Britain's cleverest two-year-old with an IQ to challenge Einstein

[totalgenius]

A two-year-old girl has been hailed the cleverest child in Britain with an IQ almost as high as Einstein's.

Elise Tan Roberts, who was walking at eight months, can recite the phonetic alphabet and knows the capital of nearly every country. At two years, four months and two weeks old, she is the youngest member of Mensa.

Her IQ of 156 is two points higher than Carol Vorderman's, and only a few points behind Einstein's, believed to be 160. The average IQ is 100, putting her comfortably in the top 0.2 per cent of children her age.

Elise's parents, Louise and Edward from Edmonton, say their daughter's extraordinary talent often takes them by surprise.

Mrs Roberts, 28, who works part-time for a removal company and supermarket, said: "It's nothing to do with me. She just says things and you have no idea where she got it from. I don't set out to teach her loads of stuff, she just enjoys learning and picks things up. She's always on the go, she never stops."

Elise was born eight days late at University College Hospital. Soon after, her parents realised she was different. She was little more than five months old when she looked her father in the eyes and called him "Dada". Three months later she was walking and two months after that she was running.

Before her first birthday she could recognise her written name and by 16 months she could count to 10. She can now do it in Spanish.

It was when Mrs Roberts saw a TV programme about gifted children that she called Professor Joan Freeman, a specialist educational psychologist, to assess her. After a 45-minute test, Professor Freeman concluded Elise was "more than very bright and capable - she is gifted".

Mr Roberts, 34, who is self-employed buying cars for garages, said: "Our aim is to make sure she keeps learning at an advanced pace. We don't want to make her have to dumb down to fit in. But she's still my baby. I want her to be happy and enjoy herself."

Carol Vorderman said: "I think it's fantastic. I hope she's the youngest to do GCSE Maths, she'll probably do it by five." Mensa chief executive, John Stevenage, said: "She is an exceptional child."





By Kiran Randhawa

Britain's cleverest two-year-old with an IQ to challenge Einstein | News

 

[totalgenius]

The amazing two-year-old with an IQ of 156 - she's cleverer than Carol Vorderman!

Elise Tan Roberts presses her fingers and thumbs together to make a shape.

What’s that?” she asks with a cheeky grin. Before anyone can answer, she does it for them: “An equilateral triangle.”

The super-confident tot then recites her phonetic alphabet, almost perfectly, before counting to 10 in Spanish.

In a few minutes she has shown why, at just two years and four months, she has become the youngest member of Mensa with an IQ of 156.

​

It puts her above Carol Vorderman, at 154, and just below Einstein, who was believed to be about 160.

Mum Louise, 28, holds up her hands in mock surrender.

“It’s nothing to do with me,” she says. “She just says things and you have no idea where she got it from.

“I don’t set out to teach her loads of stuff, she just enjoys learning and picks things up. She’s always on the go, she never stops.”

For parents of such a gifted child, Louise and her husband Edward, 34, are refreshingly down to earth.

They do not sit her down and drum lessons into her, they simply answer her questions and encourage her when she wants to learn.

And Elise remembers it all.

Professor Joan Freeman, a specialist educational psychologist who tested Elise’s intelligence, said her memory was her great gift.

“She is more than very bright and capable,” Prof Freeman said in her report. “She is gifted.”

In many ways, Elise is a normal two-year-old. She plays with her dolls, dances to music on the TV and throws the occasional strop. Her favourite TV shows are Mickey Mouse Club and Super Why.

But it is obvious she is no ordinary child. She chats incessantly, asking hundreds of questions and remembering every detail.

She says hello to the grass, asks how the flowers are and wants to know what everything is called.

She happily chats to strangers and seemingly never gets bored.

She is incredibly expressive and has an unusual turn of phrase for a tot.

“What a shame,” she states with a sad face when her shoe falls off.

“Let’s all sit down.”

When she does, briefly, lose her temper because no one will open her bottle of bubbles, she says two minutes later and totally unprompted:

“I’m sorry, daddy.”

At playgroup, when another child showed her a picture and told her it was a rhinoceros, she replied: “That’s not a rhinoceros, it’s a Triceratops.”

She is very cautious, careful on the stairs and hesitant before throwing herself around.

And whenever a bee comes into sight, she freezes.

Louise explains: “Usually children don’t understand danger but she does and it’s not something you can teach. I don’t know where she gets it from. It’s crazy.”

Elise was born eight days late at University College Hospital, London, on December 16, 2006.

Louise and Edward realised she was different soon after she was born.

She took an unusual interest in her surroundings, gazing at people and objects. She took her first steps at eight-and-a-half months and by 10 months she was running.

At five months she said her first word, she could say her name at 11 months and count to 10 by 16 months.

At 18 months, she could count to 20, recite nursery rhymes, knew the phonetic alphabet and could name six capital cities. Today, she can name the capital city of virtually any country thrown at her.

After being asked about Jakarta, Abuja and Freetown, she asks: “What about Bogota?”

When she went for a two-year check-up and Louise was asked how many words her daughter knew, she had to admit there was no way she could answer.

It was when Louise saw a TV programme about gifted children that she called Prof Freeman, who agreed to assess her. Using a standard Stamford-Binet Intelligence Scale test, the child expert quickly established Elise was in the top 0.2 per cent of children her age in the country with a mental age of three years and ten months. Mensa accepts members with an IQ in the top two per cent.

It only tests children aged 10 or above but accepted Prof Freeman’s report on Elise.

Mensa chief executive John Stevenage said: “Elise’s parents identified she is an exceptional child. They realise they have an interesting challenge as she grows up.”

Ms Vorderman said: “I think it’s fantastic and I congratulate her. I hope she’s the youngest to do GCSE maths, she’ll probably do it by five!”

Edward and Louise are determined Elise has a normal childhood and will clearly do anything to protect it. The young family live in a modest house in Edmonton, North London.

Elise works part time for a removal company and in a supermarket every Sunday. Edward is self employed buying cars for garages.

“We’re not pushy parents,” Louise stresses. “I want her to play and be a normal two-year-old. Her IQ is really high and should only go up, but if it goes down we won’t be upset, just as long as she’s happy.”

Edward nods in agreement. “She’s my baby,” he says. “She’s still a kid and I want her to enjoy all the chances she has left to play.”

WHAT ELISE CAN DO ALREADY

Spell her name aloud

Read words Mummy and Daddy

Recognise drawn letters

Name all three types of triangle

Name 35 capital cities

Draw a circle

Recite the phonetic alphabet

Recite the normal alphabet

Count to 10 in Spanish

Count to 20

Do very basic maths eg 1+2=3

Name all her colours, including distinguishing between pink and purple, brown and black

Name several shapes, including hexagon, star, circle, square and rectangle

Name many animals and their noises





By Victoria Ward and Clemmie Moodie
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