Ableist Microaggressions Scale

A validated measurement instrument developed by Conover, Israel, and Nylund-Gibson (2017) to systematically assess the frequency and impact of subtle, everyday expressions of ableism. The AMS organises disability microaggressions into four empirically supported domains — Helplessness, Minimization, Denial of Personhood, and Otherization — and has become a cornerstone for counselling psychology, accessibility research, and HCI studies that need to operationalise recognition of ableist interactions. Subsequent research has adapted the AMS across invisible and chronic disabilities and used it as the foundation for vignette-based experimental materials.