At age 3, the Rotary Club of Edmonds’ latest student of the month, Stone Kaufer, was diagnosed with autism.  While today he remains essentially non-verbal, he has so inspired his teachers, parents and therapists with his positivity, love of learning, energy and intelligence that he was the overwhelming choice for the Rotary Club’s June Student of the Month award. He received the honor Tuesday in front of an estimated 50 friends, family and Rotarians during the monthly Rotary lunch meeting.

In announcing the award, Rotarian Richard Okimoto — who heads up the student of the month program — cited some of Stone’s many recommendations and letters of support from former and present teachers. Stone attends Seattle’s Brightmont Academy, which specializes in individual learning with programs tailored to the specific needs of each student.

In recommending Stone for the award, his English and math teacher Richard Katz described him as follows: “Stone is a most remarkable young man. Despite being non-verbal, he communicates extremely well with his IPad and keyboard. He loves reading Shakespeare, being challenged by new books and questions that push him beyond simple recall. In my humble opinion he is simply so deserving of this honor for pushing himself and not accepting that he cannot do something. In talking about Stone’s amazing achievements, his biggest continues to be his thirst for knowledge and better understanding of the world around him. It is an absolute pleasure to be one of his teachers on his journey.”

Another teacher, Johan Guillen Meza, said the following: “I have had the privilege to know Stone for four months now, serving as his environmental science teacher at Brightmont Academy. During this time he has taught me more than what I have taught him. His story is simply amazing. All of what he has had to overcome to be in the position he is today is extremely inspiring. Despite being overlooked for practically his whole life, he never gave up and showed everybody their perceptions were incorrect.”

Okimoto then invited Stone’s father David Kaufer – a former Rotary Club of Edmonds president – to the podium to provide a personal perspective on Stone and to recount his journey.

“How many in this room have lost their voice at some time in the past,” he began. “Remember how frustrating that is.  Now imagine you have lost it forever, plus had a condition that makes it hard to control your motor skills – you tell your brain to have your body do something, but it does something else. You tell it say a word, but a different one comes out. Stone has had to endure this his entire life.”

He went on to describe how this led to people assuming Stone didn’t understand because he either didn’t respond or responded in what seemed an inappropriate manner.

Kaufer told of Stone’s early years in the traditional educational system, which placed him in special classes where expectations were low.  Stone was frustrated and unhappy, and he remained stuck at the second-grade level for his entire school career, until he was 17.

“But through it all he was a rock star,” Kaufer stressed.  “His attitude was unfailingly positive, and his sense of humor and personality kept shining through. But he was trapped in his brain — until we discovered a way to unlock it.”

This discovery was a long journey, involving years of various therapies, vitamins, supplements and more.

“Then in 2022 we learned about a spelling methodology program that was achieving remarkable results through the use of letterboards to assist non-verbal individuals in spelling out words, sentences, thoughts and questions,” Kaufer explained.  “We took Stone to San Diego to meet with practitioners of this method to see how it would work for him.”

According to Kaufer, Stone took to it like a duck to water, and was soon communicating complex thoughts, asking questions and showing that even though he’d been trapped in his brain for years, he’d been listening and learning all the time. It just needed a way to come out.

Upon returning to Seattle, the Kaufers approached the Edmonds School District about allowing Stone to use his letterboard in school. When the district declined, the family arranged for Stone to attend Seattle’s Brightmont Academy, which was able to accommodate him.

“It’s been magical,” Kaufer said. “He has progressed so far – we couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Among Stone’s many interests is collecting videos, and he was particularly inspired by one of a Rotary meeting showing Richard Okimoto presenting a student of the month award.  This gave him a new goal – to be student of the month. The subsequent recommendations from teachers and others easily convinced the Rotary selection committee to make it so.

In accepting the honor on Tuesday, Stone wrote out the following on his word board:

“I never thought I’d be student of the month.  Up till now I haven’t been able to take the typical path with my education.  But a slim shot is better than no shot.  I’m extremely honored to earn this award.”

Where to from here? Stone aspires to attend Harvard, where he hopes to study law and devote his professional life to helping others like himself.

— Story and photos by Larry Vogel