He doesn't bring it to school, sports or friends', but brings it to all social gatherings, every holiday or residential. Walks around home with it, talks to it, does homework with it, it watches him play lego, etc.
His younger sibling has a security/special teddy too but i feel he is more reliant on it for emotional comfort (much more so than younger sibling).
Intensity came out of the Covid trauma, from missing school for nearly a year. I too get PTSD thinking about it. But 4 years on?
I have a 40 year old teddy but it stays in my bed like a pillow.