New year, new fear.

I’ve spent some time on autism parenting discussion boards the last couple of days and one thing is crystal clear: the beginning of a new school year—new routines, new teachers, and new expectations—cause angst among those of us with kids on the spectrum. Some common themes:

• Showing up to “Meet the Teacher” events where a teacher had not only not seen a child’s IEP, but was not even informed that the student has autism.

• Removal—without notice, much less justification—of supports that had been in place last year.

• Really lousy first experiences. Take a child with sensory processing disorder to a new place where new kids are excitedly bouncing around and making noise is a recipe for a meltdown.

• Confusion over lines of communication. Who—the teacher, an administrator, a SPED representative, etc.—should a parent contact about accommodations, either needed or missing?

• Fear. That the new teacher won’t embrace your child the way last year’s did. That the school bully is in his new classroom. That given communication difficulties, he won’t be able to make his needs known. Or worse, that he won’t be able to tell parents that his needs aren’t being met.

But there’s one common positive—those parents who voiced their frustrations were met with empathy and support and sometimes, helpful suggestions based on others’ experiences.

I hope this site is a place where you can raise issues, seek assistance, or just vent—without the worry that someone will pop off and make a bad situation worse.

There’s a lot of us. Let’s hold each other up as best we can.