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Attendance Allowance form: example answers

Checked 21 September 2026 against GOV.UK · Sources at the bottom

These are three worked examples, run through the free Attendance Allowance helper. Margaret, Derek and Ron are made-up people - not real claimants - built to show what the tool actually produces from a set of plain answers. The wording below is exactly what the composer wrote, copied without any editing or improvement.

Each example follows the same shape: who they are, the finished paragraph the composer wrote for one of the care questions on the form, and a short note on why the paragraph does its job.

Why we show real output, not a mock-up

Most guides show you a nicely written "example answer" that somebody wrote specially to look good. That is not what a form fill-in tool actually produces, so it is not much use for judging one. The paragraphs below are the composer's genuine output for three test claims kept in the app's own test suite. Nothing has been reworded, tidied or shortened for this page.

The helper only ever restates what a person types in - how often something happens, roughly how long it takes, what happens without help, and one real incident to anchor the answer. It never adds detail nobody gave it, and it never guesses at how serious a condition is.

Margaret: dementia and mobility problems

Margaret is 85, has Alzheimer's disease and osteoarthritis in both knees, and lives alone. Her daughter fills in the claim for her, based on what she has seen over the past few months. In the helper, her daughter answered a short set of questions about the toilet: how many times a day Margaret struggles, how long help takes, what happens if nobody is there, and one thing that actually happened.

Here is the composer's Q30 paragraph, exactly as it wrote it:

Margaret finds it hard to use the toilet (4 times a day), and needs help to use the toilet (3 times a day), and needs encouraging or reminding to use the toilet (4 times a day). This is because of confusion, poor balance and memory problems. Help usually takes 5 to 15 minutes each time. Without help, she cannot do it safely, and it does not get done. She forgets where the toilet is and has wet herself when nobody was there.

Why this answer works. It names how often the difficulty happens (four times a day), how long help takes each time (5 to 15 minutes), what would go wrong without help ("she cannot do it safely, and it does not get done"), and it ends on one specific, real-sounding incident rather than a vague claim. Nothing in the paragraph is stronger than what her daughter actually typed.

Derek: COPD and heart failure

Derek is 67 and claims for himself. He lives with COPD and heart failure, is on home oxygen for most of the day, and answered the helper's questions about washing. Breathlessness, not confusion, is the main problem here, so the composer builds a different kind of paragraph as a result.

Here is the composer's Q31 paragraph, exactly as it wrote it:

I find it hard to use a shower (once a day) and with washing, drying or personal hygiene (once a day), and need help with washing, drying or personal hygiene (once a day). This is because of breathlessness and tiredness. Help usually takes 15 to 30 minutes each time. Without help, I cannot do it safely, and it does not get done. I have gone a week without a shower because I could not face it. My son now comes on Sundays to help.

Why this answer works. The same four ingredients are all there: how often (once a day), how long help takes (15 to 30 minutes), the real consequence without help ("I cannot do it safely, and it does not get done"), and a concrete example - a week without a shower, and a son who now comes on Sundays. Because Derek is claiming for himself, the helper writes in the first person ("I find it hard") rather than the third person it used for Margaret - that switch is automatic, following from who is answering.

Ron: Parkinson's disease, cared for by his wife

Ron is 77 and has had Parkinson's disease for nine years, now much worse. His wife fills in the form and signs it under a power of attorney. She answered the helper's questions about getting in and out of bed - one of the areas where Ron needs the most physical help, night and morning.

Here is the composer's Q29 paragraph, exactly as it wrote it:

Ron finds it hard to get into bed and get out of bed and needs help with all of these, every day. This is because of stiff joints, weak legs and shaking hands. Help usually takes 5 to 15 minutes each time. Without help, he cannot do it at all. He freezes and cannot swing his legs round. I lift them for him every morning and night.

Why this answer works. The structure holds even for a much more severe level of need: how often (every day), how long (5 to 15 minutes), what happens without help - not "it takes longer" but "he cannot do it at all" - and the specific detail that makes it real: his wife physically lifting his legs, morning and night. The helper did not turn "he freezes" into anything more clinical-sounding; it kept her own words.

What these three examples have in common

Look across all three paragraphs and the same pattern shows up every time, because it comes from the same four questions the helper asks about each care activity:

None of that wording is invented by the helper. It restates what the person filling in the form actually said, in the order the form itself expects. If an answer is thin, the composer will not pad it out with detail that was not given. A short answer in means a short, honest paragraph out, not an inflated one.

This is also why none of the three examples above claims that any of Margaret, Derek or Ron will get an award. The helper never promises an outcome. What it does is turn a few short, specific answers into the kind of paragraph the form is actually looking for, without changing what was said.

Try it yourself

The same four questions - how often, how long, without help, one real example - sit behind every care question on the Attendance Allowance form, not just the three shown here. See every question, one at a time, or let the free helper build your own paragraph as you answer.

Start the free Attendance Allowance helper →

Margaret, Derek and Ron are made-up examples built to test the helper. They are not real claimants, and nothing here is advice on whether any particular claim will succeed.

More on filling in the form

How to fill in the form, question by question The online form The AA1 form Are they eligible? (free check)

Sources

Written by Kalvis, founder of Three Sisters. See how we test.