This article attacks the special status among professionals enjoyed by the so-called 'isolated' abilities of some psychotic children, and attempts to view these abilities as ego operations developing in the context of the psychotic disruption. Closer inspection reveals that many of these abilities require the involvement of the very ego functions thought to be most defective. The author holds out the hope that investigation of the development of such special ego operations will contribute to our understanding of ego development generally. A good bibliography is included.