Incredible 5-Point Scale Assisting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Understanding Social Interactions and Controlling Their Emotional Responses

by Kari Dunn Buron, Mitzi Beth Curtis

This is a book for parents, teachers and therapists. The book introduces a highly systematic method of teaching social and emotional information.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Education, Nonfiction, Parenting, Mental Health, Adhd, Aspergers

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Kari Dunn Buron is an autism educational specialist who has worked with children and young adults on the autism spectrum for more than 25 years. Kari was one of the founding members of the Minnesota Autism Project and developed the ASD certificate program for educators at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kari currently teaches in the Hamline program and coordinates a summer camp for teens with Asperger Syndrome. She is the author of When My Worries Get Too Big! A Relaxation Book for Children Who Live with Anxiety and the co-author of The Incredible 5-Point Scale: Assisting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Understanding Social Interactions and Controlling Their Emotional Responses and A 5 Is Against the Law! Social Boundaries: Straight Up! An honest guide for teens and young adults

Reviews

[Marie]

A guide to helping children with ASD to manage social communication and emotions. Clear, helpful, practical. There's a little bit of theory and loads of examples of ways to use the scales. Perhaps more valuable for teachers who work with a range of children, but as a parent still very helpful.

[Lisa Roberts]

I'm a mom of a nine year old with autism, and he is currently struggling with emotional regulation (or, in layman's terms, not losing his s@!+ when things change). This book is easy to read and offers practical advice with scenarios that have been successful for other children. This isn't a one-size-fits-all book. I don't think we can take samples directly off the page and make them work for our child. BUT this book offers so many ideas that I feel confident my husband and I can craft something that will work well for our child.

Side note for other parents of kids with ASD: I think this book does a nice job of providing examples for children of various ages (I know there were some for as young as 3 and as old as 18) and various levels of functioning. I know sometimes I feel like resources for autism parents are too focused on low functioning or high functioning kids, but this book has a nice variety.

[Candice]

Extremely informative, and really helped me understand how to create a scale with a student so that it is personalized to them and means something.

[Steph]

I appreciate all the examples shared in how to use the 5 point scale for children with Autism. The scales dealing with anxiety, competition, and anger will be the most useful to me.

[Bethany]

Brilliant book loads of great ideas

[Christy Gould]

Much of it was geared towards kids with significantly fewer verbal skills than mine have, but I see it being a useful tool and plan to implement ASAP.

[Damien A.]

We post the scales throughout the house. Love this book

[Joanna Keating-Velasco]

This second edition of THE INCREDIBLE 5-POINT SCALE book is a great resource for those in the education field and families touched by autism. This book expands on the first book by including new ideas for teaching and also rewarding behavior and social management skills. The book details how scales can be used to teach individuals who are non-verbal or who are on the more severe side of the spectrum. This technique is so basic and yet so easy-to-use and hands-on that anyone can start using the techniques immediately (either with a pad of paper and pencil or by simply printing off scales from the included CD).

The table of contents includes:

Introduction (using the scale, ultimate goals,a few personal examples)
The "Tried & True" Scales from the First Edition
***Volume Control
***Hurtful Words
***Obsessions
***Home Scale
***Meeting Friends
***Control
***Taking Perspectives
***Touching Rules
***Understanding Feelings
***Monitoring Anxiety
Scales for Young Children
***Visual/Picture Scales
Scales for Students with More Classic Forms of Autism
***Concrete, Activity-Related Scales
***Anxiety-Related Scales
More "Pretty Good" Scale Ideas
Sample Goals and Objectives RElated to the Use of the 5-Point Scale

Also included is a CD which contains blank scales making it easy to create useful resources for your classroom or family member. Within minutes of opening up this book, you can come away with hands-on useful strategies to put to work immediately. These can be used by teachers, paraprofessionals and other campus staff members (like school psychologists and therapists) as well as readily usable by families in the home setting.

[Jennifer]

I warmed to this book as it progressed. Initially it seemed simplistic, mechanistic and frankly not even very interesting, let alone useful for a child who when stressed cannot reliably decide which number is bigger. I found the US terminology offputting (unreasonably so) However, by the end, they'd provided a sufficient variety of different examples to show that it is a potentially handy little tool. I especially enjoyed the "Memo" they sent to one child who rejected 'social stories' which are the common means of explaining the scale to students (and good for him, say I)

[Shannon]

09/08: This book presents a system so simple you'll ask yourself, now why didn't I think of that? We use the 5-point scale for everything from voice volume to energy level and anger management.

Amazon Book Description:
This must-have resource shows how the use of a simple 5-point scale can help students understand and control their emotional reactions to everyday events. This book shows how to break down a given behavior and, with the student s active participation, develop a scale that identifies the problem and suggests alternative, positive behaviors at each level of the scale.

[Teri Argo]

A great little book with a powerful tool. The 5-Point scale. The book give lots of visual examples of the many ways to use a 5-point scale and how to customize it for the individuals need. I hope to use this in my role as a therapeutic riding instructor.

[Elizabeth S]

Particularly useful for people who have not been exposed to using a number scale for emotional states. This is a basic intro. A number of case studies are presented along with the actual scales that were created.

[Lynn Ritter]

Perfect for my toolbox!

Awesome resource for special education teachers! Examples abound of different versions of the five point scale. The real life scenarios of the five point scale in action were extremely beneficial.

[Jenny]

Good for any kid/student. Teaches in scales 1-5 more concrete.

[Stephanie]

Very helpful for my son.

[Allison]

Useful stuff! I look forward to implementing some of these ideas!

[Caroline]

A great introduction to the use of scales in behavior modification. Once you get comfortable with these, you will be able to create more personalized scales for your kiddo.

[Fishface]

Two words: Awesome resource. I will be able to use this one all day long.

[Kristen C]

Well laid out with a lot of tips, suggestions, and examples. A lot of case studies are used to explain this concept, which is very effectual.