Educating Exceptional Children provides a comprehensive survey of the field of<br >special education. It was planned and written with the needs of upper-division and<br >graduate students in mind. Each of the commonly recognized groups of exception-<br >al children served in public schools and residential facilities is systematically dis-<br >cussed. Throughout the text， however， the reader is reminded of the limitations of<br >traditional labels as meaningful educational guides. The overlaplJing of characteris-<br >tics among groups of handicapped children is continually pointed out. The discus-<br >sion questions and the case histories in this manual also remind the reader that edu-<br >cationally relevant information about a child is never revealed by the general labels<br >which are often used to refer to him. The text s analysis of typical profiles， which<br >graphically portray intraindividual differences， reminds the reader that instruction-<br >al problems are most clearly revealed when one considers the unique assets and<br >needs of an individual child. The text is concerned with a systematic treatment of<br >such differences and relevant instructional programs. The grouping of children by<br >categories is a convenient way to present information about the field. However， the<br >instructor must keep the range of intraindividual differences found in children as<br >the central focus in all discussions. The aids outlined in this manual should assist<br >the instructor and students in maintaining this point of view throughout the course.<br > Suggested major objectives of this introductory course include the following:<br > 1. An understanding of the abilities and disabilities of the groups of children who<br >are commonly classified as exceptional.<br > 2. An understanding of the inter- and intraindividual differences found in children<br > who are classified as exceptional.<br > 3. An understanding of the intraindividual differences in children which are rele-<br > vant for planning an educational program.<br > 4. An understanding of the needs of exceptional children and the instructional or-<br > ganization employed to meet these needs.<br >