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Parents who set up schools for their autistic children today said the Education Secretary's plans to encourage free schools would stall without support for potential school founders.

Michael Gove announced today that he had ordered a relaxation of planning laws and building regulations which he said were "too bureaucratic" and prevent new schools from being built.

From today, parents, teachers, charities and other groups can begin submitting their bids to set up their own schools.

Yet TreeHouse, a national charity for autism education, which runs a school in north London, said parents of children with special needs would be put off if there was no help to navigate the application system.

Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of TreeHouse, said: "The most significant barrier that parents faced in establishing TreeHouse was the sheer time required to navigate the complexities of setting up a school.

"Our founding parents have done an incredible job and today we have 76 children at our school. We are fortunate to have a flagship building to support teaching and learning and Ofsted have confirmed TreeHouse as being a 'good' school.

"However, TreeHouse is a rarity and the Government's vision of making it easier for parents to set up their own schools needs to be matched by investment in guidance and support and a resolute commitment to supporting the role of special schools and for high standards of education."

TreeHouse said many existing parent-founded schools were charities and parents needed ongoing support to establish and keep the organisations running.

Kate Grant, who helped set up Jigsaw School for children with autism in Cranleigh, Surrey, and is now its CEO and founding trustee, said: "For any parent, establishing a school from scratch is all encompassing.

"Jigsaw School has been operational for over 10 years but it has been one long hard battle which has required us to clear so many hurdles. I don't know quite how we have achieved what we have, but I do know that without proper support many parents will be put off from the start."

Karen Sorab is the CEO and founding trustee of the Rainbow Charity for children with autism, which runs Rainbow School for up to 18 pupils in South-west London. She said: "As the mother of an autistic child, I believe that specialist education is the key to enabling children with autism to reach their full potential.

"Founding a parent-led school has at times been extremely challenging, extremely stressful and is most definitely not for the faint hearted. It could have been so much easier with genuine high quality support and advice."

TreeHouse is a national charity for autism education. As well as running a special school for children and young people with autism. It provides information and training for parents and professionals, commissions research and campaigns for change.

Any parent or organisation considering a bid to set up a school could benefit from TreeHouse's guide Schools from Scratch, based on the experiences of six parent-founded schools for children with autism.