any advice for PIP assessment please thank you !?

NoodleSoup

hey all
thank you for reading my thread
maybe you can help me [please]
i have anxiety and depression so i have applied for PIP
a Snr Mental Health Recovery Worker (Employment and Training) at Rethink suggested that i do this
so
if anyone has any advice on attending a PIP assessment
[i am going on Thursday 7th June 2018]
i would welcome any advice you may have thank you

poppy12345

NoodleSoup wrote: »

hey all
thank you for reading my thread
maybe you can help me [please]
i have anxiety and depression so i have applied for PIP
a Snr Mental Health Recovery Worker (Employment and Training) at Rethink suggested that i do this
so
if anyone has any advice on attending a PIP assessment
[i am going on Thursday 7th June 2018]
i would welcome any advice you may have thank you

You'll be asked questions based on those PIP descriptors and how your conditions affect you daily. Remember PIP isn't about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you daily.


Answer all those questions with as much info as possible and avoid answering with just a yes or no.


Did you send in evidence to support your claim? The onus is on the claimant to make sure the evidence is sent because they very rarely contact anyone for evidence.


There's no timescales to decisions, it can be anything from 2-8 weeks sometimes longer.


See the PIP descriptors here.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf


Good luck.

NoodleSoup

hey poppy12345

yes i did already send them my full report from my GP surgery [which is requested in the evidence sheet that will help the DWP to assess my PIP claim], which states in chronological order all my health problems and the treatment i have received for them.

i now have further information regarding support and advice i asked for from my local MP this was after i re booked my PIP assessment appointment should i take that with me as well?

also i have been given the advice by a disability support group on facebook to do the following >>> Do not take a bag of any sort, let somebody else carry your !paperwork for you if you have any, if you have difficulty walking keep stopping on the way to the room a couple of times, take someone with you in the assessment and if you have a copy of the form then read it before you go as they will be interested in certain questions that they want answered.!

any help much appreciated thank you ox

NeilCr

Can you carry a bag normally?

Would you, usually, stop on the way to the room a couple of times?

You do have to be honest and open with an assessor.

I think taking someone with you is a good idea - and, ditto, reading the form. You may want to take notes in of how the condition affects you as a reminder. It's easy to forget things.

Take your time answering the questions

Good luck

NoodleSoup

NeilCr wrote: »

Can you carry a bag normally?

Would you, usually, stop on the way to the room a couple of times?

You do have to be honest and open with an assessor.

I think taking someone with you is a good idea - and, ditto, reading the form. You may want to take notes in of how the condition affects you as a reminder. It's easy to forget things.

Take your time answering the questions

Good luck

hey NeilCr i think the reason they suggest this is because they want the assessor to see that my condition can mean i am forgetful not always responsible and that i need a lot of support!? and yes if my anxiety is bad and i get into a panic i will most likely need to stop on the way to and from the room will probably also need to stop and few times during the assessment because of anxiety

also i am going to record the assessment with 2 portable tape recorders [because they require a copy of one tape] the PIP centre already know in advance about me doing this i just feel if it goes to a tribunal it will help also i dont think you can never have too much evidence especially if you require it as back up/support!?!

so very nervous not a nice thing but if they want to say im ''fit'' and i dont need PIP after the assessment i will go on and fight the decision otherwise it will be wasted energy and having a support centre help me fill out the forms and sending them [the DWP] all the info from my GP as well as a local service i use and then going to the assessment will all be for nothing and no way i dont want it to be for nothing!!!

poppy12345

NoodleSoup wrote: »

hey NeilCr i think the reason they suggest this is because they want the assessor to see that my condition can mean i am forgetful not always responsible and that i need a lot of support!? and yes if my anxiety is bad and i get into a panic i will most likely need to stop on the way to and from the room will probably also need to stop and few times during the assessment because of anxiety

also i am going to record the assessment with 2 portable tape recorders [because they require a copy of one tape] the PIP centre already know in advance about me doing this i just feel if it goes to a tribunal it will help also i dont think you can never have too much evidence especially if you require it as back up/support!?!

so very nervous not a nice thing but if they want to say im ''fit'' and i dont need PIP after the assessment i will go on and fight the decision otherwise it will be wasted energy and having a support centre help me fill out the forms and sending them [the DWP] all the info from my GP as well as a local service i use and then going to the assessment will all be for nothing and no way i dont want it to be for nothing!!!

Everyone gets nervous before and during an assessment, that's perfectly normal.


Do you normally have to stop when you're walking? does someone else usually carry your things for you? If not then why would you do this on the day of the assessment?


Why would you not take a bag? Are you claiming for a physical disability as well as anxiety? If you're not claiming for a physical disability then why would you want someone else to carry your things for you and why would you not want to take a bag?



Do you get forgetful usually? and do you need a lot of support?



There's absolutely no need to be anything different than the way you usually are. No one wants a refusal when claiming these benefits but you will need to answer those questions truthfully, with as much detail as possible.



Have you looked at the PIP descriptors to see where you can score those points?

Alice_Holt

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/your-assessment/

NoodleSoup

poppy12345 wrote: »

Everyone gets nervous before and during an assessment, that's perfectly normal.


Do you normally have to stop when you're walking? does someone else usually carry your things for you? If not then why would you do this on the day of the assessment?


