Table 2 Example of the goal attainment scale

Setting

John is a boy of 15 years old. Because of cerebral palsy, walking is a bit more difficult for him than for most people. Especially during day trips, for example to the zoo or a theme park, he gets really tired and he is not happy with the way he walks.

Measuring method

John will score his physical performance and stamina during a day trip, on a scale from 0 to 10: 0 means ‘very bad’ and 10 means ‘perfect’.

Assignment

John, pay attention to your physical feelings and walking performance during a daytrip.

−3 deterioration

Score 3: even worse: John is really sad about his stamina and walking performance and he actually can’t fulfil daytrips in a nice way, because he needs so many breaks.

−2 baseline situation

Score 4: quite bad: John is really not happy about his stamina and walking performance. He feels really tired during the day trip and needs a lot of breaks.

−1 less than the goal

Score 5: still not sufficient: John is not happy about his stamina and walking performance, but he feels a bit less tired during the day trip. He still needs regular breaks.

0 goal

Score 6: sufficient: John feels okay about his stamina and walking performance; he feels less tired during the day trip and needs less breaks.

+ 1 more than the goal

Score 7: more than sufficient: John feels a bit happy about his stamina and walking performance: he feels less tired during the day trip and needs less breaks. He can enjoy the day more.

+ 2 way more than the goal

Score 8: more than sufficient: John feels happy about his stamina and walking performance: he feels only a bit tired during the day trip. He would like to have more day trips.