Definition of Exceptional Children:

 Exceptional children significantly deviate physically, intellectually, emotionally, or socially from

the norm.
 Their deviations are so pronounced that they cannot benefit fully from the regular school
program.
 They require modifications in school practices, special educational services, or supplementary
instruction to reach their maximum potential.

Manifestations of Exceptionality:
 Exceptionality becomes evident from birth or during developmental stages.
 Exceptional children may outpace or lag behind their peers in various dimensions: physical,
mental, emotional, social, and moral.
 These deviations lead to academic challenges, school-related issues, behavioral problems, and
difficulties in peer interactions.

Special Needs:
 Exceptional children have both common needs shared with typical children and unique needs
specific to their type of exceptionality.
 They are often referred to as children with special needs due to these unique requirements.

Types of Exceptional Children:

 Exceptional children encompass a wide range of differences.
 All children exhibit variations in physical attributes and learning abilities, but these differences
are typically small, enabling them to benefit from general education.
 Some children exhibit substantial differences from the norm, either below or above,
necessitating individualized special education programs and related services.
 Exceptional children may include those with learning and behavior difficulties, physical
disabilities or sensory impairments, as well as intellectually gifted or uniquely talented
individuals.

Mental Retardation
 Intellectual Disability (ID) is now the preferred term for Mental Retardation (MR).
 Neurodevelopmental condition that develops in childhood.
 Affects capacity to learn and retain new information, and everyday behavior such as social skills
and hygiene routines.
 Significant limitations with intellectual functioning and developing adaptive skills like social and
life skills.
 Cause a person to develop and learn more slowly or differently.
 Effects vary widely; some people may experience minor effects but still live independent lives,
others may have severe effects and need lifelong assistance and support.

DSM IV Diagnostic Criteria for Mental Retardation:

A. Significantly subaverage intellectual functioning: An IQ of approximately 70 or below on an
individually administered IQ test (for infants, a clinical judgment of significantly subaverage
intellectual functioning).
B. Concurrent deficits or impairments in present adaptive functioning (i.e., the person's
effectiveness in meeting the standards expected for their age by their cultural group) in at least
two of the following areas: Communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use
of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health, and
safety.
C. The onset is before age 18 years.

Mental Retardation has the following levels of severity (DSM IV):

 Mild Mental Retardation IQ level 50–55 to approximately 70

 Moderate Mental retardation IQ level 35–40 to 50–55
 Severe Mental Retardation IQ level 20–25 to 35–40
 Profound Mental Retardation IQ level below 20 or 25
 Mental Retardation Severity Unspecified: When there is strong presumption of mental
retardation but the person's intelligence is untestable by standard tests

Earlier (DSM IV) severity of ID was assessed solely based on IQ, however:
The DSM-5 emphasizes a balanced approach to diagnosing intellectual disability, advocating for a
combination of clinical assessment and standardized intelligence testing. It shifts the focus from
relying solely on IQ scores to considering adaptive functioning as a key factor in severity assessment.
By excluding IQ scores from diagnostic criteria but including them in individual assessments, it aims
to avoid an overemphasis on IQ alone. Instead, it encourages evaluating intelligence across three
adaptive behavior domains, helping clinicians better understand how mental abilities impact daily
functioning for improved treatment planning. Overall, these updated criteria aim to provide a more
comprehensive understanding of patients, aiding clinicians in delivering more effective treatments
and services.

Adaptive Behavior:

Refers to how effectively individuals cope with everyday life demands, and how well they meet
standards of personal independence expected of someone of their age and socioeconomic and
cultural background.

Adaptive Behaviour Domains:

1. Conceptual skills (reading, writing, math, reasoning, knowledge, memory, language, time,
money, academic)
2. Social skills (interpersonal skills, social responsibility, recreation, empathy, social judgment,
ability to make and retain friendships)
3. Practical skills (self-management in areas such as personal care, job responsibilities, money
management, recreation, and organizing school and work tasks, daily living skills, work, travel)

Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Autism, Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), Cerebral
Palsy are some conditions linked to intellectual disability.
PLANNING EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE LEVELS OF MENTAL RETARDATION
The individuals with intellectual disabilities are categorized into four levels of retardation (mild,
moderate, severe, and profound) based on IQ and adaptive behavior. These levels are further
grouped into educable (mild), trainable (moderate), and custodial (severe and profound) for
educational care and programs tailored to their specific needs.

