Advice on ASD Units

[Joseph1ne]

My son is due to go into primary school in September and will turn 5 in October and I was advised that my son will need to go into a ASD unit for extra support.
He does have an assistant at pre school but is still struggling. I don't know much about ASD units other than what I've looked up online but was hoping any parents here who have had a child go to one to give me some information about it and if they found it helpful

Hi there, this is difficult to answer as every specialist provision is different.
Are they talking about a Unit, or Resource Base which is part of a mainstream school ?
Even then, they vary hugely in how they operate within the school.
I think you have to go back to whoever told you this would be the best provision for him, and ask them about it. Ask them how it operates.

Hi there, thank you for replying.

They advised for a ASS unit to help support him. His psychologist advised that my son go to a unit to get support for his needs because even though he has an assistant full time he is still struggling. I did ask about the unit and was mainly told that he would be in a classroom with up to 6 pupils and that he may only need to go there for 2 years or until they see he can go to a mainstream school and not struggle. I was told it would be good for him to go and he would get a lot of support that he needs. But the reason for my post is to see what parents experiences where with their children going to a unit and if they found it helpful for their child. I've going the professionals opinion but I want to get a parent who has experienced it and get there view.

I think my question was more - is it a 'unit' that is separate, geographically, from a mainstream school, or is it a class which is part of a mainstream school.
As I said, language and labels are different across the country.
The last time I hear 'unit' used in my authority was about 20 years ago, and it would have been a class, within (or part of or attached to) a mainstream school. In my authority, these have now morphed into what they call Resource Bases, and the aim is that the children that go there will gradually spend more and more time each week, and each day with their mainstream peers and gradually reduce the time in the RB. When they start, they will spend most of their time in the RB Classroom and then, as suits the individual, will spend more and more time with their mainstream peers. In some schools they start the day (registration, assembly etc) in with their mainstream peers and then go to the RB for specific lessons. In others, their 'home room' as it were is the RB and they gradually start attending lessons with their mainstream peers.

This ^ is what I would have assumed a 'unit' was.

However, from your second post it sounds more like it is a separate place, not part of a mainstream school, so, in effect a special school ?

I think they are quite different approaches, which is why I was trying to clarify what your authority mean by 'unit'.

When I spoke with the physiologist it was explained to me that he would go to a unit full time and he could be there for up to 2 years or even longer just depending on how my son progresses. My son has learning difficulties, he also has some social difficulties and finds it very overwhelming being among a large group of people. He also find it hard to regulate his emotions, and doesn't fully understand what is being said or asked of him. I was told that these units would have children my sons age in the classroom with the same difficulties as him and that there would be up to 6 students in his class.
I tried doing research on units and couldn’t find much on it which is why I wanted to see about getting more Information as I want to make sure I explore all options and make sure that I make the right decision for him. I do believe it is a special needs school. Im really unsure about a unit or mainstream. There is apart of me that worries that if he goes to the unit he will get used to the routine and everyone there and if he makes progress (which I would be so happy for him) that they will take that away from him and say that he will then need to go to mainstream and he will have to start all over again. I worry that it would really affect him.