Budget - tougher for DLA claimants

Indie_Kid

sock-knitter wrote: »

i need new glasses every year, i've never claimed dla for them as its not a care or mobility need, i also need the ones that react to light, again have always had this, but wouldnt class it as a disability

I wear glasses due to a rare and progressive eye disease. I wouldn't need reactions lenses if I didn't have this disease and my sight wouldn't change at the rate it does either.

Indie_Kid

jimbms wrote: »

if you are diagnosed and getting treatment for a condition then they can't argue.

Many people (including myself) don't have treatment. There is no treatment for either of my eye problems and everything that's been tried for my stomach has been tried, and not worked.

cyclonebri1

_shel wrote: »

I think what people keep forgeting is that ATOS is a contractor. They bid for and won a multi million pound contract to carry out assessments on behalf of the government. They are working to a critieria set by the government, they didnt just think it up themselves! If they dont fulfil the government criteria they lose the contract so they stick to it. If they did things differently or lost the contract there would be another contractor doing the same job to the same rules (if not more draconian)

And if only they could do that honestly and genuinely without the idiotic mistakes they make, and that's from someone who "passed" the itos medical so no axe to grind. They simply are not of a high enough standard to ensure all is done correctly and fairly. If they get the 2nd contract, well... :wall::wall::wall:

Lady_K

Well I'm a natural born worrier, I worry everyday and even in my sleep so no matter what people say about it being 3 years away etc won't make any difference to me. There have been some terrible horror stories about Atos medicals and I believe even the genuine are being taken off dla or put down to a lower level of the benefit to keep Atos within thier targets so I do fear the medicals.
I don't actually come into this part of the forum hardly ever because I get stressed with all the talk and fears of this and that and although I know its a good thing it is talked about and we do need to be aware, I personally can't cope with it and have to keep away most of the time or I'd have a complete nervous breakdown. I know I can't change it myself and I'm not capable of doing the fighting so I have to stand back and wait for it all to happen and just get through it and go with whatever is happening at the time.
My renewal is due early 2011 and I worry so much I don't even know I'll be around to actually take it. I worry constantly of losing the security of having the help I need if it was taken away now. I don't think I'd cope at all but if Atos don't accept me it will be too late. I know some genuine people that may get rejected by Atos won't cope with the results of that

covlass

government_slave wrote: »

Understanding is what they dont seem to have. Know what you mean about loud noises my son cant stand them. I also have to tell him over and over again for weeks on end that he has a drs/dentist appointment otherwise we wont be able to go the hastle afterwards is very diffucult to cope with, not to mention the self harming he does, ie be bites himself until he bleeds.

This is what some people fail to to take note of it is not always the case of if you have a disability and can prove it why worry. I have no worries about my daughter meeting the criteria for DLA and as stated before I do agree that something needs to be done, but correctly . But what I am worried about is how it is done. NAS are going to be working with DWP regarding the changes. The figures for Adults with Autism are awful,
QUOTE 15% hold a full time job,one third are with out a job or access to benefits and 79% of those on Incapacity benefit want a job. As part of the process of applying for work-related benefits, people are required to undergo a Work Capability Assessment which will determine whether they are eligible for Employment Support Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance. We were concerned that this did not take account of the needs of people with autism and have worked very hard to try to make this happen. We continue to press for changes to make the system work for people with autism.

Doesn't sound promising at present

deeplyblue

krisskross wrote: »

by sh1305
Some do need it for taxis, medication and sometimes microwave meals.

I have need of all 3 of these things, sometimes daily. Does that mean I can claim DLA?

Depends on why you need them. If you need microwave meals because you are terminally disorganised, or just hate cooking then, No you can't have DLA.

If you use microwave meals because your hands are so deformed by arthritis that you can't hold a vegetable, let alone a knife to cut it with, then yes, you probably can get DLA (lower rate).

Ditto if you can't prepare a meal because you keep forgetting what you are supposed to be doing, or why you are supposed to be doing it. Remembering to carry out the instructions written on a packet takes much less concentration than dealing with finding a knife, a chopping board, working out you need to start with the onion, then remembering how to chop an onion etc etc.

Sounds silly? Try watching someone you have known as a good cook, whilst they stand there staring into mid-air with an onion in one hand and a knife in the other, unaware that they are not doing something they've done thousands of times before. Try to help, and they say, "I know how to chop an onion!" Then, after months of this, they realise that though they still understand the process of chopping an onion, they can no longer do it in the sort of timescale required to prepare a main meal in under 3 hours, and without burning half the ingredients. And, incidentally, leaving them so tired that they can hardly eat the meal afterwards, or clean up afterwards.

If ME-type exhaustion is the reason for all this, then handing them a microwave meal is really helpful, as they have enough energy to put the meal into the microwave, press the appropriate time, get it out and eat it. Giving the money for a microwave dinner is a LOT cheaper than paying someone to bring in meals. It's even cheaper when the person has to pay Tesco to deliver the meals once a week.

Many of the payments which genuinely help people to remain independent are highly cost effective. Or they seem so if you think that the State would otherwise have to take care of people. There are those who look at someone with ME and say, "faker" or "hypochondriac" (which - at its crudest - is what the Wessely school analysis boils down to). Then you tell them to get off their backsides and pull themselves together. Of course, they can't, but the state then neither helps them with enough money to remain independent nor allows them to benefit from care.

I worry a lot about how people with ME are going to cope when benefit cutters are looking for soft targets.

db

Trialia

deeplyblue - excellent summary. That's another reason I cannot cook - I kept finding if I did, I had no energy left to eat afterwards, let alone clean up, so I was forced to give up and resort to ready meals. Not so cheap, sadly, but much less taxing in terms of energy. (I have (secondary) fibromyalgia, which is very similar to ME but with a different cause.)

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

sh1305 wrote: »

Many disabilities can't be proved. IBS is diagnosed by elimination for other conditions, such as Crohns and Coeliacs.

You hae no idea where the £7k comes from.

Is IBS classed as a disability?

Ive had it since my surgeries due to the numerous amount of antibiotics ive been on over the last few years but wouldn't of thought it would of been classed as a disability although it is definately an inconvenience.

Indie_Kid

Breast_Cancer_Survivor wrote: »

Is IBS classed as a disability?

Ive had it since my surgeries due to the numerous amount of antibiotics ive been on over the last few years but wouldn't of thought it would of been classed as a disability although it is definately an inconvenience.

It depends how if affects you. To me - it seriously restricts what I can and leaves me in pain. Plus, it has meant losing a lot of weight.

Bryando

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

Erm if you don't have any costs incurred by your condition why did you apply for it to begin with? Just because you have a condition does not mean you should claim for DLA. It's if it impacts your life so you need help in some way through mobility or care needs.

I and others that I know only applied for DLA because of the extra costs of our conditions. We rely on the DLA we get to actually help us with things to do with our conditions.

If you don't need the DLA you get then don't claim it.

Well I filled in the application etc and was awarded it!! Not me whom makes the rules, I don't even know where the right to DLA comes from.

I was told to claim it, so I did. Suppose if I thought, maybe there would be costs. Taxis and the alike.