This week, 13-year-old Rock Springs resident Brevon Cole became the youngest person to ever graduate from high school in the state of Wyoming. His historic achievement is even more remarkable because he suffers from autism.

At an early age, Brevon turned his disability into a superpower. By five, he was reading 1,000-page novels. By six, he was doing algebra.

"Many people’s first response is to wonder how this is even possible or they assume he is just smart, but his story is not so simple,” his mother Phoenix Ross told Sweetwater Now.  “Brevon is also autistic with a whole alphabet soup of other diagnoses, which many times would have inhibited his education.”

While Brevon was a budding genius, he struggled with sensory perception disorder and was especially sensitive to noise and light. In second grade, he began homeschooling with the Wyoming Virtual Academy. After Brevon completed all of his coursework at ten years old, his mom enrolled him at Black Butte High School, an alternative school in Rock Springs.

"Through hard work and a bit of understanding from his teachers, principal, and peers, Brevon beat the stigma of having social and learning disabilities and was able to let his profound giftedness shine through,” his mother said.

In the fall, Brevon will enroll at Western Wyoming Community College and plans to major in mechanical engineering at the University of Wyoming. His mother hopes his incredible story will inspire other students with autism.

“We really wanted to thank the schools,” she said. “Disabilities should never hold anybody back. He’s a good representation of that.”

 

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