The case of the very young Zorien Royce has made headlines around the world. He is a 4-year-old boy, living with his parents in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, who has shown to have abilities far superior to those of a child his age. After emigrating from India, his parents, Naqib Alam Ansari and Monirupa Ananya, settled in Illinois and had the little one. At just 2 years old, they realized he was capable of spelling long words and counting in ascending and descending order up to 100. In light of this situation, they decided that Royce would take the WPPSI-IV Weschler test, in which he achieved an IQ of 156 out of 160.
That places him in the range of “profoundly gifted,” and he was accepted into two of the most important high IQ societies in the world: Mensa and Intertel. In addition to leading a normal life, he participates in the international Kumon program, where he dedicates time to work on his math and reading. Although his dream when he grows up is to work at NASA, his parents want to make sure he grows up being a child, playing, laughing, and spending time with kids his age.
Zorien Royce
The case of this little genius who is only 4 years old has gone around the world. It is about Zorien Royce, a child living in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, the son of immigrants. After arriving in the United States in 2014, Naqib Alam Ansari and Monirupa Ananya settled in Illinois in 2018, where they began their new life. Since he was 2 years old, they noticed that their son had abilities superior to others: he could count in ascending and descending order up to 100, and he could spell long words like ‘hippopotamus’ or ‘alligator’.
The test that defined him
In light of this situation, the family stated, “We didn’t want his abilities to go unnoticed or for him to feel out of place. That was when we turned to Mensa“. Royce took the WPPSI-IV Wechsler test, one of the most recognized standardized instruments for assessing the intelligence and cognitive skills of children aged 2-7 years. Its aim is to identify the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of these children. In Royce’s case, he scored a 156 out of 160, which led to him being considered one of the brightest children his age in the United States.
In response to these results, his parents said, “He could grasp new concepts at lightning speed and retain them effortlessly. That was when we realized we had a very unusual child on our hands”. After being accepted into both Intertel and Mensa, it was the latter institution that provided him resources that supported his intellectual and social development, while still maintaining contact with children his age. They even shared the little boy’s profile on their social media under the name “multilingual math genius”.
What future awaits young Zorien?
Currently, Royce is 4 years old and if you ask him, he replies that when he grows up he wants to be a scientist at NASA. He is able to read at the level of a second or third grade student, performs math activities fluently, and is also multilingual, as he perfectly masters Bengali and English, and has notions of Spanish, Hindi, and French. In addition to his advances in the classroom, he is participating in the international Kumon program, where he is focusing on his math and reading skills.
His parents, who encourage him to continue developing his cognitive and social skills through specialized programs, also ensure that Zorien grows up as the child he is, without giving that up. When he is not studying, Zorien plays soccer, practices swimming, draws, and paints. ‘We want to make sure that Zorien enjoys being a child, plays, laughs, and grows emotionally alongside his intellectual journey,’ they explained.