Letter from the Customer Compliance Team

mealone

Breast_Cancer_Survivor wrote: »

Your ignorant reaction to me is just the reason I need my OT to be present, I might be Autistic but im not stupid, yes I can write on a forum & in letter's that doesn't mean I don't have communication problems.

From the NAS website :

As soon as we meet a person we make judgements about them. From their facial expression, tone of voice and body language we can usually tell whether they are happy, angry or sad and respond accordingly.
People with Asperger syndrome can find it harder to read the signals that most of us take for granted. This means they find it more difficult to communicate and interact with others which can lead to high levels of anxiety and confusion.
Here, we explain more about what Asperger syndrome is.

Difficulty with social communication

"If you have Asperger syndrome, understanding conversation is like trying to understand a foreign language."

People with Asperger syndrome sometimes find it difficult to express themselves emotionally and socially. For example, they may:

• have difficulty understanding gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice
• have difficulty knowing when to start or end a conversation and choosing topics to talk about
• use complex words and phrases but may not fully understand what they mean
• be very literal in what they say and can have difficulty understanding jokes, metaphor and sarcasm. For example, a person with Asperger syndrome may be confused by the phrase 'That's cool' when people use it to say something is good.

In order to help a person with Asperger syndrome understand you, keep your sentences short - be clear and concise.

For the record:

I never said I wanted to get out of my interview, I just said I needed my OT to be there.

I never said the Compliance Officer given to me should work full time but that maybe they should give my case to someone that does.

My OT (who actually works for the NHS) goes above & beyond the call of duty for me, attending all of the medical appointments ive had regarding the numerous surgeries ive had over the last years so it would be rude of me to expect her to drop her workload for me, she does have other clients too.

I don't want to use the CAB or Welfare rights as I don't like talking to people I don't know & I feel safe with my OT as she knows me & my medical history.

Is it against the rules to post on other sites & cut & paste to save time re typing the same thing over & over?

I wrote my query on each site at the sametime & have replied to the asnwers ive received as & when as I presumed it was polite as people have bothered to take the time to help me.

I only came on here looking to hear from people who had experienced the same problems as me & how it turned out for them not to be judged by complete strangers that know nothing about me.

Thanks for your advice, now I know what to expect from the DWP, ignorance & judgement, all you have done is increase my stress & anxiety levels.

I think that the only ignorant replies are yours, you came here for help and you have been given lots of good advice and insulted some longstanding posters who have tried to help you solve your problem.

If you think being autistic will stop them sanctioning your benefit you are badly mistaken and you will deserve it.

Oldernotwiser

Breast_Cancer_Survivor wrote: »

Im sorry to hear that you have had breast cancer too, it's an awful disease, ive actually had it twice, the 1st time I was 24 the 2nd time I was 33.

Rather less awful than COPD!

AsknAnswer

I know all about aspergers, thank you - the cut n paste was not neccessery.

It is no crime to post on other forums - off course it isn't. I am merely stating the facts as they are - that you have been given answers, advice and options and as such I wasn't sure what it is you are asking for now. As you will see from my previous post on here I have actually supported what you have said re communication.

What I am saying is that although I would suggest you have someone appointed to legally act as your rep, given your communication difficulties, you seemingly (as in, "appear to") recall dates and times effortlessly on here - as in on the forum, as in written word and having the time to think about what you are saying, rather than face to face questions, therefore perhaps the suggestion of an appointee is not necessary. I did not say you should not have someone with you when dealing one-to-one, perhaps for clarity I should have inserted the words "if it comes to it that you can't have anyone present" just tell the DWP what you have told us. I'm sure all of this would be backed up in your DLA claim, anyway.

I was blunt - I said that in my post and I apologised for that upfront in case it offended you, which clearly it did. I was blunt because like it or not, this is the manner in which DWP will view matters as regards to reps. Yes, you are entitled to one, yes they will allow you time to seek one - but ultimately as you have no appointee, you need to arrange for one to be present - that is the way it works, unless the rep is your legal appointee whereby they have to be present before the DWP can deal with this sort of scenario, hence the earlier suggestion. The continual cancelling of appointments would ultimately lead to a benefit suspension. If there weren't sanctions in place for this then no-one would comply with these interviews. That is the reality of it. It's not nice to hear but in my experience, people would rather know the truth than be !!!!!footed around and given the wrong information.

No-one said that you wanted to get out of your interview - hence the use of the word "if"

"All I have done" is tell you the reality of how the situation may be viewed.

Perhaps if your therapist can't make it, your boyfriend could be there? Could you get in touch with your therapist's office and ask for a letter of support from them? Do you know how long your therapist is likely to be absent? If it is long term will they have someone assist you in her place, and if so, could the replacement assist you? If it's short term, get in touch with the DWP and explain matters again, advise them that you really need your therapist present due to communication difficulties but she is currently absent, can they postpone it....

You have said you don't feel comfortable talking to people you don't know. If worst comes to the worst, could you maybe have your boyfriend explain matters to welfare rights and have both them and your boyfriend with you at the interview? Welfare rights are bloody excellent at fighting for your rights, they are trained to know the benefit system inside out. They will also understand things your therapist may not - such as benefit law, which can be very complex. They are useful to have on board along with your therapist too, both combined would really help you no end.

seven-day-weekend

Excellent post AsknAnswer and extremely helpful and informative.

I also very much like your username!

healy

mealone wrote: »

I am a member of the other forum too and this isnt the only poster here who googles customer compliance then posts on both forums, maybe they think thats the way to get them the answers they want. The funnist ones give diffrent senarios to see which to give in there interview:D

Thank you and thank you asknanswer also. I have also seen people post on multiple forums and I do not understand why they think it is necessary, it is true some people keep posting in the hope they will get the answer they want to hear. Usually they do not!

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

I apologise if ive insulted anyone as it was not my intention, when I feel like im being personally attacked I automatically jump into defence mode.

As you can all see I do have problems communicationing, I misinterpret the things people say & feel like they don't understand me or what im saying.

mealone

healy wrote: »

Thank you and thank you asknanswer also. I have also seen people post on multiple forums and I do not understand why they think it is necessary, it is true some people keep posting in the hope they will get the answer they want to hear. Usually they do not!

I have even seen the same poster re-regestering and asking for the same help again in a diffrent way, with slightly diffrent scenarios to get sympathy.

seven-day-weekend

I have posted questions on more than one forum before. Why not, what's wrong with it? Maybe the OP is feeling stressed and anxious and just wants to get as many answers as she can.

Don't see why it's a problem.

mealone

You said this is a recent dignosis for the autism, when and how were you diagnosed?

Its extremly hard for adults to be diagnosed with autism and other similar problems, in kids it usually peads or educational phsycologists and they dont work with adults as a rule so many adults are snookerd when they look for diagnosis or help.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I have posted questions on more than one forum before. Why not, what's wrong with it? Maybe the OP is feeling stressed and anxious and just wants to get as many answers as she can.

Don't see why it's a problem.

Thanks for that, I really needed it, I feel like im being accused of allsorts.

I posted on a couple of sites as I didn't get any replies to start with on the 1st one & I desperately needed a response.