​About the P.E.A.C.E Scale
Origin
The idea for the P.E.A.C.E. Scale began when I was just eight years old and met a young autistic girl. I remember the moment vividly, she looked at me and smiled for the very first time. That small gesture made a lasting impression, and from that day forward, I silently promised myself that I would do something meaningful to support children like her.
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Fast forward to my junior year of high school: as a passionate speech and debate competitor, I ironically found myself in the emergency room—unable to speak. Despite my background in communication, I couldn’t express my pain to the medical staff. When the nurses handed me the Wong-Baker Faces Scale and asked me to rate my pain, I struggled to respond, not because I didn’t know what I was feeling, but because the method didn’t fit my situation.
That experience reminded me of the promise I had made years earlier. If I (a verbally skilled teenager) felt helpless in that moment, how must it feel for autistic children who face communication barriers every day in clinical settings?
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Driven by that realization, I spent months immersed in research, exploring how pain is assessed, misunderstood, and miscommunicated for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The result of that work is the P.E.A.C.E. Scale, a pain expression and communication tool thoughtfully designed to meet the sensory and communicative needs of autistic and nonverbal children in healthcare environments.
Purpose
The P.E.A.C.E. Scale was created to bridge the gap in pain communication for autistic and nonverbal children. Traditional tools often fail to meet their sensory and communicative needs, leading to misdiagnosis and distress.
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The goal is to provide a sensory-friendly, child-centered, and clinically informed scale that allows children to express their pain clearly without needing words. By empowering children and supporting clinicians, we aim to build a more inclusive and responsive healthcare experience.
What makes it unique
The P.E.A.C.E. Scale isn’t just a redesign—it’s a reimagination of how autistic children can safely and clearly express pain in clinical settings.
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What sets it apart:
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Sensory-Friendly Design: Uses soft pastel colors and minimal visual clutter to reduce overstimulation.
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Literal, Personalized Language: Replaces vague terms with clear, empathetic phrases like “I feel good” to “I need help now.”
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Dual Communication Modes: Includes a facial expression scale and a body diagram to indicate both pain intensity and location.
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Neurodivergent-Informed: Developed specifically with autistic children in mind, not retrofitted from neurotypical models.
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Readable & Accessible: Features Open Dyslexic font to support children with reading or processing challenges.
This tool is tailored so every child has a voice in their own care.