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Jake: Math prodigy proud of his autism

January 15, 2012 4:00 PM

At age two, Jake Barnett was diagnosed with autism and his future was unclear. Now at age 13, Jake is a college sophomore and a math and science prodigy. Jake says his autism is key to his success. Morley Safer reports.

Jake: Math prodigy proud of his autism

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by Roi_Sipahelut January 29, 2012 8:19 PM EST
I Believe I Can Fly : Jake Barnett was diagnosed with autism and his future was unclear. Now at age 13, Jake is a college sophomore and a math and science prodigy. Jake says his autism is key to his success. if Jake can do the this things 4 His life i believe U can do this 4 u`re own self life
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by Alcivar1 January 28, 2012 12:23 PM EST
Wow, He is amazing. he should be my math and science tutor.
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by ChristineRogers1 January 27, 2012 5:01 PM EST
To the people who say he is not autistic, he regressed and lost his language at age 2 the piece said and then began the therapies. Both of my children have autism and also regressed and had lots of therapy and are now 'high functioning'. Other parents of 'more severely' autistic children often claim my children are not autistic or 'are not autistic enough' but they are autistic and both used to be much more profoundly so, so please don't judge things. Also parents ask me what I did, how did I help my children? The answer is I did the same thing they are doing. However, after having had them, and learning all about autism I am quite sure that I have undiagnosed ASD and so perhaps I am able to see things the way my children do and so approach my children and situations with them in a different way than NT parents do/would do. I'm not sure. I think the point the parents make in this piece about how they allowed him to focus on the interest he was showing is an important one, not just for savants, not just for ASD kids but for everyone. If we are allowed to nurture our strengths to the fullest who knows where we can go. I also wish they had touched on the synesthesia aspect of Jake's talent. My daughter is above age in math (not like Jake!) and she has mild synesthesia where she sees numbers with as/with colors.
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by thinkingonetoo January 27, 2012 9:59 AM EST
Wow, hook this kid up with Sir Richard Branson... what an American treasure!
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by serpendi56 January 25, 2012 12:16 PM EST
Brilliant kid! There should be more resources dedicated for these type of kids' education. It is very easy to get lost in public education.
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by Valmae76 January 24, 2012 3:02 PM EST
As a mother to a 2 year old with ASD...who also exhibits many of the same interests/abilities, and is going through all the therapies that Jake participated in, this gives me hope! While he may not be able to communicate verbally, he has learned (without any direction from us) all his letters (upper/lower), numbers, shapes, colors, can add/subtract and read. He LOVES letters & numbers...gives him such joy! So wonderful to see these qualities in a happily adjusted (and successful) boy like Jake :-)
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by dakotabc89 January 23, 2012 3:06 PM EST
Wow. I have found this video very enlightening. I know very little about autism and I'm not certain how I would handle the situtation as an instructor if a student such as Jake fell into my classroom. I would need to collaborate with many people to figure out how to best provide an environment that would not hinder his potential or, quite honestly, waste his time. Jake will be a true asset the scientific community.
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by cgmpowers January 21, 2012 10:48 PM EST
What I found most fascinating was the talk from Jake about the "Fourth Dimension".. His ability to see numbers as shapes & that allows him to understand mathematics--very complex mathematics. As he recited what Pi was, his eyes were focused above, as if he was literally "seeing" the numbers float by in mid-air. He's able to interact, manipulate with cuing visual recall of what he's seen or heard & literally 'sees' these numbers or shapes or whatnots.

I found that, to me, the most fascinating part of the whole story. Its just very fascinating, I'd like to know more about the science behind "how" he can do this... I think its just so fascinating. I wonder if other savants of math, science or whatnot have similar experiences regarding their extraordinary abilities. If anyone's seen the SyFy Channel show, Alphas, this kid reminds me of one of the characters on that show. The whole show is about people with "some sort of ability" like this....its a very fascinating show.
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by KarKettler January 20, 2012 9:16 PM EST
I understand a appreciate that memory ability is important, but I feel that it's the ability to integrate each piece of newly learned information, and to form connections across sub-groups quickly and easily is the real key to this type of prodigy. If you imagine the gifted brain like an orb weaver's spiderweb, and each new piece of information becoming part of that web and ALL its connections in the same lightening fast moment it's learned, then I believe that is the real answer to how children (or adults) with this super ability are able to achieve so much.
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by Benq222 January 20, 2012 7:14 PM EST
What is the use of the label? Autism is the "kitchen sink" disorder created to have some way to categorize a widely diverse range of "symptoms" but I prefer characteristics in children who deviate from the norm. Hopefully Jakes story will lead others to understand the labels are not real, the children are, and medicating children for such conditions so they can fit in and be less of a burden is reprehensibly wrong. The current psychological/medical services industry(as a member of this industry myself)in this regard has become such a perversion in which self preservation guides decision making rather than verifiable repeatable science. Unfortunately I don't see this area improving, only getting worse since the society has become so comfortable as seeing anything different as wrong and willing to medicate and take pills as the solution in dealing with life difficulties and challenges. The pharmaceutical industry certainly promotes this view since it makes them so much money. They have great input in the textbooks and college programs training the new brainwashed generation of healthcare professionals.
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