A worked example showing how each of the 12 PIP activities can be described for an autistic person, written in the first person. It focuses on the things that shape daily life with autism: communication, social contact, sensory sensitivity, routine and the support and prompting many people need. These are here to learn from, not to copy word for word.
Autism is a lifelong difference in how a person communicates, processes information and experiences the world. It looks different for everyone, but many autistic people share a set of difficulties that a PIP form is designed to capture, as long as they are described plainly and honestly.
Communication and understanding others. Taking language literally, missing tone and body language, needing longer to process what is said, and needing important information repeated or explained by a trusted person are all central to autism, and they matter for the talking, listening and understanding activity.
Social interaction and overwhelming distress. Reading social cues, judging how to behave and coping with unfamiliar people can be genuinely overwhelming. On bad days this tips into real distress or shutdown, and many autistic people can only manage social situations with support from someone they trust.
Sensory sensitivity. Strong reactions to noise, light, textures, smells and temperature are not a preference, they are a real barrier. They can stop someone eating certain foods, washing, wearing suitable clothing or coping with a busy street.
Routine, change and unfamiliar situations. A reliance on routine and sameness means that disruption, an unexpected event or an unfamiliar route can cause intense anxiety and make a task impossible, even one that is manageable on an ordinary day.
Prompting and support. Differences in memory, planning and sense of time mean many autistic people can only prepare food, take medication, wash, dress or manage money reliably when someone prompts them and checks on them. Needing that prompting counts, even when no physical help is involved.
Why "reliably" and "most days" matter. The rules say you can only be counted as able to do an activity if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. A fluctuating condition is judged on how you are on most days, meaning more than half the time, not on your best day. If you can manage something once but not again, or only by risking harm, or slowly, or badly, that is what your answers need to show. The DWP always makes the final decision, but an accurate picture of a normal day gives your form the strongest chance of being understood.
What to cover for each one. Your paid form writes the full answers for you.
Describe how executive-function and sense-of-time difficulties stop you starting or sequencing a meal, so you need prompting to begin and to keep going. Mention any hob or oven safety risk when you are distracted or in sensory overload, and note any aids such as timers, ready meals or a person supervising. Show it applies on most days, not just your worst, and that you cannot do it safely and repeatedly in a reasonable time on your own.
Explain that reduced interoception means you do not reliably notice hunger or thirst, so someone has to prompt you to eat and drink through the day. Mention any sensory food aversions that narrow what you can manage, and any prompting or supervision you rely on. Make clear this happens on most days and that without that prompting you would not eat or drink to an acceptable standard.
Describe how memory, planning and time-blindness mean you cannot keep on top of medication, doses or appointments without reminders and someone checking. Mention who prompts you, any pill organiser or alarms, and any therapy or monitoring you struggle to keep up with alone. Show that the support is needed most days and that missed or muddled doses are the real risk without it.
Explain that on most days you cannot start or finish washing without being prompted, and that sensory issues with water, temperature or textures make it distressing or something you avoid for long stretches. Mention any prompting, supervision or routine you depend on. Show that without help it does not get done safely, to an acceptable standard or repeatedly.
Many autistic people manage the toilet independently, and if that is true for you it is best left alone. What can count is reduced interoception, so you do not reliably notice the signals and need prompting to go, sensory difficulties with the bathroom that make you put it off until there are accidents, or needing help to clean yourself properly. If any of that is part of your day, say how often it happens and who has to remind or help you.
Describe needing prompting to dress and help choosing clothes you can physically bear because of sensory sensitivity to fabrics, seams and labels. Mention if you wear the same items repeatedly, struggle to dress for the weather or occasion, and rely on someone to lay clothes out or prompt you. Show this affects you most days, not occasionally.
Explain that you can read the words but need help to understand complex, official or ambiguous written information, which you take literally and can misread. Mention who explains letters and forms to you and any tools you use. Make clear the barrier is reliable understanding on most days, not the mechanical act of reading.
Describe needing prompting and support for anything beyond the simplest money decisions, and how difficulty judging value or intentions has led to overspending or being taken advantage of. Mention who helps you budget, pay bills or check purchases. Show the support is needed most days so decisions are made safely and to an acceptable standard.
Explain that unfamiliar routes, changes or disruption cause intense anxiety, and that you cannot plan or follow the route of a new journey without another person with you. Mention overwhelming distress in busy or unpredictable places and any person you rely on to travel. Show this is the case most days, so you cannot undertake such a journey reliably on your own.
This question is only about physically standing and walking, so autism rarely reaches it and the difficulty with routes, crowds and changes belongs under planning and following a journey. The form asks for a distance, so give an honest one. What can count is a physical condition alongside your autism, such as hypermobility or joint pain, that cuts down how far you can walk before you have to stop, and if that applies say how far you get and whether you could do it again straight afterwards.
The tips above are general pointers. Your paid form gives you a full, ready-to-copy answer for all 12 activities, written from your exact conditions, medication, aids and bad days, not a general example. This is a worked example for autism; yours is written for you. £99.99 one-off.
This page shows one honest way an autistic person might describe a bad day, so you can see the level of detail and the plain wording that assessors are trained to look for. It is here to learn from, not to copy word for word. Autism looks different for everyone, so your own answers should reflect your traits, your support needs and the way things actually affect you, because that is what makes an answer ring true.
The easiest way to get there is to tell us about yourself in your own words. The tool then writes your answers from your own situation, in the same first-person style you can see above, ready for you to read, edit and copy onto your PIP2 claim form or your AR1 review form. Notice how each answer keeps coming back to reliability: whether the activity can be done safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time on most days. That is the thread the assessment turns on, and it is worth making those limits clear in your own words too.
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