Aided journeys PIP claim.

hex456

Hi everyone,

I'm helping my sister fill out the PIP claim for, but we're a bit confused by the mobility section, so I'm hoping someone here can help.

Under "Mobility Activities" one of the options is...."Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid".

My friend suffers with fibromyalgia, severe hip/lower back pain and chronic hemiplegic migraines, as well as depression and anxiety.

As a result of the fibro her equilibrium is often out of whack and she feels like she's "on the outside looking in" and does not feel safe to be out and about alone and won't go anywhere alone when she's feeling that way. Also, when she has a migraine she's essentially blind and unable to function properly in many ways including speech, due to migraines coming at any time, unannounced, she is terrified of traveling anywhere that's unfamiliar and on a day to day basis does not ever go further than her local/familiar area alone. She would not be able to comfortably travel anywhere that's further than a short taxi ride to get home on a day to day basis, as many times she's been out and about and has had to leave her car behind to get home to recover. She's also been stranded at train stations in the past while unable to see where she's going and what train to get on, all these incidents have increased her anxiety and made her borderline phobic of going anywhere new/complicated to get to by herself.

Would this sort of thing qualify her for a PIP or is she just wasting her time?

She's unlike to get the daily living component because she's just on the cusp of becoming able to do things for herself and needing increasing help with the fibro she has as it's slowly impacting on her abilities to bend/reach and grip things now. If she attempted to walk 200 meters she'd end up in serious pain that would lasts for days after, she would also not be able to walk 200 meters in one go, without having a rest a couple of times along the way. I feel this would score her some points in the mobility section, but obviously not enough unless her situation with traveling unaccompanied is considered valid.

Any help or advice would be a big help.
Thanks for reading.

Alice_Holt

In my opinion this should score points, dependant on the frequency. It has to occur on the majority of days.
Because the following a journey descriptor is concerned more with mental health (physical disabilities are covered under moving around descriptor); be a bit careful in how you word it - don't underplay the impact of her anxiety and depression.

I suspect you are incorrect in stating "She's unlike to get the daily living component because she's just on the cusp of becoming able to do things for herself and needing increasing help with the fibro she has as....."
PIP looks at whether the activities can be done reliably, in reasonable time, to an acceptable standard, etc. It's not just not being able to do the tasks!

I would suggest you see if you and her can get help to complete the form - that will depend on the time constraints (it's possible to request a 14 day extension). Does she have an advice agency locally?

If not. Then I suggest subscribing to this site and following their 2018 PIP guide:
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-claims

You should also read this carefully before completing the PIP2 form:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/725533/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-assessment-criteria.pdf
pages 109 - 114 will help you with the specific queries you have raised on following journeys.

This is key - "Central to the application of all the activities within the PIP
assessment is a consideration of the manner in which they are
undertaken. For a descriptor to be able to apply to a claimant, the
claimant must be able to reliably complete the activity as described
in the descriptor.
2.2.2 Considering reliability involves looking at whether the claimant can
complete the activity as described:
• Safely – in a manner unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to
another person, either during or after completion of the activity
• To an acceptable standard
• Repeatedly – able to repeat the activity as often as is reasonably
required
• In a reasonable time period – no more than twice as long as the
maximum period that a non-disabled person would normally take
to complete that activity."
page 73 on.

Benefits & Work is also very useful on reliability and variability, frequency, etc

calcotti

hex456 wrote: »

If she attempted to walk 200 meters she'd end up in serious pain that would lasts for days after, she would also not be able to walk 200 meters in one go, without having a rest a couple of times along the way.

If walking 200 metres one day means she is effectively housebound for 2 or 3 days afterwards then she cannot walk 200 metres to the required standard as described in Alice’s post. In PIP terms she cannot walk 200 metres.

Another source of online help is herehttps://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form/

Alice_Holt

calcotti wrote: »

If walking 200 metres one day means she is effectively housebound for 2 or 3 days afterwards then she cannot walk 200 metres to the required standard as described in Alice’s post. In PIP terms she cannot walk 200 metres.

Another source of online help is here https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form/

And just to add that the distance is the that which she can walk before needing to stop due to severe discomfort.

Calcotti's link will be very helpful to you.
Do also look at the Cit A section on sending medical evidence.

Alice_Holt

Sadly, the OP failed to return to her thread:
"Last activity: 04-10-2018 3:16 PM"
Logging out shortly after posting the initial question.

This doesn't seem uncommon on the forum - indeed I have even PM'd OPs' to alert them to replies.

Maybe she forgot her password, ......

Pity, as the info given and links supplied would have been helpful for her sister.

[Deleted User]

Sister or friend? Which one is it? OP uses both in their statement.