DLA / AA Decision Maker - CLOSED - REFERENCE ONLY

clare109

Hi i wonder if you could give me a bit of advice? I have been told i have Psoriatic Arthritis ive had this condition for years but was only diagnosed 6months ago, it affects me in many ways as i have this in my hands knees and also my shoulders and heels ive just been put on anti depression tablets as ive been so low as im not able to do things i used to be able to do, i mean simple things like making a cup of tea as when i get the pain ive dropped the kettle, also my kness swell up and when the pain is in my heels i cant walk, im not working as im on income support do you think i would be accepted for Dissability is so how do i go about this
Sorry if ive gone on but would be very gratefull for your advice
Ps your doing a fab job
Thanks Clare

sharon59

Thanatos wrote: »

Cheers I must admit, I didnt think this thread would be as busy as it has been!

I am away next week, so will have to put things on hold unless the hotel has the internet!

The help Thanatos is giving is really useful but l personally hope that we dont overwhelm them-they work all day in the field and do need a break and bit of a life!To preserve all our interests maybe we could let Thanatos give us a few days notice of an evening or 2 each week when they would kindly be on line and answer our questions and respond to any PMs recieved.This would give the wonderful person who is Thanatos more control less guilt -as if they see a query they probably feel they ought to reply PLUS we dont scare them away and lose the valuable info and help that we all need-and l include myself in this-not trying to be picky just practicle!:A

somebody_else

Very sensible suggestion Sharon.

I too would be reluctant for Thanatos to be overwhelmed by the responses to his/her OP and subsequent replies.

~Chameleon~

sharon59 wrote: »

The help Thanatos is giving is really useful but l personally hope that we dont overwhelm them-they work all day in the field and do need a break and bit of a life!To preserve all our interests maybe we could let Thanatos give us a few days notice of an evening or 2 each week when they would kindly be on line and answer our questions and respond to any PMs recieved.This would give the wonderful person who is Thanatos more control less guilt -as if they see a query they probably feel they ought to reply PLUS we dont scare them away and lose the valuable info and help that we all need-and l include myself in this-not trying to be picky just practicle!:A

Thanks Sharon, you've just said exactly what has been on my mind since I first spotted this thread. It's absolutely fantastic that Thanatos has offered his/her personal time to answer queries and give an insight into how/why decisions are made, but I can't help thinking he/she has possibly underestimated the interest this thread will generate and will sadly become overwhelmed in a very short space of time.

Having said that, I'm afraid I also have a query for you

I'm wondering how a DM might proceed with a claimant who has long term MH illness (and has in fact been in receipt of DLA for a number of years because of it) but due to the nature of the MH illness they are no longer receiving treament in a medical capacity (from MH team) despite still being quite severely ill. GP also not fully aware of extent of illness having not seen patient within last 2-3 years, so claimant will have difficulty in providing sufficient medical evidence at next renewal.

As I understand it the DWP would automatically request supporting evidence from GP but in this case it probably wouldn't be of much use, so would anyone else such as charity worker (MIND etc) or someone else that knows the claimant sufficiently well be able to give an account of how their illness affects them?

Thankyou in advance for any advice you can offer and also thanks again for all the help you are giving to people on this forum :A :beer:

Thanatos

altocumulus wrote: »

Hi Thanatos, may I thank you for joining MSE and putting answers to many questions. I am sure most people here will appreciate your guidance and patience.

It has been mentioned on an earlier post, but may I ask what the official line is with deafness and DLA.

My sister is a trained social worker and maintains that I am eligible for DLA, but my own interpretation of the info on the directgov website begs to differ.

My hearing loss is severe enough that my employer chose to offer me ill-health early retirement, and also not to offer me a different posting. It is also severe enough for me to be able to get a Disabled bus pass for Scotland buses, where the criteria was a minimum bilateral hearing loss of 82db. For medical reasons I am unable, any longer, to wear hearing aids....

Hearing loss on its own rarely gives way to needs that are significant enough to qualify for DLA or AA. Hearing impaired Children sometimes get lower rate mobility component as they are unable to ask for directions if lost, but adults dont often have these problems.

One area that can cause significant care needs is prelingual deafness where reading, writing and speaking are problems which can obviously cause day-to day dangers and require supervision.


I would never say for certain deafness wont qualify (on it own) as it always depends on the needs rather than the diagnosis. If your hearing problems cause you to have care or supervision needs, then I recomend you do make a claim, but without knowing your personal situation, its difficult to say.. sorry!

Thanatos

angelheart-xx wrote: »

hi sorry for adding to this


but my 10year old daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD and dsylexia she is on ritialin she is also getting reffered to speach therapy for she has a lack of understanding some things thats are asked of her,i get a lot of help from the learning centre,the school and department of child and family phsycarity (excuse my spelling) its was a docotr at dcfp who says to me that i should be able to claim dla as my child has these learning diffuctlies ,i wasnt going to until someone says why dont you ,you are intitled to it as she is hard work,and i go to play therapy which is a bus run every week with her and have appointments to attend too which i dont mind fought long enough for them
so i went along to my local representaion unit to get help with form which we sent away with everything i thought was needed
but sadly it was refused on grounds that she can walk and clean herself ,yes she can walk but i need to make sure she is where she should be also make sure she isnt putting herself in danger as she sometimes doesnt know when enoughs enough.getting hersalf ready is a nightmare too as need to keep going on and on to get stuff then when she gets to school and forgets something she gets herself upset as she has forgotten whatever.


