Five-year-old Strahinja has an IQ of 160, but still cannot walk or speak: This is the unusual and difficult story of a boy from Belgrade!
Strahinja is far ahead of many of us! This incredible boy has an IQ of 160, and we can only imagine what he will be capable of and what he may become. But his future now depends most of all on all of us and on our little, which for this five-year-old genius, who still cannot walk or speak, is everything. Absolutely everything.
He already reads both Cyrillic and Latin scripts, adds, subtracts, and even does some multiplication without difficulty! And all this despite the severe diagnosis he was given at birth: spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. In translation and reality – he cannot walk, he cannot speak, he lives in a wheelchair.
“From the age of four months he has had continuous physical and speech therapy, and in October last year he underwent fibrotomy by Ulzibat, which is a special technique of cutting muscle sections. He still cannot sit or walk independently, and he is mobile only with a wheelchair, into which he cannot get by himself and from which he cannot get up on his own. He still cannot speak due to spasms, most of them in the back, arms, shoulder and neck area, which has also affected the function of his hands,” says Jovana Milovanović, Strahinja’s mum for Kurir.
On the other hand, doctors were astonished by the boy’s intellectual abilities.
“Not only is he mentally preserved, but at the age of five he already reads fluently in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts. Since he cannot tell us what he has read, we give him cards on which he shows pictures and relations, by which we understand that he knows what it is about and that he understands everything. It is the same with addition and subtraction, and he even multiplies some numbers. His hearing is completely preserved. And when the doctor noticed that he was intellectually very superior, she told us to do an intelligence test. It turned out that his IQ is as high as 160,” explains Jovana.
Aware of everything around him, though unable to move, Strahinja is nonetheless a cheerful and sociable boy.
“He adores his older sister Nina, he loves children, loves being in company, outdoors. He goes with his dad to football matches,” says this Belgrade woman, who has been on leave from work since her son’s birth.
Strahinja does not go to kindergarten. At home he watches his favourite Paw Patrol. And he fights every day. Tirelessly.
“Every day we exercise at least two to three hours, both at home and in centres. We have already been to Croatia for intensive therapies, which really suit him. Those cycles take place every three to four months. And not only that. We also privately pay for physical therapy, and a speech therapist, and numerous supplements, specialist examinations, laboratory tests… And he also needs a special neurological wheelchair, which we cannot afford,” says Jovana, and adds:
“We already have some progress, which is not large, but it is important that it exists, although with spasm it goes very slowly. And that is why it is important to have continuity in all therapies and exercises. And for that we need the help of all good people. We cannot pay so much on our own, especially not abroad, where we must go again.”
THIS IS HOW YOU CAN HELP STRAHINJA
- Type 1871 and send an SMS to 3030 (help of 200 dinars)
- By payment to the dinar account: 160-6000002288632-07
- By payment to the foreign currency account: 160-6000002290092-89
IBAN: RS35160600000229009289
SWIFT/BIC: DBDBRSBG
- By scanning the NBS IPS QR code with your mBanking app: NBS IPS QR code
* Access via your mBanking app and scan the code from the screen. The amount is set at 1,000 RSD, and the amount can be adjusted in the app itself.
* More details at https://www.budihuman.rs/korisnik/1871/strahinja-milovanovic
And although he is only five years old, Strahinja Milovanović is aware that exercise is his only chance to stand on his feet and be where he belongs – among his peers. To kick a ball too.
“It’s incredible, but he himself also shows the desire to exercise. And when I say to him: ‘Shall we do more exercises?’, he shows that he wants to,” says Jovana.
There are many challenges ahead of Strahinja. And so little is needed from us for this little-great fighter. A single message, or 200 dinars, is even enough. And know that he will think with his heart and give a big thank you! Even though he still cannot say it…