Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS)

The Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) measures how an infant's gross motor skills are developing, from birth through the age of independent walking — roughly the first 18 months. Rather than putting the baby through set tasks, the therapist watches spontaneous movement with minimal handling, using a toy for encouragement.

Fifty-eight items are grouped by position: 21 prone, 9 supine, 12 sitting, and 16 standing. Each item looks at three elements of movement — weight bearing, posture, and antigravity control — and is scored observed or not observed, giving a raw score from 0 to 58. That score converts to a percentile against age-matched norms, which is what lets a team distinguish an infant tracking below peers from one who is simply on the later end of typical.

Licensing Notes: The AIMS is published by Elsevier as part of Motor Assessment of the Developing Infant (Piper & Darrah). Purchasing the book is the route to the score sheet and norms