The document discusses special education in India, noting that while education was made compulsory up to age 14 by the constitution, significant efforts for disabled children only began in the 1970s. It now describes the major categories of special needs as physical, mental, and emotional handicaps. It provides details on the meaning and importance of special education, as well as methods and facilities for educating the blind, deaf, physically disabled, children with learning disorders, the emotionally disturbed, educable mentally retarded, and gifted children.

1. Dr. S. Prakash
Principal
Thiagarajar College of Preceptors
Madurai

2. Though our constitution advocated universal
compulsory education for all children upto age of 14,no
significant effort has been taken till 1970,to provide
Education for disabled children.
Therefore gradually attention has been
focussed on the education of the disabled are mentally
challenged (handicapped).
Today in Tamilnadu there are
more than 50 Schools to provide special education for
the handicapped children.

3. Categories of children with
special Needs:
There are many categories of handicapped
children,of which the following are the three major
types.
 Physically handicapped
Mentally handicapped
Emotionally handicapped

4.  Among the physically handicapped are included the
Visually handicapped(Blind),auditorially
handicapped(Deaf and Dumb),Orthopedically
handicapped(the crippled) and people with defective
speech.
 Among the mentally challenged the major categories
are,those with low Intelligence (I.Q.less than 70 ) and
Slow learners (I.Q.in between 70 and 80 ).
 Among the emotionally handicapped are included
‘delinquents’,’orphans’ etc.

5. Meaning of special education:
 Special education is that profession concerned with
the arrangement of educational variables leading to
the prevention,reduction or elimination of those
conditions that produce significant defects in the
acdemic,communicative,locomotor or adjustive
functioning of children.

6. Importance of special education
 The objective of special eduaction in the beginning
was to provide an instructional setting that would
serve to maximize the academic performance of
children with educational problems.
 Disabled children constitute 10 to 15 percent of the
population.If these children were neglected and
discareded,then they may become a permanent
liability for the society.these children are to be suitably
educated and made to function independent.

7. Education for the Blind
 In most of the countries of the world 5% among the school
going children are visually handicapped.As such the special
needs of these children are to be taken care of or otherwise
they will become a burden for their family and the society.
 Further these children,as Helen keller and other
opine,except for their visual disability they may be normal
or highly talented in other abilities and such as their
potentials need not go as waste.
 In the 18th century only,special attention was given for the
first time to the education of the visually handicapped and
Valentine Henry was the first teacher for the blind.

9. Instructional Methods in the
Education for the blind:
 Special education for the visualy handicapped gives
importance for learning through hearing and
touching.
 The educational progress of a visually handicapped
used in the materials and devices required for ‘braille’.

10. Expanding the educational
opportunities and facilities for the
visually handicapped
Increasing the financial allocation for the education of the
disabled
Increasing the number of schools for the blind
Establishing the necessary infrastrucutural and
technological facilities to manufacture ‘Braille’ text books
and materials as well as audio-tapes for the use in
education for the blind.
Increasing further the educational opportunities for the
blind in higher education.

11. Establishing vocational training institutes.
Adopting special reservation for the blind in
employment.
Creating favourable attitude in the community
towards the visually handicapped.

12. Education for the Auditorialy
handicapped:
One who loses his hearing capacity after he has acquired
speech is known as ‘hard of hearing’.
Heredity factors are responsible for 50% cases of deafness
and other 50% are due to various physiological ailments.
Intensity of sound is measured by the unit ‘decibel’.the least
possible sound that could be sensed by a human is a desibel.
‘Lip reading’ and ‘sign language’ are also taught to the
auditorialy handicapped children to participate in
communication with others.

13. Education for the Clumsy children:
 Meaning:
Communication disorders like
lisping,stuttering,stammering,as well as illegible
handwriting and left handedness also interfere with
learning skills and developing social adjustment in
children.All such cases are included in ‘clumsiness’.

14. Children with learning disorders:
 These children may look like normal children but are
markedly deficient in reading,writing and arithmetic;
they find it extremely difficult to learn any school
subject.
 These children can not profitably gain any thing from
the regular classroom teaching.
 It is estimated that roughly 15% among the school
going children have learning disorders.

15. Emotionally disturbed children:
 Emotionally disturbed children will not exhibit their
feelings in a normal way.they are seen to be emotionally
operating at poles excited or with low emotional reactions.
several activities could be beneficial to emotionally
disturbed children to sublimate their strong emotions:
i. Practice of yoga and meditation
ii. Music and participative arts
iii. Running race
iv. Excercises like trekking
v. Swimming
vi. Telling stories with moral values

16. Educable mentally retarded
children (EMR)
The educable mentally retarded may constitute about
10% of the general population.
Whose I.Q. may range between 50 and 70,which is
roughly half to three fourth of the level of intelligence
of normal children.

17. Education of the ‘Gifted’:
 Meaning:
it is said that 3 to 5% of children have their
I.Q. 130 and above and such children are labelled as
‘gifted children’.
There are two types:
intellectually gifted
specially talented in certain field.

18. Characteristics of the gifted
children:
Physique and health
Proficiency in language
Interests
Adjustment in behaviour
Character and personality

19. Identification of the gifted :
 Good vocabulary
 Language proficiency
 Interest and liking for books
 Ability to concentrate for a longer period
 Interst in exploration
 Early development of ability to read
 Early to interest in calenders and telling terms.

20. Educational programmes for
the intellectually gifted:
 Grade acceleration method
 Ability grouping
 Cross-sectional grouping
 Enrichment method
 Special schools for the talented.