DLA/Incapacity Ben + part time study?

EJ

Hi,

I suffer from M.E. and am particularly bad at the moment and had to leave uni and put in a claim for benefits (student loan has stopped too!).

If i feel a little better, but not well enough to go to work, is it possible to do a bit of home study (just a small distance learning course) and still claim Incap benefit?

Any advise on what I can/cant do would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

EJ

Fran

Incapacity Benefit is paid if you meet the criteria of being unable to work,

Student & benefits info might help, I couldn't find any defining info, perhaps you could contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau and ask?

silvertoes

I know a few people with M.E that study with the Open University part time. They qualify for the Disabled Students Allowances and this has kitted them out with computers etc to aid their study. They get DLA and IB and have not notified anyone that they study part time but nor have they been asked!

Paul_Varjak

If you are over 19 and satisfy the other conditions of entitlement (which you apparently do), then even full time studies at College will not affect entitlement to IB. A part-time course undertaken at home would not affect you at all.


If you are aged under 19 and attend a course for more than 21 hours a week of ‘supervised study’ each week you would not be entitled to IB. But a ‘home study’ course would not count as supervised study and so your entitlement to IB would remain, even if it was over 21 hours per week.

penrith

silvertoes wrote:

I know a few people with M.E that study with the Open University part time. They qualify for the Disabled Students Allowances and this has kitted them out with computers etc to aid their study. They get DLA and IB and have not notified anyone that they study part time but nor have they been asked!

My cousin is in exactly this position. He has M.E., gets IB and IS & DLA. Studying part-time with the OU for 60 credits a year DOES NOT affect benefits in anyway. My cousin did A-level's a few years ago and wanted to keep his mind active now he has M.E. He is now in his 5th year of OU science degree (he needs to do 6 years). If you are on benefits and don't already have a degree, then you get your course fees paid for you and £250 towards books,paper etc etc - although the vast majority of the books you need are provided for you within the course fees. When he registered for his first course, he told them he had a disability and the OU contacted him back to ask if he would like an assessment for a DSA.

Through the DSA (disabled students allowance), my cousin got a desktop computer, all sorts of software that means the text is read to you aloud rather than having to read it yourself. He got a special chair for him to sit in when studying and a foot support as well. He gets travel costs paid when he attend tutorials, a dictaphone to record tutorials as he also has problems with his hands. He also gets an allowance to pay for someone to drive him to tutorials, scan the text books into the computer and help push him round the building when he goes to a tutorial when he needs to use a wheelchair. He is also allowed to take his exams at home (with an invigilator) because if he had to go to the exam centre 1 hours drive away he'd be knackard before he'd even started the exam. Obviously what you actually get from a DSA depends on your health problems and what you need in order to allow you to study. What i am describing is what my cousin got and what he got is specific to his health problems, other students may get different stuff as a result of their DSA assessment.

He does nothing but rave on about how the OU has allowed him to carry on studying. His whole personality seems to have changed in the last few years. He seems more interested in life, looks towards the future - not to mention he is full of useful facts (and trivia!) that he has learnt in his courses.

https://www.open.ac.uk

EJ

penrith wrote:

Through the DSA (disabled students allowance), my cousin got a desktop computer, all sorts of software that means the text is read to you aloud rather than having to read it yourself. He got a special chair for him to sit in when studying and a foot support as well. He gets travel costs paid when he attend tutorials, a dictaphone to record tutorials as he also has problems with his hands. He also gets an allowance to pay for someone to drive him to tutorials, scan the text books into the computer and help push him round the building when he goes to a tutorial when he needs to use a wheelchair. He is also allowed to take his exams at home (with an invigilator) because if he had to go to the exam centre 1 hours drive away he'd be knackard before he'd even started the exam. https://www.open.ac.uk

Thank you so much for this! I had resigned myself to not being able to do OU and claim Incap Benefit. Hopefully, I'll be able to transfer some of my credits gained from the year i did manage at Uni to the OU and still get my degree (but more slowly). The thing with M.E. is that, yes one day I may be able to do work for 2 hours but then maybe for the rest of the week i cant get out of bed ... OU would just be a godsend as i dont want my brain to not get any excercise at all.

Thank you so much, everyone who has replied, it has really cheered me up!!!

Thanks all xxxxx

EJ

penrith wrote:

My cousin is in exactly this position. He has M.E., gets IB and IS & DLA.

Does anybody know if he gets the course fees paid because he is on IS?

I am not in receipt of IS, just IB and DLA as i live with my partner - i am not sure if i will qualify for my fees to be covered or not. Anyone know?

Cheers

EJ xx

catherineblack

Hi
I'm sorry to hear that you've been ill - I have M.E and study with the Open University - they have been very supportive. I think Penrith's reply explains the majority of the help available.
If you are under 26 years old you can become a member of AYME - the Association of Young People with ME. Membership is free and the online community has been amazing for me. Friendly and lots of advice. Their website is https://www.ayme.org.uk
Incidently, the Open Uni have online conferences where you can discuss your studies, and there is a forum for people with disabilities and M.E. That may be of use to you in the future. Good luck and I hope your health does improve.
Catherine x

penrith

EJ wrote:

Does anybody know if he gets the course fees paid because he is on IS?

I am not in receipt of IS, just IB and DLA as i live with my partner - i am not sure if i will qualify for my fees to be covered or not. Anyone know?

Cheers

EJ xx

He gets his course fees paid because he is on IS. If you are are classed as 'low income' then you can also get your fees waived. I think there is a sliding scale of earnings above a certain amount as to what percentage of course fees you get waived. Am a bit hazy about the 'sliding scale of fee reductions' but i am sure this info is available from https://www.open.ac.uk

silvertoes

EJ wrote:

Does anybody know if he gets the course fees paid because he is on IS?

I am not in receipt of IS, just IB and DLA as i live with my partner - i am not sure if i will qualify for my fees to be covered or not. Anyone know?

Cheers

EJ xx

The OU's telephone number is 01908 653231. They do have Financial Assistance available which you can apply for, if you do not qualify for a grant. This is for those who are on low incomes but not on IS.