Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education

by Daniel P. Hallahan, James M. Kauffman, Paige C. Pullen

Exceptional Learners gives readers an up-to-date introduction to the characteristics of exceptional learners. It emphasizes classroom practices as well as the psychological, sociological, and medical aspects of disabilities and giftedness. 

Genres: Education, Textbooks, Teaching, Professional Development, Nonfiction, School, Grad School

552 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1996

Reviews

[Lindsey]

read cover to cover so yes I'm logging my textbook

[Patrick McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it.

[Essie-Marie F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book except for the introduction which had weird eugenicist vibes. Other than that it was great.

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know that I can rate a textbook the same way I do my personal reading, but here goes: I liked the format of the book; it was consistent and made things easy to find from chapter to chapter. It gives a pretty good general overview on the various subjects it covers (and it covers quite a few areas of disability, as well as gifted and talented students). It's not very specific, and I don't think it's intended to be, so it would be a frustrating reference if you're looking for details on a certain topic or intervention. Still it's one that I plan to keep around for a good quick reference on general disability subjects.

I can't believe I finished the first textbook of my Special Education graduate career!

[Christy George · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great resource that I will keep in my teacher library forever. I learned so much about different exceptionalities, including great details about my own child that I hadn't considered before. Unlike most textbooks, this was actually readable and enjoyable.

[Mutiazahida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's a must read book for special education students. It has many contents and this is one of the book that I'm looking for. I just wanna start read this book :)

[Tiffeny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good intro to special education.

[Rocio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative in a simplistic manner. Really enjoyed reading this book to further understand how working with exceptional children is practiced.

[ابراهيم القادري]

full

[Edie Walls · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been a lot worse but thankfully it was written pretty lightly.

[Vanessa Dookram · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outstanding introduction to exceptional learners and their education, emphasizing classroom practices ,the psychological, sociological, and medical aspects of disabilities and giftedness.

[Olivia]

I only had to read like 5 chapters of this for class but idk how else to mark it because this isn't a DNF situation, so. The overall book is fairly balanced and updated (my class...less so).

Previously:
Despite this being an updated edition published LAST YEAR, I've already found that it uses the actual phrase "transgendered to male" so this should be fun...

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had so many problems with this textbook. It does try to cover a huge amount of content in fewer than 400 pages, but this means that many issues are glossed over or ignored. Massive amounts of text are used detailing history and causes (which are interesting) while topics more relevant to educators such as diagnosis and teaching strategies are far less detailed. There are also many examples of political and cultural bias in the book that will leave new educators wondering why they are getting pushback from parents and community members if they speak on some disabilities the way that the book does. And even though my edition was printed in 2015, there are several errors I found regarding IDEA and Section 504 laws. There are many errors in the text. I'm not talking about typos, but entire lines of print that repeat themselves. I also did not like the formatting of the book. I understand that a lot of students may purchase an electronic copy of the book, making the hyperlinks that are embedded in the text easy to follow, but this is not the case if you have a print edition. Hyperlinks in the main text are written out, but links within captions or special focus sections are hidden under linked key words, making them completely unavailable to a reader. Even if I had an electronic copy I would prefer a section at the end with the links listed, because leaving in the middle of the text would probably lead me into hours of off-topic link-chasing, but that's just a personal preference.

[Amanda Salisbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty standard textbook. Each chapter follows a similar format so it is rather predictable. At times I found the subjects extremely interesting and other times I found them boring and redundant. One of my pet peeves is when a book says the same thing over and over again. I did end up learning a lot but would not recommend for light reading or in-depth study.

[Erin O'sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not find this book a particularly helpful resource. It is heavy on anecdotes, which I understand is an important way to better understand a disability, but I find video interviews and resources (like F.A.T. City) much more helpful in this regard.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously, this text has the most abstract, worst prose of any text I've ever read. I have a friend who prefers a poor grade to reading it. It is, however, very informative, with good politics.

[Jeff La Marca]

non-fiction,special education

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zzzzzzz. Pretty standard textbook, I suppose. They could have included a lot more teaching methods and a lot less history, though.

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

required for education classes talks about individuals and case work behind exceptional learners, very breif

[Brittany Murphy-Ledger · Rating 4 out of 5]

REALLY great text for school!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and comprehensive as far as reference texts go; however, it was at times poorly organized and structured.

[Ronni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for a textbook...

[Dawn]

nice

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful resource for those working with children with special needs.

[Seto · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book