DLA questions

reddwarf1999

Hi i am new here and this is my first post so please treat me gently and excuse me if i ramble on a bit
I was diagnosed as suffering from agorophobia, depression, anxiety and panic attacks a couple of years ago, but only made a claim this june (advice from a benefits officer to claim) .
my wife and family have to do basically everything for me as i have no motivation to due anything (cooking,cleaning anything really) i am not lazy as a couple of my so called friends have been so kind to say
before becoming ill i used to work 12 hours a day 6 days a week
i tend not to get out of bed til mid morning sit about in my dressing gown til the wife moans at me enough to go put some clothes on and have a wash etc
i have to be motivated to do basically anything my medication has to be given to me to take as i would forget otherwise ,same withfood if it was not put in front of me i would not bother to eat.
on the form it asked about planning and preparing a cooked meal for 1 person
not including microwave meals and snacks, i havent cooked in 18mths at least
yet on the DLA decession letter i got back says i do not need help to plan a meal or to motivate myself
to was bathe shower or dry myself
dress and undress
eat and drink
manage my medication
but i need help during the day to take part in social activities
good news is that the have awarded me the lower rate mobility for two years
but i receive nothing for the care component which was what i was claiming for.
Does anyone understand how they (DLA) make the decessions
and lastly do you think i should appeal
sorry for going on

GlasweJen

I think the reason is that you can physically cook for yourself you just lack motivation. I think that may meet the criteria for lower care but you'd have to appeal the whole decision and could lose your mobility component.

LindsayO

could you get advice from the same benefits officer again?
they might be able to give you some good feedback on what you got and what you might be able to get

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Did you get refused DLA?

[Deleted User]

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

Did you get refused DLA?

good news is that the have awarded me the lower rate mobility for two years
but i receive nothing for the care component which was what i was claiming for

SuziQ

He said in his post that he was awarded low mobility.

[Deleted User]

reddwarf1999 wrote: »

Hi i am new here and this is my first post so please treat me gently and excuse me if i ramble on a bit
I was diagnosed as suffering from agorophobia, depression, anxiety and panic attacks a couple of years ago, but only made a claim this june (advice from a benefits officer to claim) .
my wife and family have to do basically everything for me as i have no motivation to due anything (cooking,cleaning anything really) i am not lazy as a couple of my so called friends have been so kind to say
before becoming ill i used to work 12 hours a day 6 days a week
i tend not to get out of bed til mid morning sit about in my dressing gown til the wife moans at me enough to go put some clothes on and have a wash etc
i have to be motivated to do basically anything my medication has to be given to me to take as i would forget otherwise ,same withfood if it was not put in front of me i would not bother to eat.
on the form it asked about planning and preparing a cooked meal for 1 person
not including microwave meals and snacks, i havent cooked in 18mths at least
yet on the DLA decession letter i got back says i do not need help to plan a meal or to motivate myself
to was bathe shower or dry myself
dress and undress
eat and drink
manage my medication
but i need help during the day to take part in social activities
good news is that the have awarded me the lower rate mobility for two years
but i receive nothing for the care component which was what i was claiming for.
Does anyone understand how they (DLA) make the decessions
and lastly do you think i should appeal
sorry for going on

its possible if you appeal that you could lose what has been awarded,i say possible as its always a risk,so i would strongly advise that you seek help from a welfare rights officer or simlar before deciding,keep in mind that low rate mobility and low rate care are both for the same amounts £17-75

the_devil_made_me_do_it

SuziQ wrote: »

He said in his post that he was awarded low mobility.

Oh sorry missed that bit.

Well congrats for receiving some help at least.

gemmalouanna

I think that because you can physically do these things you would not be entitled to the care component. Does your doctors evidence back up you not doing these things for yourself?

lilac_lady

The care component is if you can't cook for yourself, not if you don't wan't to do it. (even if your motivation is low because of your anxiety).

MrsKelly_2

I'm sorry if this isn't the answer that you wanted but you should think yourself lucky that you were awarded the lower rate mobility, although you do have problems as you stated none of them are physical disabilities as such.

My OH was refused DLA both components despite having Menieres disease (a disease of the inner ear which affects balance and hearing) and Perthes Disease (a disease of the hip, the blood supply gets cut off and the hip bone slowly dies and crumbles away). He has had perthes disease since being a child and his hip is very badly damaged as recent x-rays have proved, he needs a hip replacement but his consultant is very reluctant to do this as he is so young and the damage is already very bad, he doesn't think that the hip will cope with multiple replacements (OH is only 23). With the Meniere's disease he has very little balance at all, he already falls a lot due to his unstable hip but the meniere's disease gives him constant dizziness, pain and ringing in his ear and he is losing the hearing in the affected ear too.

I'm sure many people can imagine how being in pain constantly and dizzy all day everyday would greatly affect your life and what you were able to do for yourself, my OH cannot be left alone due to falls, yet the DLA tribunal said no to him, they said he is in a bad way they just didn't see how he could fit into the categories of DLA as there is no reason why somebody who has balance and dizziness issues cannot stand and cook for themselves nor walk across a kitchen with a hot pan of water. Anybody with common sense would never even attempt those things if they were dizzy!

Anyway what i am trying to say is be thankful that they did give you something because there are people who IMHO are in worse situations than you but get nothing.