Six-year-old American Mensan Declan Lopez showed signs of being gifted almost from birth.
At just a few days old, Declan could hold her own bottle. She began speaking by the age of six months and mastered phonics before she was one. Though both sides of the family contain many smart people, parents Meachel and Delano were surprised by their daughter’s exceptional abilities.
Mum Meachel, who was 34 when Declan was born, has devoted herself to keeping Declan and her 4-year-old brother Maddox (who also seems gifted) fully stimulated. Meachel works from home in her own e-commerce business and Dad Delano is a high school teacher/coach in their community in Northern New Jersey.
Declan seems to be curious about everything, including vexillology (the study of flags), country capitals, and different cultures. She likes maths, reading, science, geography and language. Mum keeps things interesting by using toys, games and videos in her daily lessons.
Using YouTube videos, Declan has learned to count in Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Indonesian and German and is working on Russian. The Periodic Table fascinates Declan, and she can break down elements by categories, atomic number, atomic weight and symbols. She enjoys algebra, has a strong interest in coding and physics, and is fascinated by the forces that keep things in motion.
In the autumn of 2023 she entered public kindergarten where she endured some bullying for being different, and had a bit of trouble relating to most kids her age. She and her younger brother transferred to a private school for gifted children in January 2024, where Declan was accelerated to first grade and is developing good friendships.
At age 5, her parents had her IQ tested in an effort to get her into gifted programs. Her IQ score of 137 got Declan into Mensa. Thus far, the family hasn’t found local Mensans in Declan’s age group, but they hope that will change the more they get involved in regional events.
Like any little girl, Declan likes to play “pretend”, sing, dance, colour, dress up in costume and loves fashion. Additionally, she has been creating vlog videos since she was 4 on topics ranging from fun facts to her doing advanced maths. She is writing a children’s book with her father. Her unusual ability to speak clearly at her age and memorise lines has made her parents consider the acting offers coming her way.
Declan has been featured on TV (CNN, ABC, Inside Edition, and News 12 NJ) as well as in print (USA Today). We here in Mensa are cheering her on and will do a follow-up profile when she is older.
Převzato z Mensa World Journal, č. 136, 5/2024.