Educational programmes for the Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR)

Individuals with EMR have the capacity to acquire fundamental academic skills like reading, writing,
and math with suitable learning conditions. However, their academic attainment typically reaches a
level comparable to that of an average eight to twelve-year-old. They excel in learning vocational
skills, particularly those required for semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. When planning their educational
program, special attention should be given to the following points:
1. Schooling of these students may be delayed for 2 to 3 years.
2. During the earliest school years, they may be given instruction in simple arithmetical concepts,
understanding of the home and community and development of good work habits.
3. Formal reading and writing instruction must be started preferably at the age of 9 or 10.
4. The curriculum should include aspects related to basic academic skills and basic skills for coping
with the environment as children and as adults.
5. The school's curricular as well as cocurricular activities should lay stronger emphasis on
experience and hands-on learning than on abstraction and theoretical learning.
6. These children should not be expected to attain the same level of accomplishment as typically
developing children of their same age.

Educational programmes for the Trainable Mentally Retarded (TMR)

The TMR children cannot be educated like the EMR. However, they can be trained to acquire certain
basic skills so that they can lead their future dependent or semi-independent lives. The following
aspects may be considered for planning appropriate training programmes for them:

1. Development of self-help skills like independent eating, dressing, defecating, washing and
combing hair, brushing teeth, using towels and handkerchiefs must be emphasized. They may be
gradually taught to follow directions and perform simple tasks.
2. Trained to acquire social skills like greeting people, playing with companions, take turns and
follow the rules of the road, observe common social courtesies and health rules.
3. Training should be provided for motor skills development and improvement of sensory
discrimination.
4. Necessary household skills (cleaning, laundry, sewing), using household appliances (radio,
television, telephone) and limited travelling in familiar areas should also be taught.
5. The teaching of basic academic skills should not be started until early adolescence and should be
of very simple nature like learning common signs and symbols, recognize and use coins and
currencies, measure and distinguish between seconds, minutes and hours.
6. The curriculum should include activities related with leisure skills and for teaching unskilled
occupational jobs.
7. The training programme should be based on the use of concrete study materials rather than any
abstract thinking or lecturing (i.e. real objects rather than two-dimension representations on
paper; careful modelling rather than heavy emphasis on verbalized directions).
8. The training programmes must be based fundamentally on principles of reinforcement like token
economy, contingency management and other concepts of behaviour modification.

Educational programmes for the Custodial Mentally Retarded (CMR)

Severely and profoundly intellectually disabled children require a different approach to education
and training compared to children with higher cognitive abilities. In India, there's a lack of public
schooling or voluntary organizations catering to their needs, necessitating their admission to
government or semi-government residential institutions. For these severely and profoundly disabled
children, educationally there's limited hope, and their care primarily involves custodial treatment in
these residential settings. A proper custodial programme whether run in residential institutions, day
hospitals, day care centers or boarding and nursing homes must take care of the following:
1. Strong emphasis on self-help skills like feeding, toilet training, washing and cleaning of their body
and dressing up, etc. must be laid.
2. They must be taught to protect themselves from health and weather hazards, harmful insects,
animals, fires, etc.
3. The children suffering from behavioral problems should be helped in making their life as smooth
and free of trouble for themselves as well as for others.
4. Application of reinforcement theory and principles of operant conditioning may be found more
suitable in teaching them the basics regarding self-help skills, house-hold skills, performance of
routine tasks and in some cases simple, unskilled routine occupational tasks.

Effective education for those with intellectual disabilities demands support from parents,
communities, government, and voluntary organizations. Changing societal attitudes is crucial—they
need help to grow and develop within their abilities. Education begins at home, extends to
specialized institutions, and ultimately requires societal and governmental responsibility for their
rehabilitation and integration. They are not to be sympathized with, protected or ridiculed but to be
helped in growing and developing with their strengths and limitations.