Jacob Barnett another 14-year-old alpha, (“Alpha “ is a term inspired by the TV series “Alpha” used to describe humans with extra-ordinary intelligence) his school had put him in the Special-ED classes, had declared he could not learn that he suffered from ADD. ADD- Attention Deficit Order, a condition found usually in children is characterized primarily by inattention, easy distractibility, disorganization, procrastination, and forgetfulness. A child with this condition has difficulty in focusing on anything for a long time among other problems.
Jacob Barnett is a popular speaker at TED and a Science genius. Had it not been for his mother, Kristine Barnett, who recognized his abilities he would have perhaps just been described as an autistic kid with having special needs. She knew from the very beginning that there was something different about him. He used to draw the maps with q-tips on floor of the places they would have visited. She describes in her book “The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing Genius” that she was afraid of trying to pull him out of school. “For a parent, it’s terrifying to fly against the advice of the professionals. But I knew in my heart that if Jake stayed in special ed, he would slip away.” But she listened to her heart and had pulled out Jacob from elementary school. Jacob had learned all of high school math in just two weeks without anyone’s help or teaching.
At the age of two he was diagnosed with being autistic. Now at 14, he is often thought of being more intelligent than Einstein. He could also become a Nobel prize winner. At the age of 10 he had enrolled in Indiana –Purdue university studying to become a physicist.
He runs a charity called “Jacob’s Place” along with his family to educate people about autism. They go around from city to city explaining the truths about autism.