Budget - tougher for DLA claimants

easy

government_slave wrote: »

Same here. My son hasn't had a penny DLA or IB since his first claim that he hasnt gone throught a medical check first. When he was 16yrs old an independant ''Government'' appointed doctor came to assess him and awarded him DLA for life. The same was applied to IB which he started to receive when he was 21 we had to travel over 2hrs away to see that ''Government'' doctor.
Him being reassessed is pointless and a waste of money in opinion if anything he is worse not better.

But without a re-assessment the authorities don't know that he is no better. And altho' your son's condition is unlikely to improve, others may improve (or change in some ways). And the only way the authorities can know this, is by re-assessing. In your case, if your son's condition is worse, a re-assessment may result in higher benefits for you.

You can't expect them to pick and choose who they can/can't re-assess, that would make the whole process pointless.

As an earlier poster pointed out, someone with an indefinate award of DLA can always be called in for re-assessment anyway, even before the new proposals.

covlass

government_slave wrote: »

Deeplyblue Carers Allowance isnt £60 per week its just £53.90 and in order to get that pittance you have to be caring for a minimum of 35 hrs a week.

I for one am not worried about my son passing a medical for his DLA and IB [ESA] he is severly Autistic, has behavoural problems and learning disabilities, he is 22yrs old and has the mental age of a 3/4 yr old, he thinks Thomas the tank engine, Bob the builder, etc are real and has rag dolls and teddy bears as his firends!! He cant read or write and has very little speech.
What I am worried about is putting him through all the medicals and him having to be in a room with strangers asking questions, because when he's been there i'm the one who will suffer and be black and blue when he starts hitting, kicking, biting and spitting because he just doesnt understand wat is going on and they changed his routine. We live on a knife edge as it is making sure nothing changes out of his routine [I can make the army look sloopy] so that he doesnt get upset.
If they are going to do the medicals lets do it sooner rather than later then maybe the genuine disabled can get on with their lives without being called ''scroungers''.

I know exactly how you feel, I had to fight for over a year for my DD DLA and when they decided she was no longer entitled to it. At the tribunal the Dr was not impressed that it had gone to tribunal and questioned the lady from DWP !

If they had looked at the claim correctly and had a Dr who actually knew about my daughters disabilities and contacted those who I put on forms then surely time and money would have been saved.

In a couple of years she will be 16 so I am hoping not to have to go through this again no doubt though we will. As for a medical well whilst I agree with it, it must be done correctly. Advanced warning and plenty of it so I can go over and over that days routine, no waiting about once we get there, no unexpected loud noises and plenty of understanding !!!! And if my daughter becomes distressed or has a melt down I will walk out

easy

ash4becks wrote: »

if only it was that simple not everyone can have therpy stright of i was sexually assalted i have no trust in no one that was 5 years ago iam i over it no, iam i ready to talk about it yet no, why because i no how far it would send me backwards so then what the money is gone and nothing is there to help me then

So you are not prepared to accept treatment, because you feel it would "send you backwards" ?

But surely, your mental health problems may cloud your judgement on this issue?

Very often, a depressed patient refuses to take anti-depressants, because they believe that will not solve the problem. But they believe that, simply because the blackness of depression doesn't allow them to see any solution will work (believe me, I know what I'm talking about, I have personal experience of dealing with this).

ash4becks wrote: »

before i comment on this may i add i do have physical issues also carry anything heavy out of the question , iam in pain pretty much all the time to some degree

taxi's are a big help i dont like being alone because of whats happened and it been more than once at 12 and 18 and 19 never reported it, i have my own taxi account i use them that often and always ask for the same drivers , hence why geting a moblity car would open up my world more and i wouldnt have them issues and would be in a safe place of my own


geting to docs and hospitail appintments , i might have to go to london soon i have no trust in people just a few friends and family , when i feel away with the fairys i tend to trust more than i would normally hence why i have friends with me to watch over me i used to carry a knife if i had noone with me

if i have to go out alone iam forever watching my back so i try to go to very public places after what i have needed to do like mc dons as i have a friend there that

massage it the one thing that settles my moods more so than drugs but this also helps my physical condtion, possible physio will need to be added to this also

the gym/ swimming so cost of swimsuit and taking friend with me , i might be lucky enough to settle my condtion so i dont have as many flare ups but nothing is 100% the gym will have to be for later as i cant just jump on a machine like others i have to have low inpact work out the shorts etc for that

the suportive items i need i hate not having heels now :mad: but i try to have supportive shoes all of the time or trainers with the bubbles in as this takes pressure of when walking if i have to , not to mention clothes that are easy to put on and pull of when all of my writst and hands go to pot , theres the strechy supports aswell which are forever in the wash

