Thank you so much, great suggestions.
He has been diagnosed in the past with sensory processing disorder, but it was very mild and we haven't pursued treatment. We do have a small trampoline in the house and he is still using the shark tooth necklace to chew on, and we plan to buy another one that should be even more sturdy, and he uses a heavy blanket at night. He also likes strong hugs from us and wrestling (not my favorite, but his dad will go along). Luckily we have gotten snow, finally, so we've taken him out often to sled and play. He often just rolls down the hill.
Our second child DD5 has severe anxiety which causes extreme tantrums (tries to control everything-can't-tantrums). It has disrupted our family for years and taken a lot of my energy. It is finally, finally, managed at this point and things are a lot better. I think because her anxiety was so severe, and she externalizes, maybe I didn't take DS's anxiety seriously since his behavior is generally so good and he internalizes. So, I think he needs to be moved to the front burner now.
I'm seriously considering pulling him out of the school-based counseling and either seeing that same counselor outside of school hours, or having him see the play therapist that worked with my daughter. Hmmm...food for thought. I agree, he loves structure and predictability, in addition to needing the gym time, so the school based counseling is probably doing more harm than good.
Thank you again for the help and advice! It's so scary to feel so out of my depth to help my own child.
