Originally published May 30 2013
Boy diagnosed with autism has higher IQ than Einstein; thriving despite failure of public school system
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) When the experts told Kristine Barnett of Indiana that her two-year-old son would probably never be able to read or even tie his shoes due to his severe case of autism, the brave mother of three decided to take matters into her own hands. And as a result, she helped nurture the young boy into the genius he is today, defying all odds and proving that the government-run education system as we currently know it is a complete failure.
In her recent memoir, Kristine recounts how the special education system designed specifically for children like Jacob was actually stunting his growth. Educators continually pulled young Jacob away from the things that interested him, and instead tried to force-feed him through the conventional ringer, which ended up making his autism symptoms worse and forcing him into solitude and silence, completely separate from the outside world. But everything changed when Kristine decided to reject the advice of professionals and even her husband, and instead take an alternative route.
"He was in a very strict therapy program, and he was doing many hours of therapy a week, just working on his lower skills and trying to get them up," explained Kristine during a recent interview with BBC News, noting that Jacob floundered within the conventional education model.
"(But) when he wasn't in therapy, I noticed spectacular things like he would recreate maps all across our floor using Q-tips, and there would be maps of places we've visited and he memorized every street," she added. "He would recite the alphabet forwards and backwards, and learned to speak in about four different languages when he started talking again to me."
Government education designed to create drones, not thinkers
As it turns out, what mainstream educators mistook as a disability was actually Jacob's ingenuity just waiting to manifest itself. But it took Jacob's mother literally removing him from the clutches of the conventional, government-controlled education system and allowing him to flourish on his own for this to happen. Today, Jacob is already working on a Master's Degree in quantum physics, and he is currently working on his own original theory in astrophysics - and he is only 14 years old!
"For a parent, it's terrifying to fly against the advice of the professionals," writes Kristine in her memoir, The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius, about her decision to remove Jacob from the system and nurture his own unique being independently. "But I knew in my heart that if Jake stayed in special ed, he would slip away."
In other words, Kristine basically came to the realization that her son was uniquely gifted, and that the system designed for him by mainstream experts would severely limit his ability both to express himself and to learn and thrive in accordance with his distinct individuality. Rather than bring out his best qualities, the mainstream system kept them all in a box. Thankfully for Jacob, his mother recognized this inherent failure of the system early and pulled him out of it - and now he is considered by experts to be smarter than Albert Einstein.
"I think that every child is beautiful and every child has a special gift inside of them. Regardless of what difficulties you face, or if you're a little bit different. With Jacob, it was just a matter of finding that and tuning into it. I operate off of a concept called 'muchness,' which is just surrounding children with things they love, be it music or art - whatever they're drawn to and love."
Be sure to watch a TEDxTeen talk given by Jacob entitled Forget What You Know:
http://youtu.be/Uq-FOOQ1TpE
Also, you can check out the book The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by visiting:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15798364-the-spark
Sources for this article include:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22477958
http://youtu.be/Uq-FOOQ1TpE
http://www.nydailynews.com
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