Types of exceptional children

The following classification may be made taking the above definition of ‘exceptional children’ into consideration.

  1. The physically handicapped
  2. The mentally retarded
  3. The gifted

The category of the physically disabled can be further divided into the crippled, the blind, the near blind, the deaf, and those with compromised speech and weak health.

Only a select few extraordinary kids are now getting the extra help they require. Special educational methods, tools, and school calendars are being organised to address the demands of certain rich cultures. They are also being educated by qualified teachers who are hired. Governments are also implementing special training programmes to assist the instructors.

Teachers who deal with gifted students need to be very self-assured, self-controlled, and self-motivated. Sometimes having patience and tenacity pays off. The teaching of the gifted youngster should be viewed as a challenge. To handle it, teachers must adopt a scientific mindset. If certain approaches don’t work, they should attempt different approaches. If some materials don’t work, they should be discarded. The instructors should be physically and psychologically healthy because if not, they can start looking for faults all the time or start being too harsh with the kids.

The resources available to teach children with special needs are less sophisticated in developing nations like India. No measures have been done to extend this advantage to children with disabilities, even though Article 45 of the Indian Constitution states that all children, including those who are physically, intellectually, and socially disabled, shall get free and compulsory education.

To help parents and teachers deal with such youngsters, a few advice centres have been launched in major cities. Of course, interest in behavioural treatment has grown significantly during the past few decades. The use of behaviour modification with children was not even recognised to be a significant approach until the 1970s when multiple treatises were written solely on the subject.