Oh, I didn't even realize he was an Aspie! LOL! How come sometimes I can't see signatures? I've noticed that, alot of times I don't see them (like right now). Hmm..
I will tell ya, just to kind of repeat MWM's stuff, my son is Autistic - and she's really right. The more interventions we put into place, the easier we make things for Dylan, especially in school, the better things are. He's not in a regular school right now, he's in a partial program, and there's a teacher an aide and only 3 kids in the room. He gets alot of one on one, there's alot of pictures, charts, things written down (structure) for what he has to do, when, what time, etc. Everything is visual. He is doing much better in this type of environment. So much so, we have a meeting in February to try to get him back to regular education. We had to go all the way back with him, though, to get him to where he is. And, like MWM said, it's been very small baby steps.
I kinda treat Dylan like he's 6. Yeah, he's 12 years old physically, but honestly, his understanding, how he sees things (he's a very black/white thinker), how he expresses himself - it's very delayed. He also has that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) type thinking that Aspies do, and, because of this, it's very hard for him to move along. He needs alot of help - and all these things are things no drug can really combat. It's interventions - and lots of them. Teaching coping skills, anger management, loads of therapies.
He is on medications, too - but, it's always a struggle. And yes, not too bright to implement two drugs at once. I'd still question the thyroid - but, how do you know which one it is?
What kind of bullying is he doing? I ask because, Dylan can seem very, very bossy and try to be the authority figure over the child. He doesn't *want* to be a kid. He wants to rule everyone LOL! On his van, he thinks he really *has* to be there to monitor the other kids - because they tantrum, kick, rage, etc, whatever. It's not his place to tell them what to do, but he has a million excuses as to why he has to (our van driver is old and not very consistent with rules - that's another story). In his mind, though, he's not being bossy. He's trying to work to get the other children to act right LOL, and they don't, so he tries then, to...yeah, boss. We try to talk it through with him, ask him questions like "what ELSE could you have done (aside from telling everyone what to do LOL) in that situation?". Sometimes he has answers, and other times he looks at me like I'm from Mars.
Alot of it is anxiety, too. He's worried that the van driver is going to crash because another child is not doing what he's supposed to. He's worried the van driver (68 year old man) may have a heart attack or stroke from stressing over the other kids. He's worried that he won't pay attention to the road - and a deer might run out and they'll hit it. He's worried, worried, worried. There are days I wonder how he makes it through without worrying himself to death.
So, to me, there is a difference between this type of thinking and bullying, i.e. going to school and just punching someone or teasing, tripping, making fun of kids - threats, etc. But, that's just my .02.