Different Pieces.
A More Complete Picture.
ALPIMS is a way of looking across several areas that may overlap in complex health, neurodivergence and everyday life.
It does not assume that everybody has the same pattern, or that everything has one cause. It helps people step back, notice connections and ask more useful questions.
Six domains. Many possible patterns.
ALPIMS groups experiences into six broad domains: Anxiety & Autonomic, Laxity & Connective Tissue, Pain & Bodily Sensitivity, Immune & Inflammatory, Mood & Mental Health, and Sensory & Neurodevelopmental.
Some people may mainly experience difficulties in one or two areas. Others may have experiences that span several.
Want to understand ALPIMS?
Open the question that matters to you. You do not need to read the whole page.
What does ALPIMS mean?
ALPIMS brings together six areas that may overlap in complex health, neurodevelopmental and everyday-life experiences.
Why was ALPIMS created?
Many people experience a mixture of symptoms, conditions and differences that do not fit neatly into a single category.
ALPIMS provides a way to step back and look at several areas together. The aim is not to find one explanation for everything, but to notice connections that may be useful when thinking about support, capacity and everyday life.
Why look at more than one domain?
Health and everyday functioning are rarely one-dimensional. Pain may affect sleep. Poor sleep may reduce sensory tolerance. Illness may reduce energy. Autonomic symptoms may make standing or activity harder.
Looking more broadly can sometimes help explain why a person’s capacity changes from day to day.
Does everyone have all six ALPIMS domains?
No.
One person may mainly experience pain and hypermobility. Another may have strong autonomic and sensory difficulties. Someone else may have experiences across several domains.
ALPIMS is not a checklist that somebody needs to complete. Different people can have very different patterns.
Is ALPIMS a diagnosis?
No.
ALPIMS is not a diagnosis, medical test or scoring system. It does not mean that every condition within the domains has the same cause.
It is a way of organising information and looking more broadly at a person’s experience.
Who is this site for?
ALPIMS is for people who want to better understand complex and overlapping experiences, including:
- people with lived experience
- families, partners and carers
- friends and support networks
- health and allied-health professionals
- educators and support workers
- anyone trying to understand a complicated pattern of needs
What does ALPIMS mean by a “more complete picture”?
It means looking at the person rather than focusing only on one diagnosis or symptom.
Someone may be dealing with pain, fatigue, sensory load, poor sleep, autonomic symptoms and emotional stress at the same time.
Understanding the combination may help explain why an ordinary task can sometimes become difficult.
What values guide ALPIMS?
How can ALPIMS help in everyday life?
The framework can help people ask broader questions such as:
- What seems hardest right now?
- Which areas may be adding to the person’s total load?
- Is pain or fatigue reducing capacity?
- Is sensory overload contributing?
- Are autonomic symptoms making activity harder?
- What support would make the biggest useful difference?
Where does Anna’s Story fit?
Anna’s Story is the lived-experience side of ALPIMS.
It looks back at one family’s experience of changing health, sensory needs, neurodivergence, capacity and everyday family life.
It asks what the family understood at the time, what they tried, what helped, what had unintended costs and what they understand differently now.
Where would you like to go next?
Choose the path that best matches what you want to understand or do.
You do not need to understand everything at once
Start with the part that feels most relevant now. ALPIMS is designed to help you explore complexity one piece at a time.