i give my dad a little petrol money as he is forever droping things of for me milk bread etc , and bus fares for me and my friend shes a single mum with two kids i dont want her out of pockect she does odd bit of cleaning work but with two children under 2 bus her only option

freind also reads letters at times and fills forms out for me i do take her out and for a pub lunch to say thankyou now and again but this also gets me out of the house

my moblie i refuse to go anywhere with it my saftey net if i get lost to ring dad or mate or taxi

my tv net and iam always in the house so foever used net is my lifeline or i wouldnt talk to people for days mate i have talked to often come over just to check on me when my heads a mess on a night to check iam ok

the list goes on and on , and i cant have any help of SS as they say my needs arent high enough

i get higher rate care and lower moblity

iam trying to get higher moblity atm would help me so much to try and live a 24 year olds life even if it was just going over to my friends house and taking my dog ella over to see them oh and btw i got her before i knew about all my physical issues and she is my life heart and soul and the best theropy i ever will have , and shes probably saved my life twice when shes woke me up having a astma attack

Your continued efforts to avoid the situations that make you feel uncomfortable/anxious cost you money (which is one of the reasons you claim DLA). But you are not accepting the treatment which could help you manage the mental health aspects of your disability ?

Sometimes, the doctors/consultants who have experience of treating other people who have been through the sort of traumas you have experienced do actually know how to help. You should try the treatment.

jimbms

DX2 wrote: »

The thing is with DLA anyone can be called for a medical and be re assessed at anytime at present, this is why I don't understand the hullabaloo about what is going to happen in three years time.

That was my point very early in the thread, we here in the IoM have had compulsary medicals for DLA since it started, we don't have the delays the UK has and it makes it very hard for false claiments so they don't apply making it easier for genuine claiments. Average wait from submitting form to medical is 2 weeks the about 2 more weeks until you find out the award.

deeplyblue

Aputsiaq wrote: »

Also, my views are valid and I have written them down politely.Just because you don't like them doesn't make them any less valid.

People who express a view that differs from your own are not being rude.

This one is actually quite tough, though it sounds perfectly reasonable.

At the heart of the problem is a very difficult issue - the difference between, on the one hand, having a difference of opinion, or value judgement from someone else, and, on the other disagreeing with someone on a matter of a fact.

There is a widespread belief that not only is "everyone is entitled to their own opinion," but also that "my opinion is as good your opinion." But really, that is not necessarily the case.

Suppose you are at a social gathering, chatting to someone who says, "Well, Jane Austen wrote "Wuthering Heights" so she must have visited Yorkshire." You might let it go, or you might say, "Actually Jane Austen didn't write "Wuthering Heights" - it's by Emily Bronte." You trade "Yes she did" and "No she didn't" remarks and eventually this person says, "Well, everyone's entitled to their own opinion." This platitude is intended to end the conversation with honours even and ignorance left intact.

But you are rather cross now, and you say, "No, you seem to be repeating something you've half heard on the telly. I did "Wuthering Heights" for "A" level and my opinion is therefore much better grounded in fact than yours." You get a look that suggests that you have just farted in church, because their version of the facts is supposed to be as good as your version of the facts. But it isn't - because Jane Austen most assuredly did NOT write "Wuthering Heights."

If, however, this person declares not that Austen wrote "Wuthering Heights" (which is plain ignorance), but that Emily's brother Bramwell Bronte wrote that, and all the other books supposed to be by the Bronte sisters, then what you have is a crank, not an ignoramus. They know that everyone else with any knowledge of the books thinks that Emily wrote WH - but they have a conspiracy theory about the Brontes. It happens.

Most people would say that this belief too is just ignorance - in this case probably wilful ignorance - of all the evidence and a determined resistance to the notion of fact.

If you want to argue that "Wuthering Heights" is a bad book, or a pernicious book, then we are surely into the area of opinion. But even here, I don't think that "your opinion is as good as mine," if I have read the book, and you have not. You don't know anyone who has, but you do know (because you read it on the internet) that teenagers get very bad ideas from WH. (Think Harry Potter here - there were people who seriously believed that the HP books had real spells which would conjure up actual demons. Now that's not opinion - that's ignorance and gross stupidity.)

Exactly where the debate here (and presumably elsewhere) about autism fits in, is itself a matter of debate. But it is this point, I think which is the real problem.

Some people, especially those with severely autistic children, think that the status of autism as a permanent, largely unchanging disability, is a simple fact of medical science. Calling autism something that can be "grown out of" is, to them, as stupid as believing that Down's Syndrome is something that you can "develop" in childhood.

