TIME’s Kid of the Year: Ledger!

Remember Ledger Mann, the 9-year-old who helps first responders care for kids with autism? We featured him in our October 23 issue, as that month’s Shining Star. Now he’s being featured in TIME magazine, too! Ledger was recently named TIME’s 2026 Kid of the Year. Jeffrey Kluger, a TIME editor at large, spoke with Ledger for the story. Ledger’s ability to “learn to thrive in school, in his social group, in the noisy world at large” is admirable, Kluger says. “For Ledger, this means, in part, helping other neurodivergent kids.”