How to answer PIP descriptors for a 16-year-old moving from DLA

[TheOpalFox]

I have a disability and my son has adhd. He’s 16 and moving from dla to pip. I have heard it’s hard for people to get pip from Dla. ? How would u answer the descriptors plz. ? Thanks

Or you could be honest.

people wonder why disability claimants get a rough ride? And why the country’s disability bill is now unsustainable….

The important thing is that when the form asks can he do X then you need to answer as if the question is "can he do X consistently, reliably, safely, without prompting or support, not missing out important steps that someone else has to deal with, as a minor activity that doesn't require significant preparation time or recovery time (ie won't wipe out the rest of the day as the only thing he achieves) and without unhealthy or damaging consequences?"

Too many people answer "Yes" incorrectly by not understanding this.

"Don’t base your answers on the worst day and don’t exaggerate. PIP is based on the majority of the time, that is more than 50% of the time."

This ^

You describe a good day. You describe a bad day. Then you say how often a bad day happens. For example "about 4 out of 7 days are bad days"

Its also worth knowing that your son can only "do" a task if he can do it
Reliably
Repeatedly
Safely
Within a reasonable period of time.

Its good to put in a lot of detail about all the difficulties your son might have with a task, even things he "can" do.

I’ve known 3 people to have face to face meetings. So much for your experts.

And what the hell is ‘noone’.

The PIP descriptors don’t lend themselves to ADHD so he’s unlikely to get it just for ADHD. It’s also not done on diagnosis but how a disability impacts life and support needs which anonymous people on the internet won’t know so pointless asking.

It’s your son, if you’re asking how to answer the descriptors he probably doesn’t need it particularly so if you have zero evidence.

An EHCP won’t help you as it’s support needed at home not within education. My DD’s EHCP helped because it listed all her conditions( your son only has ADHD apparently)and backed up some of her other disabilities. Her ADHD difficulties wouldn’t have earned her enough points in any of the descriptors and there was nothing in the EHCP to evidence how massively it impacts her life outside of school or the level of support she needs for all her disabilities at home.

You can get a GP letter to confirm any diagnosis and if you make an appt to discuss the difficulties your son has they can include that information.

Does he have any prescriptions for adhd medication you can send as well?

I would have thought they have AI checkers like unis have.

I’m sorry but I don’t think this OP is genuine and is yet another attempt at ND benefit bashing.

Bar confirming diagnosis GPs wont write letters re difficulties and why would taking adhd medication warrant PIP? It helps make it less severe so less requirement of support. Using a doesette box and reminders on your phone is not going to get you enough points.

This is completely untrue. An EHCP will detail information about the child's ability to concentrate, learn new information, process information, communicate, etc.

Inattention can cause issues with safety and executive function. Impulsivity can influence interaction, budgeting skills, and safety. Hyperactivity can cause issues with staying on task, following steps needed to stay on task, safety, etc. These combined can satisfy the requirements for PIP.

Our GP did a letter for us detailing all issues and it was really helpful

EHCPs vary massively, my dd has severe ADHD and there is very little detail in her EHCP re impact.Many people have ADHD and don’t need PIP do you need to be able to prove you need it and have support. You would need evidence re impact on safety ( hospitilsations, treatment etc) he sees nobody. Re staying on task how does that impact the descriptors enough to get the points needed and where is the evidence?

As I said my dd gets PIP and has severe ADHD amongst other disabilities. It’s very difficult as a condition on its own to get PIP for.

If you’ve been going regularly for issues and have had issues that need treatment he / she will but he won’t if you ask out of the blue having not visited regularly and not needed treatment for anything. Why would you need to go your GP regularly for ADHD? You don’t get PIP for a diagnosis .

Would like to add that if ADHD is medicated many of the symptoms listed below are alleviated and support needs lessened.

I have ADHD myself as do all my children. Only one of us gets PIP and it’s because of a host of other conditions in addition to it.

DS2 had a F-2-F assessment for PIP and he is registered blind (severely sight impaired) with a formal Certificate of Visual Impairment, and OT reports and the councils habilitation officer reports.
He did get PIP but don’t assume they won’t check what you put on the form.

@Her53ff43 you are talking as if you know this child and ADHD affects everybody the same.

I have ADHD, DH has ADHD, and all 3 of my DDs have ADHD. Each of our profiles are completely different.

No you are, listing traits that would qualify for PIP. PIP isn’t given for a diagnosis.Traits vary and the PIP form really doesn’t lend itself to a claim just for ADHD -particularly if medicated.

My DC gets pip at high rate for both. I was interviewed to be accepted as appointee and that made everything much easier. It's telling that DC even now aged 25 would not be able to fill in their own form. We did not do the "worst day", we did not exaggerate. We just answered each question honestly. For example in the cooking section I put that DC has recently learned to cook eggs in the microwave and can make noodles, but does not use the hob or oven as they would get distracted and forget what they were cooking, so could not safely use them. I said left to own devices DC tends to eat cereal and noodles, or would take 6 bags of crisps and consider that a meal.

I think when you write honestly it shows.

When evidence is robust there is less need for anything other than a phone call follow up. Some claimants have piles of very strong evidence and back up from NHS professionals.

The more robust evidence you send the better.

No, I am pointing out that some people with ADHD will qualify for PIP and others won't. For example, I have ASD and ADHD. I read the descriptors and think that I don't meet the criteria despite the difficulties my conditions cause. I know people with ADHD who absolutely do meet the criteria.

Someone close to me had a face to face appointment and was awarded enhanced rate of both. Their carer used the ChatGPT PIP helper tool and advice from CAB. ChatGPT is a tool, it means you can feed it honest information and it formulates it into language the DWP understand. It isn’t cheating (haha to the person that referenced university- PIP forms need to be honest they don’t need academic integrity fgs!).

The carer in question has a professional job and two degrees, the PIP form even with that much help took her hours and hours over three weeks. It is reasonable to assume that those without such an academically minded carer and a disability might struggle themselves.

But unless you’re filling out the form with them you won’t known they may have other conditions you’re not aware of that exacerbate it or by contrast have no evidence. Medicated ADHD makes that harder to prove.There are few descriptors relevant to it and you need to attain 4 points in any one area even before you you reach the minimum threshold. You need robust evidence of support needs at home.

You are allowed to use AI to fill in forms, it doesn't mean you are lying, you're getting help in expressing yourself, which is a godsend for people with some disabilities. It's nothing like plagiarism checking.

No you don't. They wanted to bring in the 4 point threshold but that was dropped in July 2025.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses AI and automated software to assist in processing benefits. While standard AI detectors aren't always explicitly named, assessors and decision-makers are trained to spot applications that use generic, scripted, or highly polished language.

Don't people say to use your worst day because people with disabilities often find themselves minimising the effects on them and most people generally try to think of the things they can do, rather than the things they can't? It's to make sure they are stepping outside how they normally think of their disability in an ableist world and write down the reality of their lives, rather than being fraud or lying.