Exceptional Learners focuses on the characteristics of students with exceptionalities and proven classroom practices that help meet their individual needs. It examines the psychological, sociological, and medical aspects of disabilities and giftedness, giving both general and special educators a solid introduction to current special education theory, research, and practice. Real-world stories and features help you develop a more sensitive understanding of exceptional learners and their families.

The 15th Edition features an enhanced focus on evidence-based content, including over 400 new references to cutting-edge research. Extensive new coverage of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in schools reflects the importance of promoting equitable educational opportunities for all students. Enhanced coverage of identification and assessment practices provides extensive discussion of RTI's role and effectiveness in assessment along with multitiered systems of support and prevention.

Daniel P. Hallahan, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Education, University of Virginia. At UVA, Hallahan served as a department chair (twice), director of doctoral studies, and elected representative of the Curry School of Education (four three-year terms) to UVA's faculty senate. He held three endowed professorships, including the UVA Cavaliers' Distinguished Teaching Professorship. He received the UVA Outstanding Teaching Award and the Virginia State Council of Higher Education Outstanding Faculty Award. Hallahan was inaugural editor of Exceptionality and currently reviews for Exceptional Children, Learning Disability Quarterly, The Journal of Special Education, and Exceptionality. He is a past president of the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). In 2000 he received the CEC Career Research Award. Hallahan's expertise covers a broad spectrum: learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, intellectual disabilities, blindness, deafness. Much of his early scholarship focused on cognitive strategy training for students with learning disabilities and ADHD. Most recently, he has focused on the need for more individualized, intensive special education instruction for students with disabilities. Hallahan is author of over 100 articles, over 40 chapters, and is coauthor or coeditor of 18 books, including Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed.) (with J. M. Kauffman & P. C. Pullen, Routledge, 2017) and Special Education: What It Is and Why We Need It (2nd ed.) (with J. M. Kauffman, P. C. Pullen, & J. Badar, Routledge, 2018). Some of his books have been translated into German, Spanish, Korean, and Arabic. Hallahan has taught thousands of pre-service and in-service teachers in the introductory course in special education, characteristics of students with learning disabilities, and characteristics of students with intellectual disabilities, as well as hundreds of Ph.D. students in research seminars.

Paige Cullen Pullen, Ph.D., is Chief Academic Officer at the University of Florida's (UF) Lastinger Center for Learning and a Research Professor in the School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies. In her role at UF, Pullen works closely with the Florida Department of Education to develop and implement a statewide comprehensive program for increasing the knowledge and skills of administrators, coaches, and teachers on the science of reading. Pullen's research focuses on early language and literacy development and interventions to prevent reading disability for vulnerable populations (e.g., cultural differences, poverty, rural living environments), as well as the educational outcomes of children with developmental disabilities. Prior to her position at the University of Florida, Pullen held a joint appointment at the University of Virginia's School of Medicine in Developmental Pediatrics and the Curry School of Education in Special Education (2001-2017). She earned her doctorate at the University of Florida in 2000, before which she had 12 years of K-12 teaching experience in general and special education. She has served as the Principal Investigator of federal and foundation-funded projects, has coauthored several books, including Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities, and Students with Learning Disabilities (with Cecil D. Mercer, Pearson, 2009; 2011), and has published book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, and presented papers focused on evidence-based reading instruction for students with disabilities. Pullen is Executive Editor of Exceptionality: A Special Education Journal (Taylor & Francis). She has also conducted reading research and professional development in Nigeria, Zambia and Botswana, Africa, as well as in the USA. Pullen is the recipient of the prestigious UVA Seven Society's Excellence in Mentoring Award (2011) and the Curry School Education Foundation's Most Outstanding Professor Award. Pullen has taught thousands of pre-service and in-service teachers in introductory courses in special education and language and literacy intervention for students with disabilities.

James M. Kauffman, Ed.D., is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Virginia. He is a past president of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) and the recipient of several awards, including the 1994 Research Award of the Council for Exceptional Children, the 2006 award of the Society for Applied Behavior Analysis for Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media, and the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Kansas School of Education. His primary research interests are emotional and behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and the history of and policy in special education. He has published over 100 articles in refereed journals, authored or coauthored dozens of book chapters, and is author, coauthor, or coeditor of more than 30 books, including Characteristics of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders of Children and Youth (11th ed.) (with Timothy J. Landrum, Pearson, 2018), Handbook of Special Education (2nd ed.) (with D. P. Hallahan & P. C. Pullen, Routledge, 2017), Special Education: What It Is and Why We Need It (2nd ed.) (with J. M. Kauffman, P. C. Pullen, & J. Badar, Routledge, 2018), and On educational inclusion: Meanings, history, issues and international perspectives, Routledge, 2020. He is also the editor of several forthcoming books. In his career, Kauffman has taught thousands of pre-service and in-service teachers in courses on emotional and behavioral disorders and behavior management, as well as hundreds of Ph.D. students in doctoral seminars.