Using a Scale or Diary

A scale or a diary may also be used as a form of CBM. This involves breaking down and tracking emotional and social concepts that the student has had difficulty understanding. Using a scale to visually illustrate degrees of emotion or stress can significantly help students with ASD understand their own responses and feelings (Buron & Curtis, in press). A scale may be introduced using a worksheet format.

A diary may be used with students who are able to write down their thoughts. A diary used in conjunction with a blank rating scale can help students review their thoughts in a concrete and systematic way.

It is important that people with ASD have the opportunity for plenty of practice in rating their thoughts or feelings, predicting the feelings or reactions of others, and recording their actual reactions to social situations.

Example

Roger is 18 years old and has a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome. He has difficulty with social limits and understanding subtle social rules. He often oversteps his welcome or makes mistakes in social judgement that make others uncomfortable. When a coworker is upset with Roger, he does not know how to improve the situation, and his anxiety increases to a point where he often has a tantrum. The physical nature of his tantrum is upsetting to coworkers, and he has lost two jobs as a result. He currently works part time after school at a fast food restaurant. Roger’s job coach introduced a problem-solving scale to Roger with common problems rated 1-5 on the scale. He sat down with Roger and filled in a section with possible ways to solve the problems, giving him very specific things to do. Roger also began using a daily diary to rate his day at work according to criteria surrounding his use of the scale when faced with difficult social interactions.