An oxymoron, this term refers to disabled students, mainly those with mental disabilities. This term does not refer to high-achieving students, or highly intelligent students. "Exceptional" in the term is a
nice way of saying any of the following:
retarded, handicapped, helmet-wearing, parapalegic,
disturbed, etc. One should not, however, be mislead into thinking that persons who simply have a physical handicap are automatically stupid.