Special needs also called additional needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. In India, in a population of 1.2 billion, there are 27 million people with special needs. This means that about 2.2% of our population has special needs. About 4.6 million people are in the age group 10–19 years and almost 2 million are in the age group of 0–6 years. This statistics is incomplete because many cases are not even reported due to misconceptions, societal fears, or lack of diagnosis.

The four major types of special needs children are:

1. Physical – muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, chronic asthma, epilepsy, etc.
2. Developmental – down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, processing disorders
3. Behavioral/Emotional – ADD, bi-polar, oppositional defiance disorder, etc.
4. Sensory Impaired – Blind, visually impaired, deaf, limited hearing