Hi Angie, thanks for your comments!
I have spoken to a therapist about him and he gave me some great ideas and feedback. The first ones had to do with getting him more balance - more sleep, less screen time, more exercise - which we were working on before Christmas and have to get back to.
He also said that emotions and lack of sleep (he has trouble getting to sleep) tend to build to a day where he just isn't able to cope and that it's okay to give him a day at home so he can restore his energy. Preventative measures really.
With the amount of school he has been missing we've been quite firm about how you have to go and can't just miss school if you're a bit off so this was quite freeing. His teacher agreed that it was a good idea and supports me/us in this. Yay! The tricky thing will be in doing it carefully so he doesn't feel like he has a skip school card (though I won't explain it to him ahead of time).
I'll keep trying to figure out how to convince him to see a therapist. If anyone has ideas I'm open.
