It鈥檚 Wednesday morning and purposeful doorknocks followed by, 鈥淕ood morning. Would you like a coffee?鈥� sound along the Admin block corridors. It鈥檚 Year 10 student Louis taking staff coffee orders for the VET student baristas at Caf茅 Shemesh to fill. Each week, Louis patiently records details of individual orders on his clipboard before taking cash and calculating change where necessary.

While Louis鈥� service is wonderful (and the caf茅鈥檚 coffee excellent) there鈥檚 more to these transactions than first meets the eye: Louis is practising the essential life skills of communication, listening, recording and calculation.

Reminding him of his script where necessary is Karen Blumberg, Louis鈥� long-term Educational Assistant (EA). 鈥淲atching him progress as part of the barista program has been so rewarding,鈥� notes Karen of the various jobs Louis takes on at the School, including daily hoisting and taking down of the flags - which he does independently and with 鈥� as well as .

Karen began working with a then four-year-old Louis after several Educational Assistants had come and gone. A chance discussion with her GP relating to the stresses of managing her own private speech pathology practice saw Karen introduced to Louis and his parents. Their union was immediately successful.

While heralding a career change for Karen, their association sparked a special friendship. 鈥淟ouis has become part of my family,鈥� says Karen, who explains that when her daughter Jenna got married, she asked Louis to be part of her bridal party. 鈥淢y husband and children hear about Louis daily; his successes and how proud I am of him. My daughter knows what an integral part of my life Louis is, how working with him has given my life another dimension, and she wanted to include him.鈥�

Working with children on the spectrum had always interested Karen so when she met this unique, and at the time non-verbal young boy, she predicted it would be a rewarding and fulfilling job. 鈥淭welve years on, I鈥檓 still working as passionately as ever with this remarkable young man,鈥� says Karen, who has been Louis鈥� EA since before he started at Carmel Prep in 2010.

At the forefront of goalsetting around his schooling has been building Louis鈥� life skills and independence. In Year 1, Louis learnt how to make his favourite vegemite-sandwich lunch each day, which he continues to do. He now undertakes a weekly shop, compiling his shopping list then selecting, weighing, scanning and paying for the items through self-checkout, unassisted. Fascinated with trains, he鈥檚 recently undertaken work experience at the train station, at Australia Post and at Coles, where he could potentially graduate from packing shelves to working on the till.

Problem-solving is a skill Louis needs ongoing assistance with and which directs much of his learning. 鈥淪hula has had such an open and empathetic mind with everything we seek to achieve with Louis. I鈥檓 so grateful to her and Dean鈥�, stresses Karen of the support she鈥檚 received from Carmel鈥檚 Principal Shula Lazar and Head of Secondary Dean Shadgett when planning Louis鈥� learning journey.

Illustrating Louis鈥� remarkable memory, Karen relates an amusing story about how Louis problem-solves for her too. Booking her vehicle in for a service one day when Louis was nine years old, Karen was unable to recall her car rego. 鈥淚 was on speaker phone and said, 鈥業鈥檓 sorry, I don鈥檛 know it鈥�, before Louis, sitting nearby, called out the number with perfect recall. They confirmed it was my vehicle make and model. He frequently does this with other people and their vehicles too,鈥� says Karen.

For his fellow Carmel students, getting to know Louis and to show him the respect, patience, caring inclusion and empathy they do on a daily basis is one of the most significant developmental experiences a young person can experience, Karen believes. 鈥淭he benefits to all Carmel students when they take the time to help others are immense,鈥� she states. 鈥淭hey have learnt to be patient and inclusive and have helped Louis develop lifelong social skills along the way,鈥� Karen says.

Crossing the oval to catch up with his Kindy friends is something Louis excitedly looks forward to each Friday. 鈥淗e has the most gentle, beautiful nature,鈥� says Karen of the way he interacts with our youngest students. 鈥淗e brings so much joy to everyone around him and is always friendly, polite and eager to please. He鈥檚 a gentleman too - he will never walk through a door without holding it open for you,鈥� she adds.

Head of Secondary, Dean Shadgett, summarises the importance of Louis to the rich tapestry that comprises 91抖阴: 鈥淗ow do you define one鈥檚 contribution to our School? Is it prowess on the sporting field or in the co-curricular domain? Is it performance in assessment, in seeking personal excellence or in one鈥檚 contribution to Jewish life? In effect, it鈥檚 a combination of all of the above in proportion to an individual鈥檚 strengths and talents, but sometimes what an individual contributes is greater than all of these things - their presence, personal example and esprit de corps is an example to all.

鈥淟ouis makes our School a better place. His joy for life and daily interactions with staff and students are a pleasure to behold. Louis has ASD but is not defined by this; he is a young man who, with his family, continues to engage with all aspects of life to make the most of it.鈥�

Mr Shadgett credits 鈥渢he amazing Karen Blumberg鈥�, alongside, in recent years, Lilach Nagle and Michael Silerio, for contributing greatly to Louis鈥� development. To Louis himself he says, 鈥淭hanks Louis for enriching our School - and for the amazing coffee each week!鈥�

Louis鈥� parents, Jo and Tony, marvel at this serendipitous union of Louis and Karen. 鈥淟ouKaz represents not only a special bond but an elixir for life that warms our hearts each time we see it in action. The admiration, understanding, patience, love and care they share in this incredible relationship is formidable and has spanned over a decade now. Lou and Kaz simply adore each other.

鈥淎s parents to a child with special needs, we feel truly blessed to have Karen in our lives. She is a true gem! She鈥檚 an incredibly dedicated human being who not only supports Louis every step of the way in his school learning and development, but also outside of it too. She鈥檚 like his second mum. We will be forever indebted to Karen for the magic that she has bought to Louis and to our lives as a family.鈥�

Jo and Tony sum up the success of Louis鈥� journey at Carmel with a simple statement: 鈥淲e can鈥檛 recall a day ever where Louis has not been . Even on the few sick days he had over time, he always told me how disappointed he felt that he could not go to school.鈥� That says it all!

While the Louis and Karen team at Carmel draws to a close in two years鈥� time, Karen hopes to help Louis transition into finding work post-school. 鈥淓very goal Louis achieves is celebrated; he has worked incredibly hard to be where he is today - his progress over the years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 could not be prouder of him and hope there will be opportunities for us to work together well into the future. It has been a true honour and privilege to be part of this incredible journey. Louis has taught me so much and I will always treasure this chapter of my life.鈥