A Colorado boy with Asperger’s syndrome may soon go head-to-head with Alex Trebek on national television as a contestant on “Jeopardy!”
Gabriel Harris, 11, passed a first-round online test to participate in the game show’s 2013 Kids Week and has been invited to Los Angeles for a second-round assessment.
A regular viewer of the show, Harris rarely gets a question wrong. The fifth-grader is an avid reader with a keen memory for facts.
Despite Harris’s aptitude, however, continuing his quest to appear on “Jeopardy!” was not a sure bet until recently. Harris’s family could not afford the trip for him and a parent from their Greeley, Colo.-area home to California. But after the the boy’s story appeared in the local newspaper, donations poured in.
Now, Harris is packing his bags and prepping for the second-round test this Saturday, reports The Greeley (Colo.) Tribune. To read more click here.
Autism warning: I’ll be overly literal here and point out that Mr Trebek is the host of Jeopardy!, not a contestant. If Mr. Harris goes “head-to-head” (which I’d interpret as “one-on-one”) with Mr. Trebek…that’s not so good.
That said, good on him and here’s hoping he runs up a nice winning streak.
All the best to Gabriel Harris!!!
I look forward to seeing him. the boy in the movie Extremely close and Incredibly Loud was discovered when on Jeaopardy– he caught the director’s eye. (sorry for any typos or grammatical errors) . thanks for sharing the story:-)
The Recycling Occupational Therapist
Look forward to seeing Gabriel on Jeopardy. I’m an adult with Asperger’s, and have challenges every day.