At Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 12-year-old student Jacob Barnett has been impressing his professors with his knowledge of physics and mathematics. He was diagnosed as autistic when he was two years old because he did not speak or make eye contact. As reported by Indystar.com, after his parents noticed his love of astronomy and mathematics, they “began to feed Jake’s hunger for knowledge, through more books and more visits to the planetarium. By the time he was 8, he got permission to sit in on an advanced astronomy class at IUPUI.”
Because he had advanced so far beyond his fifth-grade class, his parents decided to put him in an early college entrance program for gifted and talented kids. He now attends college classes regularly, tutors other college students, and has been recommended by his professors for research work.
Comment by Rose Walker — April 14, 2011 @ 9:05 am
I DO BELIEVE this is happening more than we would care to acknowledge. We take brilliant kids, and treat them like mental cases.
I’m so G.D. tired of it. And that’s putting it NICELY!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Rose Walker — April 14, 2011 @ 9:08 am
By the way, Miss Bonnie…thanks for helping me raise Ben. I can never thank you enough!!Just a few words of hope, and not disease, can make all the difference!