What is the rarest crystal? A question from the rarest boy I know.

Several weeks ago my son requested a day out. I could have cried. Honestly. Something as simple as asking to go somewhere just does not happen with my son, he much prefers to just be in the house which I understand and accept but I do find that hard. Sometimes I feel like a prisoner in my own home because I like to be out and about but I’m learning to live with it. So when he made a request to go to a local town and go to the crystal shop there I was over the moon.

It was only after I of course said yes that I realised what a strange request this was. First of all why did he want to go to a crystal shop? Secondly, how did he even know there was a crystal shop there? Crystals are not something I am interested in. I don’t feel that I have ever talked about crystals, he’s not learning about crystals at school so where on earth did this come from. Once again he fascinated me.

That weekend we went to the town he requested and went to both of the crystal shops that were there. He had the best time ever picking out crystals and buying several to bring home.

This trip was the start of a new special interest that has amazed me along the way. He bought 4 crystals that day and on a later day we went to a charity shop where we found a crystal growing kit which we also bought. Since that day we have spent weeks making crystals at home and he has absolutely loved it. Absolutely loved it.

We have spent hours with pots of solutions lined up on the dining table with crystals forming in them, and our crystal collection has increased ten fold. Not only that but my son now has a display box with all his crystals in and he carries it round with him and frequently opens it up, studies the crystals and takes them out and puts them back in.

We have spent time researching each type of crystal and finding out what type they are and what properties they have, again my son has learnt so much through this. He might not be attending school every day but he is learning, he’s just learning what he is interested in, not what the cult say he should be learning. And through this learning he of course asks a lot of questions around crystals. And one day when we were several weeks into this special interest he asked….

“What is the rarest crystal?”

Another learning moment for him (and me). We found out that Painite is the rarest crystal. And its not just rare, its extraordinary. It has a composition unlike any other gemstone, a unique chemical structure. It is described as “a testament to the hidden treasures of our planet”. It is said to carry powerful energies and is believed to connect the physical and spiritual realms and is often associated with emotional clarity.

And as we looked up Painite, something clicked. It’s completely unique, just like my son.

Painite has a chemical structure unlike anything else, and honestly, that reminds me of him. The way his mind works, the way he sees the world, the way he asks the most unexpected questions—it’s all so completely him. He doesn’t learn the way school says he should, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t learning. He learns in his own way, at his own pace, following his own interests. And really, isn’t that what learning is about?

Painite is described as a hidden treasure of the planet, and that got me thinking. Maybe the rarest treasures aren’t just found deep in the earth, they’re the people who see the world differently. The ones who don’t fit neatly into a box, who have their own way of thinking, feeling, and being.

And how perfect is it that this week is Neurodiversity Week? A week to celebrate minds like my son’s—the ones that don’t follow the expected path but create their own. The ones who think outside the box, feel deeply, ask questions others wouldn’t even think of. The world needs these extraordinary people, just as much as it needs its rarest crystals.

So when my son asked, “What is the rarest crystal?’” maybe, without realising it, he was asking something even bigger. Maybe the answer was closer than we thought. Because if Painite is the rarest crystal, then surely, he’s the rarest boy I know. And I wouldn’t change that for the world.