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ADP daily living component activity 6 – dressing and undressing
This chapter provides information on activity 6 of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP).
This chapter should be read and applied in line with the ‘overview of decision making’ and the ‘daily living component introduction’ chapters.
What activity 6 covers
Daily living component activity 6 considers an individual’s ability to put on and take off un-adapted clothing, including socks and shoes, that’s suitable for the situation.
The clothing must also be of an acceptable standard in terms of suitability for the weather and cleanliness.
Types of clothing to consider
The type of clothing to be considered should be within the range that people would usually be expected to wear, including fastenings such as buttons, zips, laces etc.
A client’s preference to wear clothing which is particularly challenging to put on, for example, a full kilt outfit or ball gown, should not be taken into account if they could manage other types of clothing.
The only exception to this is if the client’s required to wear a particular type of clothing for cultural or religious reasons, in which case their inability to dress in those specific items would be relevant.
Aids and appliances
An individual may use an aid or appliance to assist them in completing this activity and this may mean that they satisfy daily living component activity 6 descriptor B, which is covered later.
Prompting and assistance
You’ll also consider if the individual needs prompting or assistance from another person to complete the activity.
‘Prompting’ means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person. This does not have to be in the physical presence of the individual.
‘Assistance’ means physical intervention by another person and does not include speech.
Daily living component activity 6 descriptors
The daily living component activity 6 descriptors describe 6 levels of functional ability to complete the activity:
- Can dress and undress unaided.
- Needs an aid or appliance to be able to dress or undress.
- Needs either: (i) prompting to be able to dress, undress or determine. appropriate circumstances for remaining clothed; or (ii) prompting or assistance to be able to select appropriate clothing.
- Needs assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body.
- Needs assistance to be able to dress or undress their upper body.
- Cannot dress or undress at all (ADP regs, Schedule 1 Part 2 – Daily Living Activities, Activity (6)).
Meaning of being able to dress and undress
‘Dress and undress’ includes to put on and take off socks and shoes, and the client must be able to do both in order to be deemed able to complete the activity (ADP regs, Schedule, Part 1 Interpretation (1)).
Clients who use aids or appliances to help them dress or undress
Where an individual wears or uses, or could reasonably be expected to wear or use, an aid and/or appliance to assist them in completing this activity, this may mean that they satisfy daily living component activity 6 descriptor B, which is covered later.
Consider need for prompting, supervision or assistance
You’ll also consider if the individual needs prompting, supervision or assistance from another person to complete the activity.
Meaning of prompting
‘Prompting’ means reminding, encouraging, or explaining by another person.
This does not have to be in the physical presence of the individual.
Meaning of supervision
‘Supervision’ means the continuous presence of another person for the purpose of ensuring an individual’s safety.
The supervision can be in relation to any risk to the individual’s safety, whether or not the risk directly results from carrying out the activity in question.
Meaning of assistance
‘Assistance’ means physical intervention by another person and does not include speech.
Meaning of needs
‘Needs’ means what is reasonably required by the individual but that they may not actually have.
Evaluate someone’s needs
You should evaluate an individual by their level of functional ability to select appropriate clothing, dress and undress.
The key consideration should be the functions that are involved in doing so and the individual’s condition that may impact their ability to perform those functions.
Physical movement involved in dressing and undressing
Dressing and undressing can involve physical movement including but not limited to one or more of the following:
- stretching
- reaching
- bending
- gripping
- pinching
Changing clothes
How often a client changes their clothes should be taken into account if their disability or health condition impacts the regularity with which they can do so.
An individual may wear the same outfit 3 days in a row out of personal preference and would not score points under this descriptor.
It’s reasonable to expect an individual to put on one outfit each day and take their clothes off or change their clothes at the end of the day. If a client is unable to do so because of their disability or health condition, then they’ll score under this activity.
However, if a client has a personal preference to change their clothes 3 times a day, an inability to do so should not be taken into account.
If disability or health condition is the reason for changing clothes frequently
The only situation in which it would be relevant that a client has difficulty changing their clothes multiple times a day would be if their disability or health condition was the reason for them needing to do so.
For example, if a client has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) which means they become extremely anxious and distressed if they perceive their clothes to be dirty, it’s reasonable that they need assistance to change their clothes numerous times a day.
Similarly, if a client has incontinence and regularly has to change their clothes throughout the day then it’s relevant that they need to use an aid to do so.