Incapacity Benefit Question

donnajunkie

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You may have been a plater by trade but I'm sure that you're capable of many different types of work. ESA is about concentrating on what people can do, rather than what they can't. Many people have to retrain when they develop a medical condition that affects their work and there are plenty of opportunities to do so.

i wish there was plenty of training opportunities. i'm afraid most training courses were stopped. well if you mean the kind were you get an extra £10 on top of your benefit while training. most dont count for much anyway, employers want real experience and employed experience not forced labour on some daft scheme. i did a training course before i got epilepsy. it was in chemical process operations. i now have an nvq level 2 but it cant count for much because i applied everywhere and got little joy.

donnajunkie

hanny83 wrote: »

Have you told those closest to you or those that you spend the most time with? They may want to go on a first aid course or something incase something does happen. I can't find any courses that run in my area at weekends (I think that is a whole other thread).

Not sure about you, but the hardest thing for y bf is not being able to go out drinking like he used to, just generally being a lad. Are there many support groups for epileptics?

Sorry, totally hijacking this thread but if anyone has any info it could help other posters.

yeah, my close family and friends know. i dont know about any support groups but i arent much for talking about problems with people anyway.

GlasweJen

i have uncontrolled non-epileptic seizures and i manage to study full time and work part time. I'd go mad if someone assumed that because i might bang my head i should sit on my bum for the rest of my life and do nothing for fear of injuring myself. Employers are legally obliged to not take my disability into account when assessing my worth as an employee and equally must adapt my work place to suit me if they offer me the job. as it is i have recently moved department to be in a smaller team as it was determined this will help me.

donnajunkie

GlasweJen wrote: »

i have uncontrolled non-epileptic seizures and i manage to study full time and work part time. I'd go mad if someone assumed that because i might bang my head i should sit on my bum for the rest of my life and do nothing for fear of injuring myself. Employers are legally obliged to not take my disability into account when assessing my worth as an employee and equally must adapt my work place to suit me if they offer me the job. as it is i have recently moved department to be in a smaller team as it was determined this will help me.

if you are entitled to it and were not in work would you claim it? i understand your desire to not let it beat you but surely if you were entitled to something then you would claim it? there are many people with severe disabilities who have jobs but does that mean if they lost their jobs that they should not qualify for esa? the sitting on your bum view isnt really correct. its more a case of not being required to do any job were you might put yourself or others at risk. it is wrong to assume that everyone who has a disability just sits at home all day just because they happen to be claiming esa/ib.

[Deleted User]

hanny83 wrote: »

Have you told those closest to you or those that you spend the most time with? They may want to go on a first aid course or something incase something does happen. I can't find any courses that run in my area at weekends (I think that is a whole other thread).

Not sure about you, but the hardest thing for y bf is not being able to go out drinking like he used to, just generally being a lad. Are there many support groups for epileptics?

Sorry, totally hijacking this thread but if anyone has any info it could help other posters.

heres an excellent scource of (free)info
http://www.epilepsynse.org.uk/

GlasweJen

actually i was entitled to incapacity under the youth rules and never claimed it, i do claim DLA but this can be an in work benefit. There's a difference between taking what you're due and taking the urine and i think that by taking the attitude of the OP i would be doing the latter. No wonder us disabled people have a bad rep.

[Deleted User]

donnajunkie wrote: »

i am so sorry to hear that. i am constantly in fear of death due to a seizure. i often have seizures during the night while i am asleep and i have been told they are the most dangerous.

35 years ago i lost a close friend at the age of 14 who had a seizure in his sleep and died,theres a term for it "sudep"sudden death in epilepsy,sadly very few doctors/consultants take the time to explain this risk,but its not uncommon.
Ive lost count over the years of the number of deaths amongst people I have got to know thru various epilepsy forums

[Deleted User]

GlasweJen wrote: »

actually i was entitled to incapacity under the youth rules and never claimed it, i do claim DLA but this is an in work benefit. There's a difference between taking what you're due and taking the urine and i think that by taking the attitude of the OP i would be doing the latter. No wonder us disabled people have a bad rep.

Im sorry but just because you decided not to take a benefit that you were entitled to doesnt mean to say that others should take the same attitude does it?
And DLA isnt an in work benefit its an in and/or out of work benefit,please try not to spread misinformation

hanny83_2

Thank you Woodbine, I shall take a look

GlasweJen

many people with my condition die of SADS (basically adult cot death) but then again i could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Whatever happened to living life? If you know you're not going to get as much as everyone else surely you should try to experience all that you can while you're here - even the mundane stuff like interview nerves, your first day at work, first pay slip, being elected for promotion etc?

This weekend i used a refractometer for the first time on a customer, i wouldn't even know what that is if i lived in cotton wool.

ETA donnajunkie asked if i would take it and i told her that i didn't. Post modified to correct my statement on DLA