![\"\"](\"http:\/\/worldtruth.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/390-autism-0510.jpg\" "\\"Never")
A Beautiful Mind<\/p><\/div>\n
Jacob was silent for much of his childhood. But when he started to speak, he was able to communicate in four different languages.<\/p>\n
As a child, doctors told Jacob Barnett\u2019s parents that their autistic son would probably never know how to tie his shoes.<\/p>\n
But experts say the 14-year-old Indiana prodigy has an IQ higher than Einstein\u2019s and is on the road to winning a Nobel Prize. He\u2019s given TedX talks and is working toward a master\u2019s degree in quantum physics.<\/p>\n
The key, according to mom Kristine Barnett, was letting Jacob be himself \u2014 by helping him study the world with wide-eyed wonder instead of focusing on a list of things he\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0do.<\/p>\n
Diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at the age of 2, Jacob spent years in the clutches of a special education system that\u00a0didn’t\u00a0understand what he needed. His teachers at school would try to dissuade Kristine from hoping to teach Jacob any more than the most basic skills.<\/p>\n
Jacob was struggling with that sort of instruction \u2014 withdrawing deeper into himself and refusing to speak with anyone.<\/p>\n
But Kristine noticed that when he was not in therapy, Jacob was doing \u201cspectacular things\u201d on his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would create maps all over our floor using Q-tips. They would be maps of places\u00a0we’ve\u00a0visited and he would memorize every street,\u201d Kristine told the\u00a0BBC.<\/p>\n
One day, his mom took him stargazing. A few months later, they visited a planetarium where a professor was giving a lecture. Whenever the teacher asked questions, Jacob\u2019s little hand shot up and he began to answer questions \u2014 easily understanding complicated theories about physics and the movement of planets.<\/p>\n
Jacob was just 3-1\/2 years old.<\/p>\n
His mom realized that Jacob might need something that the standard special education curriculum just\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0giving him.<\/p>\n
So Kristine decided to take on the job herself.<\/p>\n