Quirkiness and awkward

One of the 8th graders tells me today during lunch that some kids think William is annoying. My response was "I know, but he's autistic, he can't help it." His response was "really? I didn't know that." the girl sitting by him said "where have you been? that's why she has that puzzle tattoo on her arm." He then said "wow, I guess I'd better pay more attention. I didn't know." He also said he would say something to the girls (who are also in 4th grade, W's age) at the bus stop.  This boy wasn't being mean, he was just letting me know that some kids are talking about W. I appreciate that he told me this, I just wish we had some autism spectrum education for the kids so they aren't so quick to judge others who may appear to act differently than they do. You can't see autism, but you can see its quirkiness and awkwardness. :(

W has one friend who he sits with at lunch every day; if he doesn't sit with this friend, a huge meltdown ensues. Sometimes, this friend will sit with one of 2 other boys, and deliberately not leave room for W to invoke a meltdown. This friend is also very mean to W when sitting by one of these 2 boys. W is sometimes oblivious to this, and still wants him to be his friend. They even asked me about a play date for today after school. I don't get it. They have so much in common, and both are quirky, but this boy can be very mean when with these 2 other boys.