AUTISTIC BOY WITH HIGH ACHIEVEMENTS IN CHEMISTRY

His name is Yassen and he is in the 9th grade. He is different from his classmates because he is autistic. Despite that, he applied at equal terms with the other children for the most–prestigious Bulgarian school of national sciences and mathematics and successfully passed the entry exam. Today the boy participates in competitions in chemistry and students and teachers have great respect for his achievements.

“He is not ill, he is simply different and is autistic. That’s it. But who is to say if he is different, perhaps it is us who are different”, says Yassen’s Grandma, Bodganka, who spends most of the time with him.

Speaking with Yassen makes you wonder who is actually different. His world is somehow more colourful. Little things excite him, he remembers them, tells us in detail what he read in encyclopedia books.

Yassen changes the people from his environment.

“I have changed since I started teaching in his class. For example, the speed of my teaching is slower which is more useful for the other students as well.”, says his teacher, Neli Dyankova.

Yassen’s dream is more and more achievable – to study natural sciences at a university in Austria.