Rumari is a fourth grade student in Ms. Lisa Moe’s class in the Chino Valley School District in California, and he did something this past week that has quickly gone viral, touching the hearts of people all over the world.

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, the school district has asked each student to decorate a paper puzzle piece and hang it on their classroom doors. In Lisa’s class, the students had no idea that their classmate Rumari is autistic. When Moe was handing out the puzzle pieces, Rumari raised his hand and said, “May I please say something?”

Moe said yes, but she had no idea that Rumari was about to do something so powerful.

“Rumari has faced challenges and barriers beyond what any of us will ever be able to fully understand. But today, he stood in front of the classroom with full confidence, enthusiasm, and courage and showed us that there is no challenge or barrier that can stop him,” Moe wrote on Facebook. “He brought to life the meaning of ‘Yes I Can’ as he explained to his fellow classmates that he was autistic. With full knowledge, he explained the differences that may come when being autistic and how the spectrum is vast. He courageously spoke about his own differences and quirks, while defining what it means to make everyone feel like a someone.”

“One of the biggest lessons I have learned through this is that kids are still kids. They sometimes say things they shouldn’t or do something they know isn’t right,” Moe later added. “When they entered my class at the beginning of the year, many lacked confidence and struggled with a negative mindset. But in the right positive environment where I stress the importance of kindness, empathy, compassion, and self-confidence every day through our class motto of ‘Yes I Can!’, to me, it solidified my position as an educator and the impact and influence of being the ‘positive teacher’. We can make our world a feel-good, happy place.”

Rumari’s mother was absolutely thrilled when she saw the video.

“Watching Rumari so courageously speak about autism and how it relates to him and others is beyond what I can properly express. It brings me great joy to watch him be so unapologetically proud to be autistic… Thank you for creating such a comforting, loving and supportive environment that my baby felt safe to express himself. You’re doing great things and giving others the courage to do the same.”

In the end, this was a moment that Moe will never forget.

“If I were unable to ever teach again or if there was ever a question to my path into this role as an educator, this moment solidified my purpose,” she concluded.

Listen to Rumari’s speech in the video below!