The Oregon Technology Access Program (OTAP) gives information, training, resources and technical assistance to children with disabilities. The services it provides are for the needs of Oregon’s children who have disabilities from birth to age twenty-one. This particular program is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).
The OTAP or Oregon Technology Access Program uses a variety of technology assisted devices and special reading materials that have been solely produced for the benefit of a child with disabilities.
Correlating to the preceding paragraphs, it is a known and proven fact that technology opens a whole lot of possibilities for children who have disabilities and breaks down barriers the child may have erected due to being different from everybody else. With the help of assistive technology that includes use of devices, computer software and the like, the capabilities of people with disabilities, be they children, teens or adults will be greatly improved.
Any special kind of school or program for learning disabilities have their advantages as well as disadvantages. While such program or school is directed and aimed to coping with the education of children with disabilities, many of these children are aware of such and it usually affects the way they socialize and submit to various learning processes. Aside from this is the problem of self-image as they see their particular disability as a hindrance to learning. Thus for children who have mild leaning disabilities like dyslexia, the child should be integrated into the normal school system where he or she learns to adjust and overcome the disability.
The teacher or instructor in this case must understand what the disability of the child is all about, because the teacher needs to make the necessary adjustments of instructing the child along with the other students. While the adjustment could be a difficult one, the teacher needs to learn the various strategies in teaching student with disabilities since the approach actually varies in accordance to the specific learning ability the child may possess.
Majority of the students or children with disabilities know their intellectual or physical limitations and shortcomings. And most of them have acquired sufficient coping techniques that works well in their present condition. So it is better to involve the student along with the parents or guardians, in the development of a particular education plan that would perfectly suit the disabled child. The presence of the parents or a guardian would also help in giving moral support to the low self-esteem the child may presently have. It is also a fact that a disabled child may just need to be taught in a different way, so a variation in the learning procedure or approach is needed to see which system or technique is more effective and accepted by the child.
Although there will be times when teaching children with disabilities proves to be more challenging since it would required and necessitate more resources and additional working time, teaching the disabled children of Oregon is a requirement that is made nationwide by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Thus, the school’s program system is required by law to have the necessary resources for children with learning disabilities.
Teaching children with disabilities could be manageable and rewarding provided that a combination of teaching techniques and strategies are employed along with the necessary tools and equipment for any particular king of learning disability to achieve positive results. Essentially, the teacher must also have ways on how to teach the child to incorporate the disability into his or her daily life to avoid making it the focal point of his or her being as a person. The Oregon Technology Access Program may well be the answer to support the teacher in educating these special program.
