Man who started reading at 18 becomes Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor at 37

37-year-old Jason Arday, who was told by his therapist that he would spend his adult life in assisted accommodation because of his autism, has become Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor.

Jason Arday defied his therapist’s expectations as he will be resuming at the University of Cambridge on March 6, 2023, as it’s youngest black professor.

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The 37-year-old was unable to speak before the age of 11 and incapable of writing until he was 18, but his determination to do great things made him break boundaries.

Jason Arday, from Clapham, London was written off in his youth after being diagnosed with autism and global development delay, a genetic or chromosomal condition, which causes a significant lag in cognitive and physical abilities.

He told ‘MailOnline’, “When I was contacted by the Faculty of Education about getting the post, I couldn’t believe it.

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“I put the phone down, screamed, and then I just sat in the same place for what felt like hours.

“The next day I had to go and deliver a keynote speech in Brighton. I sat on the train in a daze. I could not believe I had achieved that dream.”

Professor Jason Arday will join five other black academics with similar posts at the University of Cambridge and is one of the only 155 black university professors in the UK, out a huge total of 23,000.