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What is Exceptional Children
An exceptional kid is one who differs physiologically, cognitively, mentally, behaviorally, or communally from the ordinary or normal child so noticeably that he cannot directly benefit from the regular school curriculum and needs attention in the school practises and programmes or requires special education opportunities or complementary instruction and services that allow him/her to achieve set goals.
“When children start to exhibit symptoms of giftedness from birth or even during the phases of development, as the child races ahead of others or lags behind in terms of growth and development in various dimensions, namely, physical, mental, emotional , and moral, to such an extent that he or she exhibits difficulties and maladjustments in academics, the school environment itself, in behavior, and in terms of adjustment difficulties with other children.”
A kid with special needs has certain requirements that are similar to those of a normal kid and the kids in his social circle, but they also have some unique needs related to their specific form of specialness. The youngster is also known as a child with special needs since he or she has certain special requirements.
Types of Exceptional Children
All individuals differ from one another in terms of their physical characteristics (some are short, others are bigger, for instance) and learning capabilities (some learn rapidly and are capable of retaining and utilizing what they have learnt in different contexts, for instance). Some struggle to retain and apply recently acquired understanding and skills and require frequent practice. Several kids have very few differences, which enables them to participate in the standard education curriculum.
Nevertheless, some kids’ physical characteristics and/or intellectual capacities vary slightly so significantly from the standard (below or above) that they require a personalized special training program and support services in order to fully benefit from schooling. These kids are referred to as exceptional children. The phrase “exceptional kid” refers to both children who struggle academically and those whose ability is so remarkable that adjustments to the program, effective teaching, and training are required to help them reach their full potential.
You’ll be able to comprehend the idea of exceptionality better if you familiarize yourself with the meanings of a few related concepts. Although they are occasionally used synonymously, the phrases “impairment,” “disability, and “handicap” are distinct from one another.
Several gifted kids have similar physical traits, as well as similar learning and behavioral tendencies. The common types of exceptionality fit these qualities:
- Mental retardation (developmental disabilities)
- Learning disabilities
- Emotional and behavioral disorders
- Autism
- Communication (speech and language) disorders
- Hearing impairments
- Visual impairments
- Physical and health impairments
- Traumatic brain injury
- Multiple disabilities
- Giftedness and special talents
Every child has unique traits that range along a spectrum, as was previously mentioned. Kids that are exceptional must have an educational curriculum that is specially created for them since they are significantly different from typical kids. In order for them to completely participate in school, special education is necessary.
The idea that there are two different types of children—those who are extraordinary and those who are ordinary—is false. Children with exceptionalities resemble other kids more than they differ from them. Therefore, a youngster who is unique from his classmates without impairments does vary in significant ways. The child’s progress in school and afterwards will be significantly impacted by whether and how we acknowledge and react to those distinctions.
The word “exceptional” is actually more of an encompassing phrase that covers a variety of juvenile populations with varying levels of aptitude. The categories of extraordinary or abnormal kid populations are as follows.
- Gifted, creative group
- Physically or neurologically handicapped or orthopedically and health
- handicapped.
- Sensory (visual and hearing) handicapped
- Speech handicapped.
- Emotionally handicapped.
- Socially handicapped or (Disadvantaged)
- Learning disabled.
- Slow learners or academically backward.
- Mentally handicapped.
The children that are cognitively extraordinary are divided into two sizable categories, each of which has distinct traits. Youngsters who have strong mental capacity or those who are innately superior are on one hand, while children who are slow learners and mentally challenged or weak are on the other.
Children who have an IQ of 130 or higher are considered extremely talented or smart.
On the other hand, some kids are labeled as slow learners because they have IQs that are below average (80–90). Those with an IQ of 70 or below are considered to be mentally retarded.
