My 6 yo and bullies

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I've heard that autistic children are often preyed upon. As a dad how can I help my son defend himself?

Aspies, kids in particular, tend to think in absolutes, so you have to be careful of advice you give to him. If you tell him never to hit someone, ever, he won't, even when it's justified to do so, like when his lunch money is taken forcefully. But if you tell him it's OK to hit if they hit you first, then he might interpret that, under stress, as anytime he's touched, which leads to other problems.

The best thing you can do, I think, is help him learn the difference between someone being friendly to him and someone being mean or making fun of him. Most people can tell this from tone of voice or other non verbal cues, but we're pretty bad at it, quite frankly, and it leads us, as kids, to trust the wrong people until it's too late. I know it's a tall order, but the sooner he can tell the good guys from the bad guys, the better.