I don't know how to discipline my son for getting into a fight because he did it for a good reason.

So I have 3 boys, 15, 11, and my step-son who is 9. This is mainly about the two younger ones. The middle boy has some development issues which make him a slow learner, he doesn't talk very often or very quickly and he tends to be very emotional and takes words to heart very quickly. Both of my other boys are very protective of the middle child because he's often the target of bullying. On the other end, the youngest has anger issues and sometimes acts out when he doesn't know how to handle a situation (his birth mother was a very nasty and abusive woman). He's in therapy and getting help but he still sometimes lashes out.Yesterday, I got a call from the school asking me to pick up my youngest as he'd gotten into a fight at school, and my middle child as he was having a mild breakdown. This has happened before and so it wasn't a huge surprise (I work from home so it isn't hard for me to get them either). When I got there the school told me that my youngest had started fighting two older children and that he refused to apologize. My youngest is stubborn so this too came as no surprise. As I was driving home, however, I asked him why he'd attacked the other boys. He told me it was because they were being mean and bullying the middle child.Long story short, my middle child eventually agreed with my youngest's reiteration of the story. I called the school and they said they'd look into it more. However, my husband still thinks we need to reprimand the youngest for fighting, as his therapist has said that we must be consistent in telling him everytime he lashes out that it isn't the right thing to do. But in this case, I believe he was completely in his right. He was protecting his brother. So here we are, my husband thinks we should still reprimand him and punish him for fighting. I don't think we should punish him for standing up for his brother and giving him the wrong idea. What are your guys' thoughts on this? Any suggestions for how to deal with this? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2BPe0ni