but i am appealing desicion just was wondering what you thought my chances would be with an appeal and should i get letters from the doctors myself as all the dla ppl seemed to ask questions to was her school and the learning centre but when she attends there she is on medication and when she gets home the medication as worn of..... sorry this is long winded but some ppl get dla no bother for there kids and some dont

Hi, ok as far as the mobility component is concerned, its very unlikely you could get anything more than lower rate as the official line is that an ADHD child is fully capable of walking unaided (they may need supervison however, but thats where lower rate comes in.) From the wording you used, i am going to make a wild guess and say the Decision maker was looking at the mobility component from the Severely mentally impaired perspective which is the only way they could really bring her in on the higher rate - however, the criteria for Severely mentally impaired (which is a deeming provision - automatic qualification) are VERY strict and must go through our internal doctors for their medical opinion. I can honestly say i have never seen a child with ADHD and (as you mentioned) an ability to "clean herself" get a higher rate Mobuility award.

Regarding the care component, I would have expected some sore of award for supervision.

If you were refused totally, I would suggest there is a very good chance of getting at least a lower rate of both components on appeal and suggest any additional evidence from medical professionals you can lay your hands on would be benificial.

Thanatos

clare109 wrote: »

Hi i wonder if you could give me a bit of advice? I have been told i have Psoriatic Arthritis ive had this condition for years but was only diagnosed 6months ago, it affects me in many ways as i have this in my hands knees and also my shoulders and heels ive just been put on anti depression tablets as ive been so low as im not able to do things i used to be able to do, i mean simple things like making a cup of tea as when i get the pain ive dropped the kettle, also my kness swell up and when the pain is in my heels i cant walk, im not working as im on income support do you think i would be accepted for Dissability is so how do i go about this
Sorry if ive gone on but would be very gratefull for your advice
Ps your doing a fab job
Thanks Clare

From what you have said, I would think it unlikely your needs would fall under the "most of the time" catagory, however as i mentioned, I really dont want to discourage anyone applying based on the tiny bits on information we can exchange here.

I strongly suggest anyone who is wondering if they may or may not be entitlled and are "new claiments" should apply from the simply point of viw you have absolutley nothing to lose.

Thanatos

sharon59 wrote: »

The help Thanatos is giving is really useful but l personally hope that we dont overwhelm them-they work all day in the field and do need a break and bit of a life!To preserve all our interests maybe we could let Thanatos give us a few days notice of an evening or 2 each week when they would kindly be on line and answer our questions and respond to any PMs recieved.This would give the wonderful person who is Thanatos more control less guilt -as if they see a query they probably feel they ought to reply PLUS we dont scare them away and lose the valuable info and help that we all need-and l include myself in this-not trying to be picky just practicle!:A

lol - thanks for the kind thoughts - i must admit, I wasnt expecting this to be as busy as it has been, what concerns me more is that I may be putting people off claiming when they list their needs and I am pretty much saying there isnt much chance...

I wonder if thats why they dont have reps on these sort of forums in a more official capacity...


I should maybe offer a disclaimer along the lines of I can not possible "make a decision" on the tiny bits of information made in a post, but hopefully I can steer you in the right direction.... I just worry now that I may be messing things up...


Regarding it getting too busy, i will post when I am unable to answer for a few days due to IRL commitments etc, so dont worry about me having no life - I have a wife and too many kids - I havent had a life for a long time!

Thanatos

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Having said that, I'm afraid I also have a query for you

I'm wondering how a DM might proceed with a claimant who has long term MH illness (and has in fact been in receipt of DLA for a number of years because of it) but due to the nature of the MH illness they are no longer receiving treament in a medical capacity (from MH team) despite still being quite severely ill. GP also not fully aware of extent of illness having not seen patient within last 2-3 years, so claimant will have difficulty in providing sufficient medical evidence at next renewal.

As I understand it the DWP would automatically request supporting evidence from GP but in this case it probably wouldn't be of much use, so would anyone else such as charity worker (MIND etc) or someone else that knows the claimant sufficiently well be able to give an account of how their illness affects them?

Thankyou in advance for any advice you can offer and also thanks again for all the help you are giving to people on this forum :A :beer:

Hi Charitable organisations such as MIND etc act as what we call "3rd Party Reps" - eg they help people claim benefits and work for you rather than act as independent advisors. I am not saying we ignore anything they tell us, only that it wouldn't be sufficient to count as medical evidence.

Regarding us automatically going for GP evidence, thats only if its a higher rate mobiltiy ans middle or higher rate care award up for renewal. (and its not automatically GP, just automatiacally some form of medical professional). With multiple diagnosis its generally easier to go to the GP, but for single or similar conditions a specialist at the hospital is first port of call as we can get info from them for free whereas GPs we have to pay for.

In your circumstances, with an absense of Medical evidence, we can also look as prescribed drugs and longevity of the condition. It's a tricky one when this happens, but when you put the claim in, it wouldnt hurt to pop in and see your gp to give them the "heads up" the request may come in and explain to them your current status.

GP's are notorious for putting "Dont know" on all the important bits of the reports which really doesnt help us or their patients, so letting them know in advance is really the only tip I can give you...

D&DD

Hi Thanatos I gave the DLA a quick ring with regards to my sons award date,I spoke to an 'explainer' person and was told that although I phoned and made them aware in March my son had deteriorated I only actually told them officially by sending in the renewal form in September, hence the weird dates.
They have a 3 month delay (as you said earlier) from being informed so the dates work out right..
Reason I never had time to officially tell them earlier in writing was my Autistic son had a breakdown at the age of 9 and needed emergency care! I don't lead a dull life lol..
Thanks again for your help at least I know its right now