Free tool · Scored assessment · Behavioral health

AIMS — Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale.

The standard exam for screening and monitoring tardive dyskinesia in patients on antipsychotics. Rate the seven body-region movement items 0–4, add the global judgments and dental context, and get the movement total plus the Schooler-Kane positivity flag (≥2 in two areas, or ≥3 in one). The AIMS is a public-domain NIMH instrument (Guy, 1976). It screens and tracks — the provider diagnoses and manages.

Movement items (0–4)

0 None · 1 Minimal (may be extreme normal) · 2 Mild · 3 Moderate · 4 Severe. Observe the patient at rest and with activation maneuvers per the standard AIMS exam procedure.

1. Muscles of facial expression

2. Lips and perioral area

3. Jaw

4. Tongue

5. Upper extremities (arms, wrists, hands, fingers)

6. Lower extremities (legs, knees, ankles, toes)

7. Trunk (neck, shoulders, hips)

0/ 28 movement total · 0 of 7 items scored

Global judgments (0–4)

Recorded for documentation; not added to the 7-item movement total.

8. Overall severity of abnormal movements

9. Incapacitation due to abnormal movements

10. Patient’s awareness of abnormal movements (0 unaware → 4 aware + distress)

Dental status

Current problems with teeth and/or dentures

Does the patient usually wear dentures?

Rate the seven movement items to see the total and screen result.

Scoring & interpretation [1][2]

Each item is rated 0–4. The movement total sums items 1–7 (range 0–28). A commonly-used positive screen for possible tardive dyskinesia (the Schooler-Kane criteria) is a rating of moderate-or-worse (≥3) in at least one of the seven areas, or mild (≥2) in at least two areas. The AIMS is typically performed at baseline before/at antipsychotic start and repeated periodically (e.g., every 3–6 months, or per your protocol) to detect drug-induced movement disorders early. A positive or rising AIMS prompts provider evaluation and a medication review — it is not itself a diagnosis.

Disclaimer: Educational tool only — not a diagnosis and not a substitute for a trained examiner or provider judgment. Accurate AIMS scoring depends on the standardized examination procedure (observation at rest and with activation maneuvers). Movement findings can have many causes; interpretation and management are the provider’s. Enter de-identified values only; nothing is stored or transmitted.

References

Guy W. ECDEU Assessment Manual for Psychopharmacology, Revised. Rockville, MD: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare / NIMH; 1976:534–537. (Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale — items, 0–4 anchors, and exam procedure; public domain.)
Schooler NR, Kane JM. Research diagnoses for tardive dyskinesia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982;39(4):486–487. PMID: 6121548. (Positivity criteria: ≥2 in two areas or ≥3 in one.)

Items, anchors, and criteria transcribed from the AIMS (public domain) and the Schooler-Kane criteria. Clinical use is individualized by the care team.

Pairs well with

AIMS — Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale.

Movement items (0–4)

Global judgments (0–4)

Dental status

Scoring & interpretation [1][2]

References

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