The Incredible 5-Point Scale

Help!  My child has trouble with social skills and I don’t know what to do.

Try the Incredible 5-Point Scale

By:  Sabrina Baker and Heather Welter

Does your child mistake his own feelings?  Is he able to identify the specific need to be successful?  If you are like most parents the answer is “No!”  This is so confusing and yet, all children are unsure of their feelings from time to time and most children are not able to actually identify the missing component needed for success.

Let’s talk about the Incredible 5-Point Scale from research standpoint, how it is utilized in a classroom at Carl Sandburg Learning Center and how it may be altered for use in your home. 

The 5-Point Scale is a visual representation of social behaviors, emotions and abstract ideas.  It is typically used to teach social understanding.  Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to learn differently and the Incredible 5- Point Scale is a way to simplify behaviors. 

This is accomplished by identifying a problem behavior such as talking too loudly or too softly.  After identifying the problem behavior a scale is created that ‘levels’ the intensity of volume through numbers, graphics or colors in order assist students in understanding social interactions and to control their emotional responses (Coffin & Smith, 2009).  The Incredible 5- Point Scale can, “provide support at school, home, work or in the community. It can be used to address disruptive behaviors, feelings, body awareness, leisure skills, peer interactions, and many other social issues” (Coffin & Smith, 2009).         

Heather Welter, Occupational Therapist and Sabrina Baker, Special Educator implemented this program into Room 5 this school year. These experts, in the field of autism, adapted the scale to meet the needs of the children in the classroom.  The classroom has four areas that are tailored for sensory needs. 

·         Reach for the Stars Corner for students that may need movement

·         Sensational Fun Zone for students to explore their sense of touch

·         Discovery Cave for students to listen to music, draw a picture or listen to a book

·         Cozy Shack for students to read a book, relax in bean bags or just calm their bodies in a body sock.  

The end goal is for students to learn to independently monitor their sensory needs and utilize the 5 point scale to identify how they are feeling and what they need to help them to feel “just right”. The students in Room 5 have been wildly successful in being able to monitor their needs and seek out an appropriate strategy for meeting their needs.  The result has been a calm environment in which children feel a level of control in making choices.

            So how can this 5-Point Scale be adapted to work in the home?  Here are some quick tips:

·         Identify a problem behavior

·         Think about the levels – appropriate – acceptable – inappropriate

·         Choose the research-based method of the scale being from least to greatest OR choose the Room 5 variation of the middle being the appropriate and the two poles representing the extremes

o    If your child is able to participate in this step – do so but if not, it can be explained and explicitly taught to your child

·         Create a visual to represent the scale – this may be done by checking the resources posted below, searching the web or asking your child’s teacher – be creative and make it friendly to your child

·         Teach your child how to use the scale and how to use the centers

·         Create mini-centers in your home or use what already exists

o   A quiet place in the living room where your child can listen to music

o   A place rich with books, coloring books, crayons, blank paper

o    A place in the basement or recreational room with a mini-trampoline, a sand table or dried beans in a bin

·         Be consistent

Remember that our young children all need to learn social skills and children with ASD typically require explicit teaching.  The Incredible 5- Point Scale is a “behavioral support that breaks down behaviors and social interactions into clear, visual, and tangible pieces so that individuals can learn appropriate way to respond and interact in difficult situations” (Coffin & Smith, 2009).

Resources:

Buron, K. D., & Curtis, M. (2003). The incredible 5-point scale: Assisting students with autism spectrum disorders in understanding social interactions and controlling their emotional responses. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Company.

Coffin, A. B., & Smith, S. M. (2009). The incredible 5-point scale: Online training module (Columbus: Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence). In Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI), Autism Internet Modules, www.autisminternetmodules.org. Columbus, OH: OCALI.