Deaf News: Deaf boy joins Mensa with ‘genius’ IQ score

A 12-year-old boy from Lancashire has joined the prestigious group Mensa, after scoring 162 in an IQ test.

Darren Toh, who was born deaf, is now understood to have an IQ higher than scientists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking – who are both believed to have scored 160 in the test of intelligence.

Speaking to BBC News, Darren said: “I’ve just taken my Mensa exam and I scored the highest mark possible for my age.

“I was expecting a lower score because I felt sure that I’d got quite a few of them wrong.”

As well as having a high IQ score, Darren is also a musician, playing both the piano and saxophone.

His IQ also places him above the level to be considered a ‘genius’ – according to psychologist Lewis Terman.

Despite this, the schoolboy said he considered himself “smart but not quite a genius”.

A subtitled video with Darren can be found on the BBC News website.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and makes the occasional video about deaf awareness on his YouTube channel. He can also be found talking about disability, politics, theatre, books and music on his Twitter, and on his website.