Summary

What it measures:

The ABC Scale is a 16-item self-report measure in which patients rate their balance confidence in performing several activities, using a rating scale of 0 to 100 (0= no confidence, 100=complete confidence)

Overall score calculated by adding item scores and then dividing by the total number of items

Target Population:

People with multiple sclerosis (MS)

Professional Association Recommendations:

MS EDGE:

• Highly recommended in acute, inpatient rehabilitation, home health, skilled nursing, and outpatient practice settings.
• Recommended for EDSS 0.0-7.5; rating of 3 for  Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) levels 0.0–7.5 reflects lack of responsiveness data in MS.
• Not recommended for EDSS 8.0-9.5.

For more about the recommendations for use of outcome measures in clinical practice, education, and research that were made by the Multiple Sclerosis Task Force of APTA’s Neurology Section:

Potter K, Cohen ET, Allen DD, Bennett SE, et al. Outcome Measures for Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: Recommendations From the American Physical Therapy Association Neurology Section Task Force. Phys Ther. 2013 Dec 20. [Epub ahead of print]. Free Article. | PubMed Abstract.