FRISCO, Texas — Step into Zayn Riyas' world, and you'll be amazed of the gifts of the Frisco 2-year-old. According to American Mensa, he is the youngest Mensa member currently in the country at 2 years and 11 months old.
Mensa is a high-IQ organization that connects a community of intelligent people.
"We go to a friend's place or a party, and he was standing out and we didn't know how to explain that," his mother, Grace Israel, said.
It is hard to explain how a child starts reading at 13 months. His parents told WFAA that the first word he read was "car." His mind simply doesn't turn off, according to his parents.
"He asks lots and lots of questions, especially when we're driving in a car," his father, Mohamed Riyas Ali Farook, said. "He points at things and says, 'What is that? Why is it happening?'"
It was a pediatrician who urged Mohamed and Grace to test their son. The results showed he had an IQ of 142. The average human has an IQ between 90 and 110.
"It was a dream," his father said of his son qualifying for Mensa. "We did not actually believe it actually when it happened."
"He's one of three aged three and under and one of 56 members aged five and under," said Charles Brown with American Mensa. "That's out of 50,000 members."
Zayn can read and place every country on a map. Brown said he is the youngest Mensa member in the country. However, that title is often short-lived, because there are 2-year-olds being tested all the time.
Brown is quick to remind people that the gift of intelligence isn't entirely a positive.
"Being the smartest kid in the room is not as easy as it sounds," he said.
Mensa helps high IQ people fit in.
One of Zayn's parents is an engineer, the other has a doctorate in English Literature. They are tasked with keeping Zayn challenged. That's why Frisco roads are mapped out in the living room. Grace thinks Zayn's photographic memory helps him place where stores and schools are on a map.
"We don't want to put any pressure on him," his father said. "It is according to his pace."
His pace is beyond many 2-year-olds you'll find. The only thing toddler about Zayn is that he's terribly smart.