Summer, 4th grade & sports

British soccer camp 1st day of 4th grade


Nate had a good summer and kept busy playing in the sprinklers, and kicking the ball around outside. He really had fun at his soccer camp in August. He learned some good soccer drills and thought it was fun meeting players and coaches from overseas. He stayed to himself but says he liked going to play each day.
We spent a day at Silverwood at the beginning of summer and he really loves the rollercoasters. It's too bad we only got to go once but it's not cheap. He had a blast hanging out at the beach and building sand castles with dad.
He wasn't as excited to go back to school as his sister, but he is happy to be in a new school and doing okay. He's struggling in a few things but they are helping him. His teacher is very structured and keeps him in line. He gets along with kids in his class but says he has not made any new friends. He says he has plenty at the rink. One or two friends is enough for him, any more than that and he gets stressed out. He has decided to skate again this year too. We also signed him up for another season of indoor soccer on base. He has been playing video games and playing with legos too. He was just in a Guitar Hero contest at the base mall and got 4th place. He was the youngest in the group and even beat an adult, it was kind of funny. The fact that he got up there in front of everyone and played is awesome. He liked it when the older boys were cheering him on and clapping when he made it through his songs. He made it to the expert level but his score was lower than the older boys, so he was out after his first expert song. He also got a chance to play a song at the fair last month. He couldn't compete because it was all adults but they let him go up and play a song during a break. The DJ asked him if he was going to play on easy and he just rolled his eyes and said "no, I'm playing the song on hard". He picked Welcome to the Jungle and tore through it. When he went up to play there were only about 6 people watching, when he was done there was a crowd clapping and cheering, the smile on his face was priceless. I guess skating at meets has helped him get over the crowd watching. If he knows he is good at something he gets in a zone and goes for it. He really likes when he does something better than the big kids, especially his sister. When it comes to music, math, or science facts he's got her beat. He has been happy and more willing to try new things, we are very proud of him!

The Birthday Boy

I can't believe he is 9 already! Time goes by so fast and now I have two "tweens". He had a small birthday party at home and then we had a bigger party at the rink. He had a lot of fun with his team friends. We didn't have anyone from school come. His teacher has a rule that if you invite one you have to invite all, well I couldn't do that so oh well. Nate didn't seem to be bothered by it. He is more comfortable around the team kids anyways. His skate coach challenged him to an air hockey game and Nate won but the coach demanded a rematch and Nate lost the second game. He was happy that grandma, grandpa, nana, and papa all drove up to celebrate with him.
He is doing well and is ready for summer and lots of hours playing outside again. This winter has been too long for all of us. He has been playing a lot with his legos and video games. We got Guitar Hero and he is getting really good at that. School is going okay, some problems with reading and spelling but overall he is behaving himself. He got into trouble a few weeks ago and got sent to the principle because he wouldn't listen to the substitute. It isn't a surprise he acted out, he hates when things get changed and he acts up, it's nothing new. The school updated his 504 and everything was kept the way we had it, seems to be working for him and his teacher follows it like he is supposed to.
Nate started soccer a couple of weeks back and he is having fun with that too. He has scored a goal in both games he has played so far. He is really good at scoring goals but the running is still a challenge for him. He gets out there and tries. He has Regionals next weekend so we have another trip, this time to Portland. He is doing his Juvenile division, an elementary two mix relay and an elementary two boy relay. He has been getting faster as time goes, and he really seems to be happy he decided to get back into it instead of taking the season off. He's a busy kid and as he is getting older he is becoming a much easier boy to be around. He seems to be calming down quite a bit as far as the hyperactivity goes. He has his quirks but overall the behavioral problems we had there for awhile have calmed down. I just hope he gets as good of a teacher next year, who is patient and all will go well.

Meets and Other Stuff

Nate and his 1st Place Juvenile 4 boy relay team.
He raced with the boys who are in green and the one to his right in blue & silver (his old partner from CDA).










