Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS)
What It Measures
The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) rates the quality of how a person carries out everyday tasks, not just whether they finish them. The person chooses familiar, relevant tasks from a large calibrated bank and performs them their usual way, in a familiar setting. The therapist observes and scores what they see.
Two kinds of skill are rated at once. The 16 motor skill items cover moving the body and objects — reaching, lifting, transporting, positioning. The 20 process skill items cover organizing a task over time — choosing tools, sequencing steps, noticing a problem and adjusting. Each is scored on a 4-point scale for effort, efficiency, safety, and independence. Rasch analysis then adjusts for task difficulty and rater severity, so scores are comparable across different tasks and therapists.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: The AMPS requires certification, not just purchase. Training is a five-day course followed by rater calibration: the therapist scores 10 people and submits the results for analysis. Overall therapists must pay for the assessment, the training, and the scoring software. The $995 reflects the training price.
