A new start (x 2)

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Sept. 3, 2009

Well this week started off with our first session with our new Occupational Therapist, Cara. We met her during the transition the second week of August and apparently Nathan seems to get along with her fine. She does have big shoes to fill, as the bar on all of our therapists is pretty high because we think we've worked with some of the best out there.

Look out Nisonger,
here comes Nathan!

Tuesday, was our first day of school. We're in our third year at Nisonger, which pretty much makes Nathan an upperclassman. Regardless, he’s ready to take this year by storm. We pretty much knew that the chance of having Kylie back in our class this year wasn’t very likely as Elaine (last year’s teacher) called dibs and she’s been there longer, so she wins. However, we are right next door and we try to visit a lot before or after class.

When we got in the room we saw one of our other friends from last year and summer school. When they saw each other, both got excited and our friend immediately wheeled his chair over to see Nathan. (He’s gotten so good at moving himself around over the last couple of months.) He also calls me “Da” which makes me feel like I’m a friend as well. (This is the classmate which got mad at Annette the day she came to pick Nathan, as he thought Nathan was only supposed to go home with me.) They all look out for each other which just goes to show the strong bonds these kids have with their classmates and teachers.

Beth, Nathan’s teacher this year, seems to really have a good plan for making sure he’s involved and being just as active as the other kids. Monica (OT) and Becky (PT) have also made accommodations to make sure he can play and work with the others as well. (So far with activities like stamping and coloring with markers, he’s doing his best to keep up with the group.) I know that all three days this week, he’s been tired-out by the end of school and has fallen asleep on the way back to Debbie’s.

Next Tuesday is our ice cream social. We’ll get to see and show off for all of our friends (and past teachers.) It’s Nathan’s way of saying, "because of you, look what I can do now." We look forward to many great success stories both from school and with Cara as well. 2009 may end up as a good year after all.

On a sad note, we learned Thursday that the horse Nathan rides at White Pines fell suddenly ill and had to be put down. We'll miss you Sprite, you're still the best!

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