Why would you not take a bag? Are you claiming for a physical disability as well as anxiety? If you're not claiming for a physical disability then why would you want someone else to carry your things for you and why would you not want to take a bag?



Do you get forgetful usually? and do you need a lot of support?



There's absolutely no need to be anything different than the way you usually are. No one wants a refusal when claiming these benefits but you will need to answer those questions truthfully, with as much detail as possible.



Have you looked at the PIP descriptors to see where you can score those points?

yes i do suffer physically as well as mentally with anxiety and depression also i have now been advised to do the same by 2 other people one my community link worker as well as my job coach they both have advised me to go to the assessment and be like i normally am on my worst day not just the way i answer the questions but also show the way it affects me physically

Ames

No!!! Do not answer everything as if it's your worst day. That leaves you open to an accusation of fraud (when you say community link, are you in Leeds?).

Be honest. Tell them about your bad, good and average days (in that order, so they can't stop you when you've said the good). Make sure you give full answers, don't let them hurry you. Of course tell them about your worst days - but don't give the impression that every day is like that (unless it is, of course).

Don't put on an act - they'll see through it and as I said, it's fraud. Just be honest.

One of the good things about PIP is that it takes into account variable conditions much more than DLA did. I actually think PIP is better for mental health conditions. For an award of PIP it's how things are on the majority of days. So if you have a few good weeks, but then a few bad months, you still qualify for PIP. There's no need to exaggerate and only tell them about the bad days.

A lot of charities have 'benefits advisers' who have just spent a few hours on the internet reading up on things. I regularly hear 'tell it like it is on your worst day' and I always cringe. I tried to correct someone once but they didn't take much notice. They're not the ones who'll be investigated for fraud. They mean well, but they're not experts and their advice is out of date. Twenty years ago it was common to be told to put your worst day on the forms, but the system and the benefit has changed since then.

NoodleSoup

Ames wrote: »

No!!! Do not answer everything as if it's your worst day. That leaves you open to an accusation of fraud (when you say community link, are you in Leeds?).

Be honest. Tell them about your bad, good and average days (in that order, so they can't stop you when you've said the good). Make sure you give full answers, don't let them hurry you. Of course tell them about your worst days - but don't give the impression that every day is like that (unless it is, of course).

Don't put on an act - they'll see through it and as I said, it's fraud. Just be honest.

One of the good things about PIP is that it takes into account variable conditions much more than DLA did. I actually think PIP is better for mental health conditions. For an award of PIP it's how things are on the majority of days. So if you have a few good weeks, but then a few bad months, you still qualify for PIP. There's no need to exaggerate and only tell them about the bad days.

A lot of charities have 'benefits advisers' who have just spent a few hours on the internet reading up on things. I regularly hear 'tell it like it is on your worst day' and I always cringe. I tried to correct someone once but they didn't take much notice. They're not the ones who'll be investigated for fraud. They mean well, but they're not experts and their advice is out of date. Twenty years ago it was common to be told to put your worst day on the forms, but the system and the benefit has changed since then.

i did exactly that when i went for a ESA assesment about 3 years ago told them about my bad days and good days but they still gave me 0 points on everything i really feel like i am getting very conflicted advice here might delete the op altogether

also how on gods earth would anyone be committing fraud if they go to a DWP assessment [just like they would when they go to a drs appointment] when they are sick?

ive been through the form filling out then posting it off and then the assessment system a few times times in the past with ESA so i do have some idea of how it works i have even had a tribunal and won it if i was committing fraud even back then the tribunal would have seen it, right?

also the DWP/atos/capita have never contacted my community link worker [+ they never contacted my DR in the past when i apply for ESA] which made me really think today
1. what is the point why do they ask for that information if they do not take it into consideration when making the final decision
and
2. i could put down a bunch of local mental health services that i never used but i did not because to me that would be open to an accusation of fraud

and mental health is not an act to me this is not a act i put on it is very real to me
and it affects me physically as well as mentally
over the years i have tried many medications and treatments to try and help it
for me it is a ongoing process that i have to work at but its not easy
this is why i applied for PIP
i want to get some paid therapy
i have been on the waiting list with insight [part on the NHS] since January
but i need to talk to someone now
i need to work through it all again now
i have found some local therapists in my area which will consider a payment plan for anyone on limited income like certain benefits

poppy12345

Going to the assessment and telling then that is your worst day, if infact it's not is probably the worst thing you can do! If on the day of the assessment, it's not your worst day, then why on earth would you even consider telling them it is????



I totally agree with every single thing Ames has said. If you go to the assessment and it's not one of your worst days, but you decide to tell them it is regardless, then they will most likely see through that. They could think " well this person doesn't seem that bad, if this is their worst day" PIP is all about how you are 50% of the time and you need to tell them about all of your days.



You mentioned ESA and you know how the assessments work. This isn't ESA, it's PIP and they're different benefits that have different criteria. ESA about the work you can do. PIP isn't about working, it's about how your conditions affect you. People claim PIP and work.



If you're planning on going to your assessment and telling them it's your worst day, if it's not, ask someone to carry your paper work for you, when that's not what you normally do, or stop walking because your anxiety won't let you, when again that's not what you normally do, then i wish you good luck. To me this putting on an act to claim a benefit.


You should go and tell them exactly how your conditions affect you and act how you would normally.