Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) - A Clinical Refresher and Update On Evaluation of Normative Data

AACPDM IC#25
AACPDM Instructional Course #25
Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS): A Clinical Refresher and Update on Evaluation
of Normative Data
Purpose: This course will present updated information pertaining to the administration of
the AIMS, interpretation of scores, and the validity of the normative data.
Target Audience: Physicians and Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and

Nurses.
Course Summary: Common scoring issues will be identified and discussed. The
interpretation of percentile rank scores will be reviewed incorporating the results of a
longitudinal study evaluating the stability of AIMS scores over time. The results of a
recent study that re-evaluated the validity of the present normative data will be shared
and the implications discussed. This study is based on data from the recent assessments
of 650 Canadian infants. Course participants will have an opportunity to view videos and
discuss their scores together. In addition, participants will score one AIMS assessment
video independently and the presenters will provide them with e-mail feedback regarding
their item-by-item agreement with the gold standard scoring. Previous experience with
the AIMS is beneficial as this instructional course is not an AIMS training course but
rather an opportunity to share experiences using the AIMS and to ask questions about
clinical and research use of the AIMS. Participant discussion will be encouraged.
Learning Objective 1: To discuss common administration and scoring issues using the
AIMS
Learning Objective 2: To understand the interpretation of an AIMS percentile score and

how to present it to families and caregivers
Learning Objective 3: To discuss the results of a recent study re-evaluating the normative
data
Learning Objective 4: To receive personal feedback on scoring of an AIMS assessment
Questions to Students for Course Feedback

1. What would you include in your interpretation of an infants score to
parents/caregivers?
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AACPDM IC#
2. Are the normative data still representative of infants motor abilities?

3. Identify one way that your administration of the AIMS has changed after
attending this instructional course
Course Format
Darrah (15 min): Introduction and Course Objectives
How have you used it?
Review of AIMS history and uses
Bartlett (15 min): Extent of AIMS use in Research
Darrah (20 min) Scoring Issues and Interpretation of Percentile Ranks what to tell
parents/caregivers
Break 10 minutes
Bartlett (25 min) The Normative Re-evaluation why we did it, how we did it and
what we learned
Darrah/Bartlett (20 min) Lets Practice scoring a videotaped assessment together

and discussing scoring issues and scoring interpretation
Participants (15 min) Score a videotaped assessment independently. Course instructors

will score the assessments and provide electronic feedback to
individual participants regarding their item-by-item agreement
with a gold standard score obtained from expert consensus.
Piper MC & Darrah J (1994). Motor Assessment of the Developing Infant. Philadelphia,
PA: WB Saunders.
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AACPDM IC#25
Background Information
for use with infants from birth until independent walking
observational assessment
Psychometric Properties
Inter-rater Reliabilities (One Occasion)

Total .99
0-3 mo. .95
4-7 mo. .96
8-11 mo. .98
12 mo.+ .95
Intra-rater Reliabilities (Over Time, Same Assessor)

Total .99
0-3 mo. .94
4-7 mo. .92
8-11 mo. .97
12 mo.+ .85
Inter-rater Reliabilities (Over Time, Different Assessors)

Total .98
0-3 mo. .82
4-7 mo. .92
8-11 mo. .93
12 mo.+ .86
Concurrent Validity - Normal Infants

AIMS with Peabody .99
AIMS with Bayley .97
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AACPDM IC#
Normative Data
2202 infants
0-18 months, stratified by age and gender
representative sample from urban and rural health units accessible population
included all infants - preterm, full-term, and infants with congenital anomalies who
were born in Alberta between March 1990 and June 1992
each assessment performed in the infant's health unit by one of 6 physical therapists
no gender differences
Format
Observational
Four Subscales (58 items):

-- prone (21)
-- supine (9)
-- sit (12)
-- stand (16)
Each item has:

-- descriptors weight bearing
posture
antigravity movement
(short description)
(prompt)
-- line drawing
-- graph
-- photograph(s)
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AACPDM IC#25
Administration Guidelines
administered to infants 18 months or younger
administered by healthcare professional with:

