advice needed when meeting new friends

[Guest guest]

I have a wonderful 6 year old son who also has autism, with some very apparent issues with speech and social skills.Whenever we meet a new friend his age at the park or pool, I usually get engaged to facilitate a successful social interaction for my son to help him communicate and maintain his peer interaction. Usually the other child doesn't seem to notice anything different, and I do a pretty good job of phrasing their questions and comments in a way my son will understand (since he still has a tough time with generalization.) They seem to get along fine, until I mention the word autism. I have run into issues when I tell the other parent that my son has autism. It seems as soon as I mention that, the game changes. The parent doesn't seem too thrilled that their child is now interacting

with mine, and I have even had people leave the park shortly after I mention it. Not b/c my son did anything too far out of the ordinary, but purely b/c they now look at him differently since they heard the 'a' word. Now of course I know that we don't want to be friends with anyone that doesn't accept us for who we are anyway. But we don't expect to become life long friends with these children we meet at the park, I just want my son to get the most out of an interaction and experience with them that day without it being cut short. The only reason why I felt it was necessary to mention it after they have been playing for a little while is to help the other parent understand if my son happens to do something strange, or if they continue to have a hard time understanding him. Its also my way of helping them to see that I am not just an overbearing mother, I am working to help facilitate my son's social interaction.Older children (ages 10+) seem to

notice there is something "different" about my son when they interact with him, but the younger ones his own age don't seem to notice. Should I refrain from saying anything about it to avoid the negative reactions? How do you handle situations like this?Any advice is truly appreciated.