Margaret Taylor

"Study can be therapeutic"

...says OU student Margaret Taylor, working towards her second degree.

Margaret finds it is not just academic achievements that can give her a boost, but study itself helps her to cope with a variety of conditions which cause her considerable pain and fatigue. Until illness forced her to leave work in 1990 she had led an active life, and enjoyed her role in the NHS. Disability hit her hard and she had to take time to re-assess her goals. She felt that distance learning would suit her lifestyle and so began studying with the OU.

Margaret thinks the support has been fantastic, the tutors have amazing subject knowledge, and receiving study materials in formats such as comb-bound or PDF make it possible to study lying down. At tutorials she feels she can be herself, be a student and meet like-minded people.

She is concerned that some of the higher fee systems and the shift to more online study might be off-putting or cause concern for disabled students, but she hopes the OU will continue to work towards making all of their study materials accessible.

Margaret recommends all students who might be eligible to apply for the Disabled Students' Allowance. She says ‘go for it’ as it is a shame that people could miss out on something which has helped her so much, in fact she feels she couldn’t study as effectively without the equipment provided. She also thinks that the support of family is very important.

Having already achieved an honours BA Open degree Margaret is now continuing to study, this time for a history degree – we hope she enjoys it and wish her good luck.