Nate & the castle he built





Auburn Meet
Juvenile Boys = No Placement but he tried hard and says he still had fun.
Nate didn't have any relays this meet

Bremerton Meet
Juvenile Boys= Made it out of heats into semi-finals for the first time.
Elementary 2 Mix with Ericka = 3rd Pl in heat and 5th Pl overall in final.
Juvenile 4 Boy Relay= 1st Place

Nate skated very hard and he is getting faster each meet. He is in a fast group of boys but he gets out there and does his best to keep up (4 of the boys in his division have placed at Nationals). His coach told him he is one of the best passers on the team. If we could just get him to get some stronger starts he would have a better chance but his legs give him a challenge in this area. If he sticks with the sport he has one more season and he'll be able to skate novice division. He won't have to skate against the boys who have placed at Nationals anymore and he will be in a group more his speed. He has been doing so good at practice that the coach let him skate in the older kids group the other night, made Nate's day and helped his confidence.

Besides skating he is doing really good. We just had his conference last week and he is getting good grades in everything except spelling and reading. He is "at risk" for reading but they are keeping an eye on him. His behavior is good because his teacher is very structured and seems to know how to handle him. He is at a table with another ASD child and a boy from Russia, they get along well and Nate likes them both.
He has been spending a lot of time playing with his Legos and Transformers. We got the family a Nintendo Wii for Christmas and he is loving that, him and Troy play games together all the time. We took him off the meds again, they were making him sick. He can be a handful but those medications change his personality too much and I don't like that. We have to take him in to talk to his doctor to try and figure out something else. He does do better at school and gets in less trouble while on meds, but they make him so tired and moody. He is old enough now to know that they help him in some ways but not in others so he gets frustrated. I wish we could help him without all the side affects but that just doesn't seem to be possible so far. Anyways, he's doing well and he is always busy.

Faces

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Autism Awareness Video

I finally found a program that allowed me to do what I have wanted to for a long time. I was actually able to add video which makes it so much better. I can't believe how far he has come since those early days. I thought the song fit perfectly. Let me know what you think.

BEEN AWHILE

It's been a month but not too many things have really happened. Nate enjoyed his Christmas vacation and was very happy with all his presents. He has been playing the Nintendo Wii a lot and putting together lots of legos. He was bummed to have to go back to school but he's doing good. He has been skating like a mad man at practice and is getting much faster. He actually almost beat Ericka at a race during session a few days ago. She had to start way back but he still made her work for it and she only got him at the last few feet. He was quite proud of himself. Today he had to race the adults at session and he kept up with them so his confidence got a boost.
Yesterday he went and played with his little school buddy (a fellow autie kid :) and they had a good time building legos and playing with trains. He really likes being around this other boy so it's nice to see him showing interest in others. He is also warming up to some of the kids on the team, many of which also go to session. He takes a little while to let people into his "bubble" but once he figures out who he can tolerate he's really friendly. We have a few older boys who are really fast who help him and cheer him on so that has made skating more fun too.
School seems to be going well for him. He is getting better at reading but his writing is still a touchy subject. He is still doing well in math but those story problems are sometimes tricky for him. He absolutely loathes school but I'm happy he behaves while he is there, for the most part anyways.
He has been on his new medication (strattera)for a month now. He tried it before but the doctor in Kennewick didn't dose him right. This doc is really good at what he does and starts them much slower, it has worked wonders so far. We have had some appetite problems and some times of emotional outbursts which are normal at first but it's getting better as time goes. He says they help him concentrate and we notice more social interest in other people. The doctor says he noticed after the first two weeks that Nate was making much more eye contact. The doc was also happy that Nate was more verbal with him when he asked Nate questions. At his eval Nate wouldn't look at him and didn't want to talk much. He says that he has noticed the same social changes in some of his other patients who are higher functioning. We are just glad the side affects aren't causing anything too difficult to deal with. He seems much happier overall and we don't have to constantly get on him about not listening so he doesn't feel like he is always in trouble.
He has his first meet of the season in a couple of weeks up in Seattle. This will be his first year as a Juvenile skater ( he was Primary) so he's going to have to race harder and faster but he says he is excited. Wish him luck!

CHRISTMAS TREE BOY

Here are some pictures I felt like sharing. Nate is doing good and keeping busy as usual. He is very excited for Christmas. We went to Wal mart yesterday to get some lights and he got a picture with Santa, which I will add once I get it. He asked Santa for a Nintendo WII, typical boy! Anyways, he is counting down the days until winter break. He has been having fun playing in all the snow we have. He says he wants a White Christmas, maybe he will finally have one.