Is there an 'official' disabled status? How do we get a disability recognised?

Appliance_engineer

My oh is in her early 60s. 

She has considerable mobility issues. She uses a stick, needs to sit down for 5 minutes every 20 yards or so to alleviate pain in her back and leg. We've considered an electric mobility scooter but she says she'd feel embarrassed using one.

She broke her hip last year and has had a metal hip replacement and she has 2 worn discs in the base of her spine (of which she has curvature), which cause immense pain.  She only this week had an epidural steroid injection in the spine which she's had before, which helps the pain and lasts for 6 - 12 months.

I applied for a disabled badge for the car and submitted all of the hospital & doctor data, and was pleasantly surprised to get a blue badge, meaning we can park nearer to entrances, etc.  I had thought that not having been officially pronounced disabled would be a problem in getting a blue badge, but the medical records spoke for themselves.

Our housing association are kindly changing our bathroom into a wet room as she finds getting into the shower over the bath difficult now, and are just about to redo the kitchen with her disabilities taken into account, including kitchen cupboards that pull down to make it easier to reach.

My question is though, she's never had any official assessment of her disabilities, but she's clearly disabled, so is there a process to go through to get her officially recognised as a disabled person?  Is there an assessment that can be made, and her level of incapacity recorded officially?

I ask this because forms often ask questions on disability, and we know she's disabled, and write 'yes', but she's never actually been diagnosed as disabled so this could be a problem on official forms because they could say that she isn't "officially" disabled.

I'm hopeful somebody who understands disability issues can help. 

Thanks in advance.

elsien

No, there isn’t an officially disabled category/register in the way that you suggest. 

The definition of disability in the Equality Act is quite broad, dependent on individual circumstances, and some people do get better. Think of a hip replacement for example, if that was  the only medical issue.

 With the level of need that she has no/one is going to query it so I shouldn’t worry.
but if it puts your mind at rest, this is what the law says:

https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010#:~:text=You're%20disabled%20under%20the,to%20do%20normal%20daily%20activities.

p00hsticks

As someone who helps run a club that charges those with disabilities a lower membership fee, we ask to see proof  that the person is receiving PIP - it's the only 'official' way we have discovered. 

Appliance_engineer

Thanks P00hsticks. That's a great example. She doesn't receive PIP, so by that criteria, she wouldn't qualify.  This is why I asked the question. There should be some sort of official disability recognition which doesn't rely on proving benefit receipt.

kayleighali

Appliance_engineer said:

Thanks P00hsticks. That's a great example. She doesn't receive PIP, so by that criteria, she wouldn't qualify.  This is why I asked the question. There should be some sort of official disability recognition which doesn't rely on proving benefit receipt.

Is there a reason why she's not receiving PIP? It certainly sounds as though she would qualify

sevenhills

kayleighali said:

Is there a reason why she's not receiving PIP? It certainly sounds as though she would qualify

Once she has a benefit, that will make claiming other things easier. Disabilities need to be permanent, I guess she is at that stage?

https://www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim

DullGreyGuy

sevenhills said:
Disabilities need to be permanent, I guess she is at that stage?

For what does a disability need to be permanent? How do you account for future advances in medical science? 

Governments own site talks about it being a long term condition for PIP not premanent

beanielou

Would also suggest that your oh applies for Personal Independence Payment or if in Scotland it is Adult Disability Payment. 

elsien

Different settings require different levels of proof depending on the reason why they are asking.

So when I used to take two men with a severe learning disability to places, we didn't always get the discounts because they could be mobility based and the men were physically fit with a cognitive impairment. Some places want proof of disability benefits for the same reason - you get the discount for the mobility not the care component. Whereas the CEA cinema card just wants proof of disability and it doesn't matter if it's care, mobility or both. 
As I said before, there's not a one size fits all. 
And if you are looking at a nationally recognized alternative system that is going to require assessment (otherwise who gets to decide, particularly when you are considering whether someone's mental health needs counts as a disability) and then ongoing checks because the disability may change/improve/no longer qualify in the future. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Not in answer to your question, but there really is no need for her to be embarrassed about using a mobility scooter.  If she can try one just once, maybe from shopmobility or something, I have no doubt the freedom would far outweigh any initial embarrassment.  Disability doesn't discriminate (ironically), people of all ages and backgrounds can be and are disabled.  Many, many young people are proud users of mobility sides because our wheels are our freedom, and allow us to live our lives and actually enjoy ourselves!

Just food for thought.

Also she should definitely apply for PIP (or ADP in Scotland), that's the closest thing to 'official' there is.  (Thank goodness it's not the arbiter of whether people are disabled or not, since the process and benefit itself is deeply flawed, but for her she should certainly qualify.)  The Blue Bags and wet room will certainly lend weight to her application.

Savvy_Sue

Also definitely worth applying for PIP sooner rather than later. If she waits until she's over state pension age, she won't be eligible.

I know someone who's recently gone through the process. They already had a blue badge because of limited mobility, and weren't sure if they'd get PIP or not. But they definitely wouldn't get it without applying!

They were successful, and the money will help with private physio and hydrotherapy, which they have felt guilty about because they can't work any more and felt guilty about taking more out of the family income.

Also second giving shop mobility a try. I took MIL shopping for a wedding outfit, and after previous attempts to walk around with her I told her we'd borrow a wheelchair so we could expend our energy on shopping not walking! It helped enormously. My mum found them very useful too. Neither of them would have coped with driving a scooter, but if they'd given it a whirl in their 60s it might have been a possibility.