THE INCREDIBLE 5- POINT SCALE



THE INCREDIBLE 5- POINT SCALE

Kari Dunn Buron & Mitzi Curtis

Assisting students with ASD to

- understand social interactions

- controlling emotional responses

- where social interactions fall apart

- why social interactions fall apart

ASD students experience problems:

Lack of social competence

Lack of understanding of their impact on social interactions

Social dysfunction

Objective:

Use of a basic 5 point scale to teach social understanding

Scales work well for students w/ASD

Scales are familiar in their environments (relatable)

Talk in numbers preferred over social or emotional words

Scales are visual

Scales reduce abstract ideas to simple numbers

Matches ASD learning traits

PROCESS

Listen for descriptions of challenging behaviors

Keep 5 point scale in mind

5 Point Scales work for ASD students who:

have social readiness skills

attending skills

identify numbers and colors

Best introduced in 1:1 session

Once rating scale understood; apply in small groups

Once rating scale understood; apply at school and home

Writing a social story or memo ( older students) to go along

with the scale good way to introduce the purpose of scale

& how the scale works

SOCIAL STORY/ MEMO

Describes social situations

Written description of problem

Give clear, concise concrete social information

State the perspective of people involved

Gently directs

SCALE

Breaks down behaviors into concrete parts

Kids able to better understand what is being asked

Rate the behavior from 1-5

Write it down

Direction used on scale (up/down) doesn’t matter

Want student to help identify each number if possible

How we act, react, and interact in difficult situations depends

on ability to quickly & efficiently assess what is happening

& consider action consequences

Students lacking social competence benefit from direct instruction

& breaking repetitive problems down to clear, concise, concrete

parts

EXAMPLES

Voice volume is too big

Compares volume to big and little

Known concept to student

Adults carry scale on card

Prompt student when too loud by showing scale & point to level

he should be at for that specific activity

No verbal directions given

Just point to scale.

Do not react to students response or outburst related to scale #

NONVERBAL PROMPT

Levels

5- Emergencies

4- Outside; at a ball game

3- In the classroom; at lunch

2- In the library; quiet time

1- When someone else is talking

VOICE VOLUME RATING SCALE

5- Screaming/ emergency only

4- outside game/ outside voice

3- Classroom voice/ talking

2- Soft voice/ whisper

1- No talking at all

VOICE VOLUME WHEN TOO SOFT

Student soft spoken; often waits for adult prompt to respond to needs or answers

Demonstrate scale with verbal examples (prewarned)

This scale included pictures as struggle with number concepts

And difficulty discriminating colors.

Scale was modeled when student was waiting for materials rather than asking for crayons in a whisper. Try a 3 .

5- yelling

4- loud

3- conversation

2- whisper

1- no sound

WHEN WORDS HURT

Student upsets others when he says mean or hurtful things

Response occurs when someone says something that bothers him

Can’t put self in other’s shoes to see why upsets them when he

is telling the truth – “ignorant”

THE TOUCHING AND TALKING SCALE

5- Punching / kicking

4- Being mean (saying mean things)

3- Talking in a friendly way

2- Looking in a friendly way

1- Thinking in a friendly way

THE OBSESSIONAL INDEX

Often obsessional tendencies become so intense that student thinking becomes illogical.

5 point scale design can teach student to recognize need for supports when dealing with obsessions

Intervene early in the obsession escalation

With obsession tendencies, being told to stop can lead to increased anxiety and acting out behaviors.

Memo ( replacing social stories for older students) can be written.

Explains new scale

Steps to check in with safe adult to self rate using the scale

OBSESSIONAL INDEX

5- I can ‘t control it. I will need lots of support.

4- I am feeling very nervous and will probably need

some support.

3- I am thinking about my obsessions, but I may need to talk to

someone about it. I think I have some control.

2- I am feeling pretty relaxed today. I can probably think

about my obsessions but still do well in class.

1-It is a great day! My obsessional personality is a neurological

work of art.

MEETING AND GREETING OTHERS

Used for student who has difficulty approaching others approp-

riately.

Scale to control frustration

Socially acceptable ways

LEARNING ABOUT CONTROL

Student likes being in control. Becomes upset if he perceives

something is wrong.

Aggressive response to other’s behavior varies day to day-

even for the same offense.

Scale designed to teach student to recognize his own ability

to control his reactions.

Check in several times a day to rate level of control.

If rated 4 or greater; student will have alternate activity.

- alternatives designed to provide more structure.

- Works since student likes school

- Rigid- does not like going home / change in his day

- Needs more support/ supervision in large settings

|Rating |Looks like |Feels like |I can try to |

|5 |Kicking or |My head will prob- |Mom comes |

| |hitting |ably explode |To take me home |

|4 |Screaming at |Nervous |Talk to mom on |

| |People ; almost | |The phone |

| |Hitting | | |

|3 |Quiet; some |Bad mood |Stay away from |

| |Talking |Grumpy |Kids I don’t like |

| | | |Use quiet place |

|2 |Regular kid |Good |Enjoy it |

| |Not weird | |Follow schedule |

|1 |Work by self |Great |Stay thumbs up |

WHAT I REALLY MEANT WAS ….

Goal: understand the perspective of others

Understand impact of her behavior has on others

Issue: student misunderstands behavior for which she has consequence ( ie- not finishing work vs. noncompliance)

Interview teacher and student to develop scale.

Place results side by side.

Draw curve to illustrate student level of anxiety.

Overlay student and teacher responses on the curve.

-Allows student to understand teacher reactions based on observations.

Develop scale. Teacher will ask student to rate during incident.

Student has number cards to give to teacher indicating felling

upset rather than talking rudely.

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

5- I need to leave Face red; shut down;

4- I need some space Arguing; removing self ; signing to

emphasize need

3- Please don’t talk requests; shhh gesture; writes request

2- I am a little nervous pacing; repeating requests ; no work

1- I can handle this! Completes work

THE STRESS SCALE TEMPLATE

|5 |I could lose control |

| |_______________________ |

|4 |Can really upset me |

| |________________________ |

|3 |Makes me nervous |

| |______________________ |

|2 |Bugs me |

| |_______________________ |

|1 |Never bothers me |

| |_________________________ |

BLANK TEMPLATE

|TOPIC: |

|OK |NOT OK |RATING |Description |

| | | 5 | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |4 | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |3 | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |2 | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | |1 | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

BLANK TEMPATE B

|RATING |Look likes |Feels like |I can try to |

| | | | |

|5 | | | |

| | | | |

|4 | | | |

| | | | |

|3 | | | |

| | | | |

|2 | | | |

| | | | |

|1 | | | |

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