Solent News
Meet Heidi Hankins, one very clever little girl who has joined Mensa at the grand old age of four.
Heidi has an IQ of a 'genius' and has been accepted into Mensa after nursery staff said they were finding it tricky to challenge her. The average adult IQ score is 100, and 130 for a 'gifted' adult. Heidi well and truly wipes the floor with those figures, as she has an IQ of 159!
This whopping score beats Carol Vorderman's 154, and Heidi's only one point behind scientist Stephen Hawking, who has a score of 160.
Heidi's dad, Matthew, a public health lecturer who is married to Sophy and is also dad to Isaac, nine, says: "We always thought Heidi was bright because she was reading early. I was curious about her IQ and the results were off the scale.
"I got her the complete set of the Oxford Reading Tree books when she was two and she read through the whole set of 30 in about an hour. It's what you would expect a seven-year-old to do.
"She was making noises and trying to talk literally since she was born and by age one her vocabulary was quite good. Now it is really good.
"The other day I gave her mash and fish fingers for dinner - something quite boring - and her response was 'That's impressive', so she has a sense of humour, too."
Heidi can add, subtract, write in sentences and draw figures. She could count to 40 by age two, and also learnt to read by the same age, by teaching herself using the family's computer!
John says his little girl is not precocious, despite her amazing intelligence, saying: "She is just a little girl who likes her Barbies and Lego but then you will find her sitting down and reading a book. We are really proud of her."
John Stevenage, chief executive of British Mensa, said: "Heidi's parents correctly identified that she shows great potential. We wish them well and are pleased that they have chosen to join the Mensa network for support.
"We aim to provide a positive environment for younger members to develop."
What a clever girl! Good luck Heidi!
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