any thing or any way to make people, not just aware, but to understand is helpful and can make it easier and better for the child. The more people/children can learn and understand, the better it is for anyone with autism.

My daughter started Kindergarten this year too. I asked the Gen Ed teacher & her Special Ed teacher if I could buy a book for them to read to the class. They thought it was a wonderful idea. I bought the book "I see things differently- A first look at Autism". It's a really good book that does a good job explaining the main parts of Autism to kids. The class enjoyed the book & it helped them understand some of my daughter's quirks.

By the way, I want to clarify, because it may seem like my son played no part in his ability to finally make good friends. He worked darn hard at it! But if it wasn't for the schools intervention, it may have been much more difficult to get there for him. He's a wonderful boy, bright, funny, sweet and caring... But he is odd at times and is more adult than his peers. His humor is very mature (and I don't mean vulgar) which is difficult for children his age to understand. He talks like an adult, not a child. Has no interests in things children his age is interested in - such as Ninja Turtles, cartoons, and so on.

Personally, I did not. But I am not a very social person, either... nor am I that open. I had considered it at one point, but... if he has a good teacher, it shouldn't be a major problem. In kindergarten, kids act out. It's a new experience for them... and kids at this age don't tend to really gossip about their school mates, either.

But remember, your child may have an issue at school with various odd behavior or even may act out. But, at the same time, you're going to have perfectly "normal" neurotypical kids doing many of the same things. And teachers are prepared for this sort of thing. Get the IEP going and request special services for your child to help him cope and learn to control some of his actions and behaviors. Request that he be given sensory breaks periodically and also that when he starts doing certain things, he is given a break. This way he can be easily redirected to stop certain behaviors as well as it preventing a classroom disruption.

Part of helping your child fit in, is also making sure they are not seen as an outsider. Kids this young have trouble understanding these things as well... so not sure that even if the parents were willing to discuss your child's autism with their children, would they even understand.... the easiest way to explain autism to a young child is by stating they are different... and that can make your son uncomfortable to be labeled as such before he has a full understanding of what autism is himself. Being different isn't bad, but for young children, they don't want to be different, they want to be as normal as everyone else is.

The schools goal with his IEP related to his autism diagnosis should be (aside from anything he needs academically) to help him find ways to behave in a socially acceptable way. If they do it right, they also teach his peers about diversity and how to accept people for who they are, regardless of the "weird" things they may do. My child is now in 2nd grade and I've never told a single parent from his classroom that he has autism, nor has it ever come up in questioning, regarding my sons, sometimes odd, behavior. As he progresses through school age, with a solid IEP and a devoted team, he will flourish beautifully in school as well.

This year, my child actually has friends! He's never thought he didn't, but really, most of his friendships were one-sided and he was oblivious to this. But, this year, he actually has friends that reciprocate that friendship. I'd love to be able to say that was all him or even slightly me... but it was the school that did that for him!