Published Article

ABSTRACT
The study sought to assess critically the general problems and symptoms associated with gifted and autistic children. Gifted children are those children who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership capacity, or specific academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities. Autism is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterised by severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, deviance in communication, and patterns of behaviour and interest that are restricted, stereotyped, or both. Onset is generally before age 3 years. The task of effectively providing for the education of special children (gifted and autistic requires major changes in concepts and practice. The curriculum of the special should emphasize what will be taught, what will be learnt and what specific teaching strategies will be adopted. These demands create problems for the curriculum planners who have to create reliable programmes to meet the mental and physical needs of both the gifted and the mediocre in our schools. Special children pose problems for the school administration. Without stimulating items to keep these children constantly occupied, they revolt and refuse to co-operate with the school administration. The study concluded that special education is not restricted to academic skills but must also include learning styles, resistance to distraction, functioning in group situations, independent skills, and everything else that might impact the learning situation. It was therefore recommended that skilled teachers with experience in teaching students with these unique strengths and weaknesses are a necessity! Teaching special children requires thorough assessments of all aspects of their functioning.
KEYWORDS: Gifted Children, Autism, Classroom Teacher, School Administration, Curriculum Planners, Symptoms, General Problems.