Exceptional Abilities And Individuals With Special Needs. A Historical Account

Proceedings of The 5th International Academic Conference on Education, Teaching and Learning

Year: 2022

DOI:

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Exceptional Abilities And Individuals With Special Needs. A Historical Account

Eunice Tan (PhD),Kenneth Poon (PhD)

 

ABSTRACT: 

This paper examines the historical account of individuals with special needs and their exceptional abilities.  It is a phenomenon whereby individuals with challenging intellectual disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), may display some areas of brilliance that are in contrast with their overall low level of general functioning (Bennett & Heaton, 2017; Finocchiaro et al., 2015; Jeon, 2016). One in ten persons with ASD has savant abilities in varying degrees (Finocchiaro et al., 2015; Treffert, 2014). Historically, there have been accounts of such extraordinary individuals.

keywords: special needs, exceptional abilities, autism.