The Guinness World Records has honored two incredible young record holders on the autism spectrum, Sanaa Hiremath, and Auldin Maxwell.
To celebrate Autism Acceptance Month in April, Guinness World Records wanted to highlight the two talented youngsters, who’ve accomplished so much in such a short period of time.
Sanaa was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, and at just 11 years old she took home an award for ‘largest arithmetic multiplication problem’. Her mother told Guinness World Records that Sanaa first got interested in math when she was seven.
Now, at the age of 11, Sanaa likes to listen to music, swim, ride her bike, and travel. In fact, her mother shared that her daughter worked very hard to get to the point where she is now. “Sanaa has worked every day of her life to pull herself up to where she is now. Whether it is her speech, gross and fine motor skills, and every little thing we take for granted in our daily lives, she has worked hard for all of those. She is now able to do things which were considered impossible during her early childhood.”
To achieve the title for ‘largest mental arithmetic multiplication,’ Sanaa was timed as she multiplied 12 randomly selected digits. Without the aid of writing utensils, paper, computer, or calculator, she had only her mind as a tool.
Auldin Maxwell, on the other hand, broke the record for ‘most Jenga blocks stacked on one vertical block’. In November of 2020, Auldin balanced 693 blocks on top of one another; within four months, he broke his own record by stacking more than 1,400 Jenga blocks.
He’s since broken the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks stacked on one vertical Jenga GIANT block, with 500 of them balanced on a single block.
Since the age of 6, it’s been on Auldin’s mind to earn a Guinness World Record. He explained that earning this title was more about strategy than chance.
For each attempt, he would mentally prepare himself “with an enjoyable activity, like riding my unicycle or playing basketball with my stepdad.”
“I learned to never look away from the stack once it gets close to the number I am trying to get, because if it falls, I won’t be able to save it quickly,” he said.
Although the two received records in different categories, their motives and targets remain the same: to work to overcome their challenges by tapping into their strengths.