Others, including some doctors, really do believe that you can "grow out of" autism. The riposte to this is that, "if you can grow out of it then it's not autism," and here there is a real scientific debate. We talk these days of "autistic spectrum disorders." (ASD). I have a little knowledge of the way medical science develops, and some exposure to children, some of whom have been severely affected by autism/ASD.

My opinion (and I am clear in my own mind that this is sensibly-based opinion, but opinion all the same) is that ASD is probably not even a "disorder" where you can say "child x is at the 30% level and child y at the 60% level," but that ASD will turn out to be a whole different set of factors, and possibly sub-types. Some of these sub-types will be disorders where there is no realistic hope of a treatment, or of the child "growing out of it."

In some cases of what we currently tend to call high-functioning Asperger's, the child can improve with age, with therapy and perhaps even with dietary intervention (especially if there is an element of hyperactivity). They may never be fully capable of "normal" interaction with other people, but they can come so close that most people will not notice. I have seen this happen. I have also seen children for whom a lot of patient and loving therapy can make only a tiny improvement.

I also know that some people will provide a "Well, sometimes these things just go away," phrase in the curious belief that this facile phrase will somehow help parents in a time of desperate grief and confusion. Or, just occasionally, it can be used by people like ATOS to justify harassing people.

To those who say, "I'm only expressing my opinion about autism," I would say please think, sometimes this sounds like saying to someone who has progressive MS, "Well, there's lots of wonderful things they can do about MS these says." It's true that medical science is improving the outlook, especially for those in the early stages of relapsing MS. It's not really true for those who are already sliding fast down the slippery slope.

In their position, they know that the "opinion" of the cheery person's world reflects a very poor understanding of the facts, or of the complexities of the situation. They suspect that the person with the cheery phrase is trying to "discount" their medical problems - like the person who knows someone else with MS who manages everything just fine. It's a way of saying, "Your problems aren't really that bad. You could manage better, and without any help from me, if you wanted to."

(Incidentally, both MS and Autism run within my extended family.)

Here, as elsewhere, what is expressed as a dissenting opinion may be read as wilful ignorance, or as an attempt to belittle a huge challenge in a situation where there is little hope. I think that accounts for the bitterness of some of these exchanges. Courtesy helps, but so does respect for the facts on the ground.

Trialia

jimbms wrote: »

That was my point very early in the thread, we here in the IoM have had compulsary medicals for DLA since it started, we don't have the delays the UK has and it makes it very hard for false claiments so they don't apply making it easier for genuine claiments. Average wait from submitting form to medical is 2 weeks the about 2 more weeks until you find out the award.

And as I said earlier, your underlying system is a lot better. They need to get rid of ATOS and stop paying whoever they get next for how many people they get off "the sick", just give them a flat wage! Spares some ulterior motives, which ATOS definitely have...

deeplyblue

sh1305 wrote: »

Wheelchair services already provides wheelchairs for people.

They provide manual wheelchairs for people, and often only fairly basic ones. You want an electric wheelchair, or a scooter, or even a specially modified chair which will give the exact support needed for your condition, then you will probably have to buy it. You can use DLA (mobility) to buy an electric wheelchair.

At least that is how it works in my region.

db

Lady_K

George Osborne claimed that plans to reform DLA would "ensure support is targeted on those with the highest medical need," and that payments would only be made "for as long as a claimant needs them."

There was some mention before the budget that welfare benefits might be on 2 levels so the comment 'targeted on those with the highest need' makes me wonder if the reforming of dla may mean it will be for such people who are at present in need of high rate care and mobility providing they pass the medical and the rest might be either taken off altogether or go onto ESA

easy

Lady_K wrote: »

George Osborne claimed that plans to reform DLA would "ensure support is targeted on those with the highest medical need," and that payments would only be made "for as long as a claimant needs them."

There was some mention before the budget that welfare benefits might be on 2 levels so the comment 'targeted on those with the highest need' makes me wonder if the reforming of dla may mean it will be for such people who are at present in need of high rate care and mobility providing they pass the medical and the rest might be either taken off altogether or go onto ESA

Well, we don't know, and I think the departments concerned don't know either, they will be spending time over the next couple of years trying to formulate a workable policy. Which is why I suggest anyone who is concerned/worried writes to the the minister.

Which is a more positive action than sitting worrying or moaning on a forum.

cyclonebri1

DX2 wrote: »

The thing is with DLA anyone can be called for a medical and be re assessed at anytime at present, this is why I don't understand the hullabaloo about what is going to happen in three years time.

Then you have no understanding of what I said. I accept that it is perfectly fair to expect a person to take a medical for medically based benefits.

My issue is that I don't want to know about it 3 years in advance,:eek:, if you were chosen for one under the present system you would take it within weeks surely you can see the difference??