In this study, the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS), an observational assessment of functional ability, was compared with other tests of function and cognition, namely the Functional Independence Measure (AM), the CAMCOG (the cognitive component of the CAMDEX [Cambridge Examination for Mental Status In the Elderly)) and the Mln~1 State Examination (MMSE). The subjects were people with dlagnoeed dementia or mild memory Impairment. The results were as expected, revealing atgnlflcant relationships between AMPS process ability and the CAMCOG, the MMSE and the FlM social/cognition scale, and JMttween AMPS motor ability and the FlM physical scale. this supported the validity of the AMPS as an evaluation of the Interaction between cognitive impairments and disability In complex activities of dally living.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of the Assessment of Motor and ProcessSkills (AMPS) and the CAMCOG (the cognitive component of the Cambridge Examination for Mental Status in the Elderly) to differentiate between two groups of elderly people, those who were cognitively well (n=10) and those with dementia (n=19). The hypothesis was that the cognitively-well group would have significantly higher mean AMPS motor, AMPS processand CAMCOG scoresthan the group with dementia. The results supported the hypothesis and demonstrated the ability of the AMPS and the CAM COG to differentiate between these two groups of people. The ability of the AMPS and the CAM COG to identify people with dementia according to the cutoff scores for each test was also compared descriptively. The AMPS processskills scale was able to identify all subjects with dementia, whereas the CAMCOG failed to detect 20% of these subjects.

The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) is a standardized, observational assessment of functional performance used by occupational therapists throughout the UK. This paper describes the AMPS and discusses its value when used with older adults who have mental health problems. Two case studies demonstrate the applicability of the AMPS as an evaluation tool and a measure of outcome.

Memory loss needs to be recognised as usually being the symptom of a disease, such as dementia, and not accepted merely as part of the normal ageing process. Memory clinics, developed to promote this concept, provide both an assessment resource for the increasing numbers of elderly people with memory problems and a focus for research into dementia. Although occupational therapists have not previously been included in such clinics' multidisciplinary assessment teams, experience at the Bath Memory Clinic identified this as a requirement. This article describes the main tasks of the occupational therapist and suggests that this is an essential role within a memory clinic setting.

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