Man who learnt to read at 18 becomes Cambridge University's youngest ever black professor - BBC News

I always felt like it was a privilege to have an 11-year period where maybe I couldn't speak or converse and what

ever

yone else could because it allowed me to see things in a different way. Professor Jason our day was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of three. He could not speak until he was 11 and

read

or write until he was 18. During his early years his parents continued to believe in him. At 18 my mother had reached a point where there was only so much he could do and he was brilliant even though he had the belief that you know he's going to do something right, but he just decided I need someone else to believe in him as much as I believe in him.

The therapists predicted that he would need full-time assistance throughout his life how wrong were they, you're okay, it was this college tutor, Sandro Sandri, who helped teach Jason to

read

and write at 18. I'm so happy for he, you know, to be honest, I'm speechless, but I n

ever

doubt for a moment that they would make it where Sandra is, she would spend hours of her free time teaching Jason there's one thing you told me that I never forgot and it was when I was 22 years old and you I said I was thinking about getting a PhD and you told me like you knew it would be the best story in the world if the kid who couldn't read or write got a PhD like um and you said like me I think you know we can conquer the world or you can conquer the world and you can win um and I and I and I never and I never forgot and now Jason is days away from achieving another ambition so it's good to see you here's his new boss at Cambridge so I have a lot of work to do but I feel very optimistic.

Part of his research will look at new ways to make higher education more accessible to everyone. What can we do to ensure that this is not a market appointment in five years' time? Can this become the norm? We have heard the voices of our

black

academics and our

black

students, and to be honest, some of them have not been easy to hear, but we can confront some of the structural problems that people face that people will have those I think this is a symbolic appointment What do you think about this? The board of electors on the day of your interview was absolutely unanimous.

We are very lucky to have you. You are the best in the world in terms of research it is an extraordinary journey, but for Jason this is not an end, it is a beginning, the reaction has been incredible and I am really grateful to everyone for their kind sentiment and kind words, we have a lot of work to do for making matchmaker. olulode BBC News Cambridge