many ADHD readers find they can listen to a 400-page book that would take months to read on paper.
Reading fatigue — from chronic illness, long-COVID, migraines, post-surgery recovery, or simply a demanding screen-heavy job — is a real barrier that audiobooks address directly.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 31A and 31B (as amended by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 and SI 2014/1384), provide explicit exceptions allowing people with a "print disability" to make accessible copies of works they have lawfully acquired.
Specifically:
The UK has also ratified the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled — an international framework that reinforces these rights.
In plain English: If you have dyslexia, a visual impairment, or another print disability — and you've legally acquired the book — converting it to an audiobook for your personal use is protected under UK law. Freedible is a tool to do exactly that.
Start with something you've always wanted to read but felt put off by length. Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and Crime and Punishment are all freely available as public domain audiobooks on Freedible. The Sherlock Holmes short stories are ideal if you're new to audio — each story is under 30 minutes.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is short, profound, and reads beautifully aloud. The Art of War is under two hours. Both are freely available.
Upload any ePub or PDF you legally own to Freedible — it converts privately, for your ears only. Standard Ebooks (standardebooks.org) produces the cleanest public domain ePubs available.
Freedible includes several features designed with accessibility in mind:
Questions about accessibility: hello@freedible.co.uk
See our full accessibility page → · Start listening on Freedible →