Anyone know a teenage aspie who has taken a college class?

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I know it has been done before, by children who certainly weren't geniuses, but does anyone know (or have been) such a case. I am a young adult with Asperger's who works with kids (and adults) on the spectrum. One of my clients is this quite bright 13 year old, who believes he is dumb because he can't do math (at all). He has a unique gift though, in terms of natural history, he is probably the smartest person I have ever met (including teachers of the subject and the like). His dad once told a story of taking him to a natural history museum that he (the kid) had never been too, and just quizzing him on everything they saw. The child not only knew every animal but their natural prey, predators, and all sorts of other information (with the dad checking to make sure he was right).

He is also in need of a bit of a emotional boost. As I said before he believes he is dumb. To make matters worse he has a twin brother, who though nice, is a constant reminder of what he struggles with. Meanwhile he is picked on a lot at school, and struggles with a few subjects (math in particular). He also could use an excuse to get out of the house that HE would enjoy. He has become really afraid to leave the house in the last year or so, and often excuses anyone of torturing him to try to get him to (even if he ends up having fun). Obviously this can't last forever.

I have no doubt that the kid could understand everything in this sort of college class... with a bit of help from me and his mom. But how would we attempt such a thing. He is only in 8th grade, and while I wouldn't even try it until the summer, he will still just be 14 then (which of course means his brother will probably be learning to drive, another separation as I doubt he will be ready to try such a thing, I was 16 before I tried). Anyone have any suggestions, or is this just a fools errand that would best be left behind, at least for now?

P.S. Edit to add that if I couldn't find a class like this, he is almost as knowledgeable and interested in the ancient to medieval western history.

I don't know what to do but would you rather he take a physical class rather than a virtual one?

Try talking to the local university and see if they would allow him to sit in on some classes related to his area of interest without enrolling him. They often can't enrol kids that young but will allow them to attend the class anyway if they behave appropriately. I did!

Also, is there a club or association he can join (and hasn't done already) which is related to his interest? I was competing at a national level against adults at his age in such an organisation in my area of interest at the time.

Physical class for sure, though he would prefer a virtual one (part of the idea is to get him out of the house to do something he can't deny enjoying), and good idea on auditing a class instead of officially taking it.

Do AP classes count as college classes?

At 13 I took a math class at the local state college (freshman in high school). At 16, I took a full load of college classes at a different school through the high school I was going to (as a senior).

Dual enrollment can work really well. One thing to watch out for is sometimes the others in the class get jealous if the high schooler does better than them. On the other hand, after they get over that, they will tend to get to respecting the person and even seeing about studying with and getting help from them.

I'd say dual enrollment could work quite well in this case - is there a local school? If so, go and ask them about dual enrollment. Talk about your client as a freshman in high school who's advanced in this particular subject and would be doing well with taking classes in that subject at the college level instead of just the high school level. Logistics need to be figured out, but that can be figured out too.

Auditing is good, but actually taking it has some advantages over not taking it. And sometimes schools won't let you audit. Actually taking it might actually be better. The only downside there is cost. But, having it on record is strong for a college application too. It's a question to actually seriously think about.