I think that pretty much everyone is special to someone (even criminals have fan clubs). Clearly, children are special to their families.
That said, people with any kind of gift are special in a different way because they can do something that most ohter people can't or can't do nearly as well. If they weren't special, we wouldn't use the term gift to refer to their talents.
With respect to kids with cognitive gifts, yes, they're special, just as gifted adults are. Very intelligent people can think in ways that other people can't. Giftedness is more than being able to learn quickly; it's also a increased capacity to make connections that most other people can't make. So IMO, people with very high cognitive abilities are special in a significant and important way. It's very frustrating for me to see that our schools generally ignore this fact.
