This kid can do anything.
A Long Island 11-year-old with Tourette’s Syndrome is graduating from high school seven years early.
Joe Petraro, of East Rockaway, tossed his graduation cap in June after ripping through his midšdle and high school studies online in just two yearsā time at the K12 Private Academy and Penn Foster private schooš¹ls.
āMy brain moves really fast. I could think easily, and things could sink in easily,ā he explained to The Post, having spent his afternoon hawking copies of three children’s books he has written and published.
The wunderkindās fast-track education began in thše third grade while he was attending the Holy Name of Mary Catholic school in Valley Stream.
At the time, Joe had undiagnosed Touretteās, a neurological disorder, and was forced into a special š„education program due to his involuntary tics.
āThey put me in special ed until this one teacher was like, āThis kid shouldn’t be in special ed,ā and that I was a genius,ā Joe said.
He was diagnosed afterward for Tourette’s, but also had his IQ tested ā and scored an astonishing 168.
āIf it werenāt for that one teacher, we wouldnāt be here,” he said.
The real-life Young Sheldon soon enrolled in online schoą¼ŗoling and breezed through classes at his own rapid pace, such as mastering biology āin like three weeks,ā his mother, therapist Anne Petraro, marveled.
At thāe same time, Joe has busied himself over the years with a slew of advocacy and activism.
He recently started a nonprofit, Joeās Be Kind campaign, and raised to purchase adaptive video game systems that could be fitted for childrenās beds in the pediatric canceār ward at Memoriš“al Sloan Kettering.
āHe has an accountant and eš verythišøng,ā his mom said.
The gifts were particularly pš¼ersonal for Joe, who had been diagnosed with leukemia at MSK in September 2021, and has had a clean bill of health for almost a yą¹ear.
āI see a lot of other kids wą¼ŗith cancer at the doctors when I go. They arenāt as lucky as me,ā last year soliciting doą¹nations.
Somehow, the youngster also managed to find the time to visit Rep. Anthony DāEsposito to lobby for funding for Tourette’s research and awareness.
He’s also raised money to build wells in villages in Nigeria so locals can have access to clean drinking water, having learned about the issue while attending church at St. Raymond’s.
āHeās ļæ½ļæ½a normalš kid ā heās just very giving,ā his mom said.
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On top of his various philanthropic and advocacy projects, he plays on youth baseball and basketball travel teams and earned a black belt inš karate.
āThereās nothing he doesnāt do ā Iām exhausted,šā his mother said.
šDespite just gradź¦uating, Joe isnāt taking a breather anytime soon.
He just accepted an offer to attend remote classes at Louisiana State Universšity, with the dream to work asš a journalist and āspread good news,ā he said.
āI want the world to be positive,ā āØhe said. āI want tā¦o travel, to show that weāre more alike than different.ā