Putting on my special education teacher hat for a moment... I am a strong advocate for the students I serve to spend time in the regular classroom no matter their issues. We start with that placement and I pull them for as much time as is needed for remediation instruction in core subject(s), and/or a quiet place to work on regular classwork, or relax. My assistant circulates through classrooms providing additional supports in the inclusive setting. I have encountered only a couple of kids in my entire career who ended up being unable to spend at least a little time each day in the regular classroom... and they weren't autistics.
The difference between kids in fully self-contained settings and those who spend time with the general population is clear and pronounced. When a student transfers to me from a purely self-contained setting the biggest challenge we face isn't academic, but work and social skills. No matter how good the special education teacher, if a young person is surrounded only by others with special needs, they do not learn how to interact with those who are non-disabled nor function in a large group setting that requires independent work skills. The special education teacher can directly instruct and guide practice in these skills, but true acquisition of those skills can only occur with direct experience.

As a parent, I insisted that my son be moved into some inclusion as soon as he was able to try, which for him was spring of 7th grade. He is now in full inclusion with a 1:1 assistant, and working on his standard high school diploma.

As a parent, you know your child best. Watch those IEP goals, accommodations, modifications, and service time like a hawk to ensure that staff is on track in helping you guide your child to develop the skills he/she needs to participate well with the general community, whether classroom, a work place, or activities around town.

My son started kindergarten (mainstream) this year. He was in a blended ESD classroom for preschool. It has been a bit of a struggle for him, but just as @A MyAutismTeam Member said, we hope someday he will be able to function in the "real world". And I did have to fight for the 1 on 1 support. I called the IEP meeting with all my notes in hand and fought for it and got it. My son has someone in the classroom with him through his whole day to help him out. I really like his teacher. I think she's doing her best to teach him. She even chose on her own to attend a class on teaching autistic children since she had my son in her class. I think it's great that my son is being exposed to all the wonderful things that kindergarteners get to do. I've volunteered in the class some, and from what I saw, the kids in his class were very nice to my son (so it seems bullying isn't something I have to worry about at this time) It's hard when we think we might be "setting our kids up for failure", but I think it's very important to allow our kids a chance to succeed too. I don't want to tell my son what he can't do... I'll tell him to try.

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A MyAutis...

It can cause anxiety for your child to be mainstreamed but at some point in their life they will have to face being in public and we hope they will have the skills to manage on their own without us. (not that I wouldn't want to be right there.)
The bigger issue is the teachers ability and education when it comes to your childs needs. We had a Kindergarden teacher that was very flighty and unorganized. It was a very hard year. First grade was more structured and he did much better. Jacob is now in 2nd grade and is finding the work very hard. He is still learning and gets 1 on 1 time with a para-pro each day.
Fight for the 1-1 time, but I would be willing to try it and see how your child does.
I don't want to overwhelm Jacob but I do want to push him. Kids learn much easier than adults do!

My son was put into a regular ed classroom this year (1st grade) after 2 years in a Special Ed room all day. I was a nervous wreck before school started! It's been hard on him, especially in regards to the increased expectations for behavior, and because of all the sensory assaults on his system (noises, colorful room, people in his "personal space"). But despite my initial fears, I think it's good for him. I've seen some great strides in the last few months in his social skills, especially in how he plays with and talks to other kids! He's getting straight A's and excelling in his classwork. Really, the only problem we've had is with his behavior, which we expected.

My advice is to spell out in writing exactly what your child needs. When we first wrote the IEP for this year, it only called for "sensory breaks and heavy work througout the day." I thought that was good enough until I found out that the teachers consider 20 minutes wearing the weighted vest to be sufficient! His revised IEP (completed last week) requires 5 sensory breaks a day, at specific times based on his actual daily schedule, and a specific sensory diet to be implemented at these times. I expect to get much less behavior reports and phone calls about his behavior once this is implemented! (It's supposed to start tomorrow--he's been off school since last wednesday!)

Good luck to you--use this year to prepare, but don't fear change without giving it a chance!

I found an awesome book on Autism that I'm going to give to each of his teachers, their aides, and the school diagnetician (she's not used to testing pre-k kids) for Christmas, because it gives a great perspective from a parents experience, and also from a PhD that is an authority on Autism. It's the first one I found that was written by two people with all the bases covered.

It can't hurt to educate them more, gives them something they can read over the Christmas break, and I hope it will open a dialog between us. The name of the book is:
"Overcoming Autism: Finding the Answers, Strategies, and the Hope That Can Transform a Child's Life", by Lynn Kern Koegel,Ph.D., and Claire LaZebnik.

Education is the key to ending ignorance! :)