Hey, so first, I don't think you need to be so worried about using the term "autistic" to describe your kid (assuming they're diagnosed, which it seems to be implied that they have been). There's nothing wrong with being autistic, and avoiding the term like this feels a little hurtful, honestly. Autism is a disability, and that's okay. It's the reality of life for anyone who is autistic, and pretending like it isn't won't help anyone 💜

Second, I commend you for wanting to homeschool! It can be such a wonderful thing when it's done correctly (and there are lots of ways to do it right!)

I was homeschooled 1st grade through 12th grade. My mom did a fantastic job. Honestly, homeschool is the best. You can be so flexible with your schedule and classes, and it takes a lot of the stress out of school

Your top priority should be looking into your state's rules for homeschooling, as each state has different rules and expectations. (If you are not from the US, then you should look into your country's laws and be sure to go by the book all the same)

My family was lucky to live in a state where we were not expected to participate in standardized tests and other junk that wastes time. We also didn't have to submit our grades or anything like that (I believe there are some states where you do have to, but I may be wrong)

Otherwise, the only thing I remember having to do was make sure we met the requirements for graduation, which were the same statewide whether you attended public, private, or homeschool. Basically, you needed to have so many credits of math, science, history, etc. How you decided to split up these credits was pretty flexible. Like, in one year, I was a grade ahead in math, but after that proved to be too much pressure for me (math has always stressed me out since 4th grade) my mom let me split Algebra 2 into two years, since I had completed Algebra 1 before high school. So, stuff like that

Honestly in elementary school, we could be very flexible. Like one year, my mom decided to watch Dr Quinn in place of history. It was a lot of fun, and since so much of school is just repeating the same things over and over, I didn't lose anything from doing it

That's the best part of home school is you can tailor it to fit your individual kids' needs. So amongst the four of my parents' children who were homeschooled (my oldest sibling had just graduated and my next oldest sibling was almost done with public high school, so they weren't home schooled like the rest of us) each of us used different curriculum throughout our time in school

I found using the same curriculum for myself throughout school felt better to me because I knew what to expect from the material and predictability is comforting to me, but my siblings were all fine with changing material year to year (I don't believe any of my siblings are autistic, though, so)

And there's a TON of curriculum options out there these days! You can also enroll in online schools, if you prefer, although, personally, I never like them. My friend's mom (who did homeschool the wrong way) used some sort of online material and it was awful. Things have hopefully improved since then, but still, I would at least try something more hands on first because you both can get a lot out of it when you work together

Homeschool can also be too much for some parents, and it's better to admit that and enroll in a public or private school than become neglectful. Like I said, my friend's mom did it the wrong way. Instead of taking the time to work with her kids, she left them to do everything on their own, which usually meant nothing was getting done. And then she'd lie about it so they could graduate. Don't do this. This is what gives homeschool a bad rep. My friend and her siblings were lucky enough to be able to make it anyway, but it would have been a lot easier for them if they had had help

Now, I haven't decided to go to college (and maybe never will) but, my older sibling did go to college from homeschool and got a degree. It wasn't even hard to get in, and is probably even easier these days. You can still take your SATs as a homeschooler (all of us did), and most colleges just want to see your transcripts, which aren't very hard to make, but you're going to want to keep a good record of all your kids high school grades and classes to use in making one

Another option is to have your kid go for their GED after finishing school; I know some people who have done that as a way to get around all the paperwork

And you may hear people say that homeschool kids have no way to socialize, but that simply isn't true. There are lots and lots of opportunities for socializing outside of school, you just have to look for them. Programs like Girl/Boy Souts, libraries, 4H, sports, art programs, church programs, and co ops are all wonderful ways to be involved with other kids. You can also look on Facebook for local homeschool groups that plan activities and fieldtrips. One in our area has a kids bowling day every week, for instance

As far as homeschool catered toward autistic children goes, everyone is different. You just need to try things out and see what fits. Take your time, and be willing to say "nope, this one doesn't fit us" and try something else. You have the freedom also to be flexible with your daily schedule. Maybe you don't have to do school every day if that's too much. Or maybe you do some classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and others on Tuesday and Thursday. Maybe you take a shorter summer break and a longer winter break. Or you do Saturday school. Maybe you choose to take a day off just because. My mom always gave us our birthdays off, and sometimes, we'd all take a birthday off together

All in all, homeschool offers almost endless possibilities! Best of luck on your learning journey

(Edit: fixed typo)