I would echo the concerns about transition to high school and post-secondary. Quite often, I see students who are raised as initial referrals in ninth grade, and then when I start digging, I find out that they were on IEPs or 504s all through elementary, but were dismissed in 7th grade "because they were doing so well". They made it through 8th grade, often because they were in the same schools, where teachers already knew (or heard from colleagues) what their accommodations were, and essentially kept them on informal support. Then they came to us and imploded. Not saying this will happen to him, but I've seen it enough times that I would be very cautious about this. One of my big regrets among specific professional decisions I've made in the past was recommending dismissal for a kid in 8th grade, who then had a very difficult ninth grade year (resulting in being placed back on a plan).
Yes.
IME high school teachers often expect serious independence at a level that may not be a problem for a neurotypical child but may just be an emerging skill for a 2E. You can explain the disability, you can advocate, but it can be very tricky to get everyone on board-- their expectations are what they are.
The 504 is an essential piece of protection for cases like this.
