A 2-year-old from California is the youngest American to become a member of Mensa

A Los Angeles toddler has become the youngest American member of Mensa, where membership is strictly limited to those who score at the highest levels in IQ tests.

Kashe Quest may be a 2-year-old but her skills include naming all of the elements on the periodic table, identifying all 50 states by shape and location, learning Spanish and deciphering patterns, according to her parents.She has always shown us, more than anything, the propensity to explore her surroundings and to ask the question 'Why,'" Kashe's father Devon told CNN. "If she doesn't know something, she wants to know what it is and how does it function, and once she learns it, she applies it."

Not your ordinary toddler

"Once her pediatrician also acknowledged it, at her 18-month check-up I had let her know where (Kashe) was on her number shapes and colors, and wanted her perspective on all of it, and she said it was amazing ... it's something worth looking into." Kashe's mom Sukhjit told CNN.

So they decided to take her to a psychologist, who administered the Mensa test. The result? Kashe had an IQ of 146, according to her parents.

To join Mensa, applicants must score at or above the 98th percentile on a standard intelligence test.

"I think the biggest takeaway from us doing it was we wanted to make sure we were giving her everything she also needed, in terms of her development and natural curiosity and her disposition -- and we wanted to make sure we did our part in making that happen for her," her mother said.