Ear Hustle

In Honor of Black History Month -Meet Adam Kirby, Child Prodigy Youngest Member of British Mensa at age Two

Adam-Kirby

 

Adam Kirby’s parents knew he was brighter than most other children when, at 23 months, he potty trained himself after reading a book on the subject.

So advanced was he for his age, that Dean and Kerry-Ann Kirby took their firstborn to get his IQ tested at just two years old. The London native was found to have a score of 141 – higher than many U.S. presidents – despite not even being old enough to fully communicate. He was then invited to join Mensa, where he became the high IQ society’s youngest boy at two years and five months.

adam kirby 3adam kirby2

The toddler’s parents Dean, 33,  and Kerry-Ann, 31, say they realised their son was different when he’d  potty-trained himself after reading a book on the subject aged just one.

At 29 months, Adam is able to spell 100  words, has conquered most of his times tables up to 10, has learnt his periodic  table, and even mastered a world map puzzle designed for adults.

adam kirby

After he scored so highly in the IQ test he  was invited to join British Mensa, the society for those with outstandingly high  IQs, and became the youngest boy ever to do so.

The youngest British person  ever to join was a girl, Elise Tan-Roberts, now six, who joined Mensa aged two  years and four months in 2009; Adam joined at two years and five  months.

His father, Mr Kirby, an IT consultant from  Mitcham, London, said: ‘Adam’s abilities are outstanding and we’ve been actively  developing his intelligence since he was 10 weeks old – but we’re certainly  delighted for him.

 

‘While most children are just learning to  stand up or crawl Adam was reading books, his development was just  mind-blowingly quick.

‘We used to show him cards with the  words  hippopotamus and rhinoceros on them and he could identify the  right animals  most of the time.’

adam kirby 4

 

The Stanford-Binet exam, originally  developed by French psychologist Alfred Binet and revised by Stanford  University’s Lewis Terman in 1916, has become renowned for being able to  accurately determine a child’s intelligence levels and predict future  grades.

Adam’s score of 141 – just four shy of the ‘Genius’ category – puts him head and shoulders above the average Brit’s IQ of  100.

Mr Kirby said: ‘Neither my wife nor I are  Mensa members. We are both bright, but Adam is significantly more  advanced at  his age than we were.

I think the main reason for his rapid  development is that we have found effective ways to make learning  enjoyable.

John Stevenage, British Mensa’s CEO, said:  ‘The members of Mensa always welcome new additions as we aim to stimulate people  in an intellectual and social environment.

We are look to help gifted children and  encourage them to develop at an extraordinary.

‘We look forward to Adam joining Mensa and  expect him to have a very bright future.’

Adam’s younger brother Ethan is not yet two  months old, but his parents are expecting great things.

Mr Kirby said: ‘I expect that he will develop  at a faster pace than Adam as my wife and I are now more experienced, and he has  his older brother Adam to learn from.

‘In addition, I’ve read that second children  tend to be in a hurry to catch up with their older siblings, so I think this  will keep him on an upwards curve.’

adam kirby family

Adam is able to progress at his own pace  whenever he chooses to and in areas of his choosing.

‘He knows the planets of the solar system,  dozens of pairs of words with opposite meanings – he has a great sense of humour  and most importantly he is self-motivated, athletic, very happy and  playful.’

Adam, who is reading the Oxford  Reading Tree  series designed for seven-year-olds, is already in the top  1.3 per cent of the  population.

And his parents expect him to score even  higher once his communication skills develop fully

John Stevenage, British Mensa’s CEO, said:  ‘The members of Mensa always welcome new additions as we aim to stimulate people  in an intellectual and social environment.

We are look to help gifted children and  encourage them to develop at an extraordinary.  ‘We look forward to Adam joining Mensa and  expect him to have a very bright future.’

Adam’s younger brother Ethan is not yet two  months old, but his parents are expecting great things.

Mr Kirby said: ‘I expect that he will develop  at a faster pace than Adam as my wife and I are now more experienced, and he has  his older brother Adam to learn from.

In addition, I’ve read that second children  tend to be in a hurry to catch up with their older siblings, so I think this  will keep him on an upwards curve.’

 

 

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

 

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