-- an understanding of essential components of each item
-- skill in the observational assessment of movement
-- established reliability on the items
materials: examining table (0-4 months)

mat or carpeted area
toys for infants 0-18 months
stable bench for pull to stand
preparation
parental involvement
positioning, not facilitation
prompting: specified if required

toys used to motivate
issues of: sequencing

number of trials
bi-directional items
scoring: observed/not observed
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AACPDM IC#
Scoring Procedure
score after observing the infant move
key descriptors on score sheet must be observed to give credit for an item
item must be observed to receive credit
no parent report
1. Identify the least mature 'observed' item in a subscale

2. Identify the most mature 'observed' item in a subscale
3. The items between these two items represent the infant's motor 'window' for the
subscale
4. Score each item in the 'window' as 'observed' or 'not observed'
5. Credit 1 point to each item below the least mature 'observed' item
6. Credit 1 point to each item scored 'observed' in the motor 'window'
7. Sum the points to obtain a subscale score
8. Sum the 4 subscale scores to obtain a total AIMS score
Plotting the Score: 2 methods
Percentile Graph
Percentile Table
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AACPDM IC#25
Uses and Limitations of the AIMS
1. Identification of Motor Delay
0-18 months
identifies current gross motor performance of an infant compared to norm-
referenced sample
2. Predictive Abilities
cut-offs established for 4 and 8 month old assessments
10th %tile at 4 months and 5th %tile at 8 months provide best balance of sensitivity
and specificity
ages older than 8 months, 5th %tile recommended, but has not been formally
evaluated
3. Evaluation of Motor Skills

measures change in an infant's motor performance over time
monitor change in infants demonstrating delayed/immature motor skills but who
have essentially normal patterns of movement
NOT appropriate to measure change over time in infants who are demonstrating
atypical patterns of movement, eg. an infant with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy
4. Planning
assists in identifying missing components of a motor skill
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AACPDM IC#
Re-evaluation of the Normative Data
WHY?
the back to sleep campaign initiated internationally in the early 1990s and
concern that the current age of appearance of some infant gross motor abilities
may be later because of the introduction of supine sleep position
the changing ethnic diversity of Canadian infants
concern that the AIMS norms are not applicable to infants in other countries and
it would be beneficial to provide them with a feasible statistical method to
compare their infants AIMS data with the normative data.
HOW?
Study design mirrored the design of the original normative project.
recruitment of 845 infants from six Canadian cities. Fifty-four preterm infants
(8%) were included in the recruitment strategy to represent the prevalence rate of
preterm births in Canada
Each infant was randomly assigned an assessment age in one of the three age
categories
Trained therapists assessed the infants and sent scoresheets to project coordinators
RESULTS
650 infants (338 male) completed an assessment.
For 11 items, the ages when 50% of the infants passed the item were younger in
the contemporary data, for the remaining 47 items the ages were older. The
average age difference between original and contemporary item sets was .85wk.
most items differed by 2 weeks or less in the age when 50% of the infants passed
the item and the average age difference between the age locations was 0.7 wk
the correlation coefficient between the two sets of age locations was 0.99,
Percentile rank values from the original data were converted to contemporary
values. The difference is 10 days or less for infants 12 months or younger and the
maximum difference is 15 days at 18 months of age.

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AACPDM IC#25

AACPDM Instructional Course #25

Target Audience: Physicians and Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and

Learning Objective 2: To understand the interpretation of an AIMS percentile score and

Learning Objective 4: To receive personal feedback on scoring of an AIMS assessment

Questions to Students for Course Feedback

2. Are the normative data still representative of infants motor abilities?

Bartlett (15 min): Extent of AIMS use in Research

Darrah/Bartlett (20 min) Lets Practice scoring a videotaped assessment together

Participants (15 min) Score a videotaped assessment independently. Course instructors

for use with infants from birth until independent walking

Inter-rater Reliabilities (One Occasion)

Intra-rater Reliabilities (Over Time, Same Assessor)

Inter-rater Reliabilities (Over Time, Different Assessors)

Concurrent Validity - Normal Infants

Four Subscales (58 items):

Each item has:

administered to infants 18 months or younger

administered by healthcare professional with:

materials: examining table (0-4 months)

positioning, not facilitation

prompting: specified if required

issues of: sequencing

scoring: observed/not observed

score after observing the infant move

item must be observed to receive credit

1. Identify the least mature 'observed' item in a subscale

Plotting the Score: 2 methods

Uses and Limitations of the AIMS

1. Identification of Motor Delay

3. Evaluation of Motor Skills

Re-evaluation of the Normative Data

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