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!