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Personal Independence Payment (PIP) toolkit

Dressing and undressing

This activity looks at your ability to put on and take off appropriate clothing that is suitable for the situation.

Image: Young woman, wearing dark glasses and holding her cane, outside in a play-area.

Questions relevant to people with sight loss

The descriptor (legal test) is:

Needs prompting or assistance to be able to select appropriate clothing.

Points: 2

More information to help you answer the questions

If you need help with fastenings, such as zips or buttons this can be considered as can your ability to put on/take off socks and shoes.

Top tips

When answering the questions think about:

  • Do you need advice from another person about which clothes will be appropriate?
  • Do you need help with selecting clothes? Do you have any problem with matching up similar colours?
  • Do you need someone to check that the clothes you are wearing are clean and do not have stains on them? Has anyone commented or pointed out that something you were wearing was stained or dirty?
  • Do you need someone to check that your clothes do not have any holes or need minor repairs?
  • Do you use shoes that have a Velcro fastening rather than laces?
  • Do you use aids or other methods to help you to identify your clothes, such as Penfriend labels, Slade buttons?
  • Do you rely on another person or your sense of touch to tell whether clothes are inside out or on the right way around?

Put your answers in the section called “Extra information”.