Hearing that your son will never learn to do things independently is more than enough to break anyone’s heart. Born an autist and diagnosed for the same at about and a year and a half. Things weren’t always fair for Jacob Barnett, but with self-curiosity and good parenting, his life went 180. This is the story
Early years
Jacob Barnett born in the USA in,1998 was just another normal newborn baby. Until at the age of about two-year-old Jacob abruptly stopped speaking, couldn’t make eye contact. Educators and doctors told his parents that he would never be a functioning member of society as they discovered that Jake has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Kristine, his mother, never gave up hope on his son. She was there, giving Jake as much support he needs. Kristine provided Jacob with whatever he wanted and never tried to force him to be like other normal kids. When she found Jacob’s interest in astronomy, she helps him by being his companion and providing everything he wanted.
The growth of the Prodigy within
The therapy sessions frustrated Kristine(his mother). Jake wasn’t speaking at all, but something felt wrong, and she couldn’t get it out of her mind.
It soon came to a point when she took the matter in her hand rather than relying on all the medical therapy Jacob was going through. She decided to do is give Jake his childhood back and just let him be his unique self. The same shaped Jacob’s perspective, saying, “To succeed, you have to look at it on your own unique perspective”.
She decided to stop sending Jake to a particular education school and do sessions with him herself. From jigsaw puzzles to the algebraic formulas they learned together. Jake seemed fascinated by astrology, planets, and space, so her mother decided to take him to a planetarium to see Mars through a telescope.
As there’s an incident that unfolds as the exhibit to include an advanced lecture (the last place you’d bring an autistic child) but somehow Jacob began to read the PowerPoint presentation. In the end, when the lecturer asked the reason behind the elliptical moon of Mars, to which Jacob replied, “The moons around Mars are small, so they have a small mass. The gravitational effects of the moons are not large enough to pull them into complete spheres.” Which sent everyone in awe and to search for the source of the teeny-weeny voice.
The Milestones in the path
1.At two, he understood the concept behind the spectrum of light
2.At eight years old, Jake has mastered high school Math.
3.When 11 years old, Jake became a full-time student at Indiana University.
4.At 11 years old, he was able to publish his study in a prestigious scientific journal
5.When 13, he spoke at the TEDxTeen Talk inspiring young people to change their approach to learning
6.At 15 years old, he took his Master’s at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Also read: Ethan Bortnick: The World’s Youngest Solo Musician
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