Parents want their children to have a memorable senior year of high school, which includes making friends and making memories.

Brandi and Travis Hamon were not sure their son, Nick, would ever have such an experience. Nick has autism, and although he’s a chatterbox with his parents, he does not interact with people in public settings, including at school.

That’s changed greatly in the past six months, thanks to his special connection with the Port Townsend High School cheerleading program.

"I was nervous about how the kids would take to him," Brandi said of allowing Nick to become the cheer team manager. "He just appreciates that they are nice to him. I don’t know why I was so scared to let him try it. I’ve been waiting for years for something like this. I just wanted him to have friends.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Travis (Class of 1991) and Brandi (1992) Hamon are both PTHS graduates, as is their daughter, Kym (2012). When Nick was about 5, it became clear he was autistic. Autism is characterized by people having difficulties, in varying degrees, with social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors.

His family has done its best to give Nick a so-called normal childhood, including annual trips to Disneyland, which he absolutely loves.

He started school in the Port Townsend School District’s birth-3 program, and was homeschooled basically until high school. Nick needs a lot of personal care, likes a rigid routine, knows what he likes and doesn't like, and displays a good sense of humor with his family.

Several years ago, Brandi became a Rhododendron Festival Association volunteer (she was a Rhody royalty candidate in 1992) as a way to give back to her hometown. As one of the volunteer “Rhody moms” (she is now vice president), she spends a lot of time with royalty, and Nick got to know the 2016 court especially well. Several of them have been PTHS cheerleaders.

Nick began to open up more around the royalty girls, and that led Brandi to wonder if it could be an avenue to expand his social network for his senior year.

Kirsten Hammer, a cousin of the Hamons, is the PTHS cheerleading adviser, and last August she invited Nick to a Redhawks football game. He would sit with Kirsten and watch the cheerleaders and the game.

“He went to every single football game,” Brandi said of her son. “He was the only student fan at the playoff game [Nov. 11] in Woodland.”

Little by little, he became more attached to the cheer program, which includes two boys, senior Juan Lopez and junior Dakota Schultz, who take turns wearing the “Rico the Redhawk” mascot costume.

By basketball season, it was suggested that Nick become the cheerleading team’s manager. Since mid-November, he’s attended every cheerleader practice.

“I was a little nervous at first, how it would work. Cheer has not had a manager,” Kirsten said. “Nick has fit right in. He takes attendance, and carries things for the girls. He’s really become part of the team.”

Brandi says of the cheerleaders: “They don’t baby him. They hold him accountable. I am so impressed.”

Nick has “really taken a liking” to Dakota and Juan, and recently, he “decided he wanted to sit with the boys,” instead of sit in the grandstand with the cheerleading adviser, Kirsten noted.

“It just took someone giving him the opportunity to shine,” Kirsten said. “All the hard work he’s really been doing is paying off.”

In mid-January, Nick took to the floor during a cheerleading routine, along with Dakota and Juan, with each raising a placard for the "Go, Fight, Win" cheer. He’s also joined the lineup at game’s end for the PTHS alma mater, during which cheerleaders and students link arms and sing in front of the student cheering section.

“He doesn’t sing, but he’s participating,” Brandi said. “He’s having fun. He never gets excited about things. He doesn’t know that emotion. It’s amazing to see him so engaged.”

PERSONAL FRIENDS

Juan said the cheerleaders love Nick, and he’s become a personal friend.

“To me, Nick is a normal person,” Juan said. “I don’t see Nick as different in any way. That’s a bias people put on him.

"Nick is just one of my friends now,” Juan added. “Before this, he didn’t talk at all. The mascot has brought us closer together.”

Senior Haily Tuthill worked with Nick at school last year and as a cheerleader, has gotten to know him outside of the classroom.

“We have a great relationship because I treat him like any other kid,” said Haily. “Since he’s been working with the cheerleaders, he’ll have complete conversations with people instead of just giving one- or two-word answers.”

Kayla Calhoun, a senior cheerleader who got to know Nick while serving as a 2016 Rhododendron Festival princess, said it's been a great experience.

“It really made me understand what it’s like to not have any connections at school and how to get somebody included,” Kayla said. “He doesn't need special treatment. He just needs to be included."

A friend suggested to Brandi that Nick’s story deserved widespread attention. Darlene Marmol, Nick's teacher at PTHS, contacted Seattle’s KING-TV. The station’s “Evening Magazine” program sent a crew out Jan. 31 to film Nick in his shop class at school, and with the cheerleaders at a PTHS girls’ basketball game with Kingston. The program aired Feb. 7.

Brandi was impressed that Nick did not shy away from the camera, when just a few months ago, he would have preferred to be invisible.

The change in Nick’s personality is evident, even to people who don’t know him that well.

“I was walking down the hall one day and I saw him talking with the cheerleaders and I thought, ‘I’ve never heard him talk,’” said Jan Boutilier, longtime PTHS administrative secretary.

Nick turned 18 on Jan. 26 (he can stay in the school district's transition program until age 21), and had a birthday party at his house attended by many cheer team members and several other friends. Nick got to wear the “Rico the Redhawk” headgear, and said he’d like to be Rico next season. He will undergo training so he can work into that spirit duty.

Brandi does not profess to be any kind of parenting expert, but Nick’s experience with the PTHS cheerleading program has been an eye-opener.

“Encourage your kid. Let them be normal,” Brandi said. “If they want to do something, let them do it."