The Concept
Decision-makers need to understand:
- How often something happens
- How long it takes
- How much help is needed
"Needs help with dressing" tells them very little.
"Needs 45 minutes of constant prompting to dress, compared to 10 minutes for same-age sibling" tells them a lot.
Numbers That Matter
Time:
- Minutes to complete tasks (dressing, eating, bathing)
- Minutes of attention per waking at night
- Total night-time attention per night
Frequency:
- Times per day (prompts, interventions, meltdowns)
- Times per week (incidents, appointments, difficult days)
- Times per night (wakings)
Distance:
- Metres before needing to stop or rest
- How far they can walk on a good day vs bad day
Comparison:
- How long does a same-age child take?
- What would a same-age child need?
Examples
| Vague | With Numbers |
|---|---|
| "Takes a long time to get dressed" | "Takes 45 minutes with constant prompting" |
| "Wakes often at night" | "Wakes 3-4 times, needs 15-20 minutes each time" |
| "Can't walk far" | "Can walk 50 metres before needing to sit" |
| "Has lots of meltdowns" | "3-4 meltdowns per week, lasting 20-30 minutes each" |
| "Needs help with food" | "Needs prompting every 2-3 mouthfuls, mealtimes take 40 minutes" |
Estimating
You don't need to be exact. Decision-makers understand that needs vary.
- "Approximately 45 minutes" is fine
- "Usually 3-4 times" is fine
- "On a good day... on a bad day..." is helpful
- "At least 20 minutes" is fine
The key is giving them something concrete to work with.
What Aubis Does
Aubis DLA prompts for numbers throughout:
- How long does this take?
- How many times per day/night?
- How far can they walk?
- How does this compare to a same-age child?
It captures specifics without you having to remember what to include.
Aubis scribes. You decide.