By Premature Baby Becomes a Prodigy at 3, Joining Mensa After They Run Out of Questions For the Toddler
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More than three years ago in a Portland, Oregon hospital, Lawson Lundberg was born prematurely. After spending several weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, doctors expected the child to have significant delays in cognitive development.
Despite hearing no more than two words for the first two years of her life, Lawson’s mother, Sara, witnessed a sudden change.
“He seemed to be in leaps and bounds, learning shapes without us having to teach him, learning words we don’t even remember saying around him.”
“At the beginning of this year, during the ice storm, we were without power for a few days and during that time he learned the names of the countries and their capitals. It was then that we realized that he had somehow learned phonetics on his own, which blew us away. “
Now, at 3 years old, Lawson knows all the flags, countries and capitals of the world. While other children were learning to walk, Lawson was naming all 50 states and 195 countries! His vocabulary is constantly growing and his interest in learning is unique, so much so that his parents had his IQ evaluated professionally.
The boy scored 151. For reference, Albert Einstein’s IQ was estimated to be between 160 and 180, but much later in life.
Lawson’s parents signed up their son to join the national intelligence organization Mensa, placing him among the youngest members of the group. It takes an IQ of 130 to join, and at age 3, Lawson is way ahead of that pace and he’s not done yet.
“About 21% of the IQ test didn’t answer badly on any of the questions, so they ran out of questions to ask,” Sara told GNN. “Normally once you mess up they move on, but they couldn’t move on until they were exhausted, which is not normal by any means.”
They recommended that you take the test again in a few years to get a more accurate view of your IQ because the test for older children has an unlimited number of questions.
RELATED: 2-year-old girl with a genius IQ is the youngest American to become a member of Mensa
It is an extraordinary journey for any child, but especially for a premature baby who is born with an increased risk of cognitive delays and disabilities.
“Now he likes coins and he’s asking questions like, ‘Where’s my money?’” Sara said with a smile.
CLOCK: This 4-year-old goes into action when the deep fryer catches fire in the kitchen
The talented Lawson is also channeling his creative side to ‘give back’ to the community.
“We have talked about the importance of charity,” Sara said. “The March of Dimes helped us a lot when Lawson and his twin sister were in the NICU.”
Now, Lawson has picked up a paintbrush and “made it his mission” to earn money for the charity. He has raised $ 525 from family friends, but now they offer to send the boy’s paintings, which consist of the exact shapes of the states or countries, to strangers who donate in the family donations page in the March of Dimes.
Please email Sara if you are making a donation and would like a painting sent to her as a personal thank you from Lawson: [email protected]
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