Abstract
This paper examines the historical phenomenon of special needs education prior to the era of Maria Montessori and her contributions towards the transformation of that system of education. Before her time, special needs education suffered a lot of challenges which include social, economic, religious and political. In her period, Montessori initiated the method of teaching children with special needs, established children's homes, campaigned against stigmatization of disabled children, and established a behavior reconstruction laboratory. These contributed immensely to the transformation process of the present day special needs education that is aimed at preparing disabled children for a functional and a brighter future. This conceptual paper thus, is expected to aid educators and stakeholders in dealing with children and people with immensely special needs.