Fastest way to track autism behavior (For exhausted parents)
The fastest way to track autism behavior is a simple spreadsheet with just two columns: Date and Rating (Bad, Okay, or Good). It takes about 10 seconds to add a row each night, and you can do it from your phone using Google Sheets. Before appointments, use basic spreadsheet functions to count and average your ratings.
The goal isn't perfect data. It's something you can actually sustain when life is chaos—and something you can actually use later.
Why Speed Matters More Than Detail
Most behavior tracking apps fail exhausted parents because they were designed for researchers or clinicians with time to fill out forms. When you're in survival mode:
You don't have 5 minutes to rate 12 different behaviors
You can't remember what happened at 2 PM when you're logging at 10 PM
Any friction means you'll skip days, feel guilty, and quit
The fastest method is the one you'll actually do. An imperfect 30-day streak beats a detailed 3-day log you abandoned.
The Simple Spreadsheet Method (10 Seconds/Day)
A basic spreadsheet is fast to update and actually useful when you need to analyze it.
Setup:
| Date | Rating | Notes (optional) |
|---|---|---|
| 12/1 | Bad | Meltdown after school |
| 12/2 | Okay | |
| 12/3 | Good | Great day at therapy |
How to do it:
Create a Google Sheet (so you can update from your phone)
Each night, add one row: today's date and one word (Bad, Okay, or Good)
Optionally add a brief note if something notable happened
Before appointments:
Use COUNTIF to count each rating: "We had 12 Bad days, 10 Okay, 8 Good this month"
Convert to numbers (Bad=1, Okay=2, Good=3) and average to compare periods
Pros: Takes 10 seconds; works on phone; easy to count and average with basic spreadsheet functions Cons: Only tells you that things changed, not why; only captures what you remember to note
Voice Journaling With AI Analysis (VillageMetrics)
Voice journaling is faster than typing—but raw voice recordings are useless without something to process them. You're not going to listen to 30 recordings before a doctor appointment and synthesize patterns. That's what computers are for.
VillageMetrics was built specifically to make voice journaling actually useful:
How it works:
Record a voice note when you have a moment—a minute or two
The AI transcribes, analyzes, and scores it automatically
Before appointments, ask: "Summarize the last 30 days" and get a doctor-ready answer
Why voice journaling only works with an app like this:
No transcription step: The AI handles it
No manual counting: Ask "How many bad days this month?" and get an answer
No ChatGPT copy/paste: Analysis happens automatically, and it's HIPAA compliant
Captures more than typing: When you talk, you mention context you wouldn't bother to type
The trade-off: It's a paid subscription. The question is whether your time and mental energy are worth the cost.
Comparing the Two Approaches
Both methods are relatively quick, but they differ in experience and what you get back.
Spreadsheet: It works, and it's free. But using Google Sheets on a phone—loading the app, finding your document, scrolling to the right row, tapping cells—is clunky. It's doable, but not a great experience. And you only get back what you put in: basic counts and averages.
VillageMetrics: Purpose-built for this. You open the app, press one button, talk about your day, and press done. It's a much easier and more enjoyable experience. You can give richer detail because talking is natural, and you get richer insights back—patterns, triggers, correlations, and doctor-ready summaries.
| Method | Experience | What You Capture | What You Get Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | Clunky on phone, but works | One rating + optional note | Counts and averages |
| VillageMetrics | Easy, just talk | Full context naturally | Patterns, triggers, summaries |
If a spreadsheet is all you can manage right now, it's infinitely better than nothing. But VillageMetrics is easier to use, captures more, and gives you far more useful insights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I can only track a few days per week?
That's fine. Three entries per week still shows patterns over a month. The goal is "good enough to help," not research-grade data. Don't let perfectionism stop you from capturing something.
What should I say in a voice note?
Whatever comes to mind. Just think through your day from the beginning and talk about everything you can remember—the morning routine, school pickup, dinner, bedtime. You never know what details will turn out to be useful for insights later. "Today was hard. Meltdown at dinner, he seemed off all afternoon, didn't sleep well last night." You don't need clinical language or structured reporting. The value is in consistent capture, not eloquent descriptions.
How do I get my spouse or caregiver to track too?
Share the Google Sheet so they can add rows too—it's simple enough that anyone can do it. If they won't even do that, ask them to text you their rating and you add it. With VillageMetrics, they can record voice notes in a minute or two without learning a new system, and everything automatically combines into one view.
Ready to stop flying blind? VillageMetrics turns your daily voice notes into the data doctors need to help your child.