This week we are pleased to bring you a guest post by Samantha Morgan.  Samantha is employed within Associate Lecturer Support and Professional Development (ALSPD) at the OU on a six month paid internship. Working with other interns and our Senior Manager (EDIA) she is co-producing resources for OU tutors. The employment of interns within ALSPD supports OU priority areas of improving level 1 student outcomes, student induction, retention, continuation, and inclusion and is funded via PVC students. Samantha is studying her final module at the OU (DE300) and is due to finish a BSc Psychology May 2025. She is currently exploring options for postgraduate study. Samantha is passionate about building inclusion and recognises the value of the OU in offering people the opportunity to change their life outcomes.

A poem (of sorts) on noise for neurodiverse students:

Tick tock, tick tock,

Chimes that facetious clock,

Hum hum, clickery click,

Buzzing from the noisy fridge,

 

Twit, twooo, sing the birds,

Noisy are the neighbours’ words,

Electricity constantly humming,

Relentless noise does not stop buzzing,

 

Only two hours left to read,

Before I meet my family’s needs-

Cooking tea, walking dogs,

My brain is lost in fog,

 

I cannot read, I cannot learn,

I worry how one day I’ll earn,

The relentless noise never stops,

Until at night, exhausted I drop,

 

Tutors sometimes do not think of me,

Universal tutorials, given with glee,

Where is the break? And pictures?

These lengthy ones I cannot figure,

 

I do not understand TMA words,

Just jumbled, scattered verse,

I’m so tired my brain hurts,

I cry again because inaccessibility hurts,

 

 

What is the point in bettering myself?

Maybe my dreams can stay on the shelf?

Perhaps I’ll stay in my box and resign,

Give up on my dreams of a better life,

 

I’m tired and I’m upset,

I await tutorials with dread,

You have your degrees, help me get mine,

I really need your help to shine,

 

I’m also in pain every day,

Multiple conditions lead me astray,

But I must remember who I am.

I’m not my labels, I’m Sam,

 

A dancer, a person, a friend,

I will commit until the end,

This degree results in peace,

I will find precious relief,

 

It is all I have you see,

A better life with this degree,

My dream won’t be in vain,

I can still work despite pain,

 

This degree offers the key,

It can answer all my dreams,

If it includes accessibility,

So, please think of me.