PIP declined because I am a teacher

Hi Crayons

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum

Now you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.

I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.

Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.

Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation.

Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.

In regards to driving, LL26 did a very good post on this subject which I pinned to the forum; benefitsandwork.co.uk/kunena/10-dla-esa-...8543-pip-and-driving

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

For the CRMR1 form to initiate your MR; www.gov.uk/government/publications/chall...ork-and-pensions-dwp

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gary

Hi Crayons

I'm sorry that you find yourself in this position. Unfortunately, conditions like ADHD are underresearched, especially in adulthood so I am not surprised that your assessor had little or no understanding of how it impacts on you. When you submit your MR, you can also include information from the NHS website www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-...order-adhd/symptoms/ and the website they recommend aadduk.org/.

My advice is not just to copy and paste several pages about ADHD and leave them to read it and make up their own mind - you want to actually refer them to specific points which back up what you have told them about your difficulties and make sure you are referring to the specific PIP criteria. So for example you may say something like:

"As already stated in my form, I have difficulty in preparing a simple meal, because I lack the concentration to prepare and cook a meal from start to finish. As the NHS website points out "having a short attention span and being easily distracted," (see additional page no X) is a common symptom of people with ADHD and this is something I suffer from. I forget what recipe I am following or miss out a key ingredient, or I put vegetables onto boil and then forget them which has led to a fire... This happened so frequently that I was becoming a danger to myself and my partner now cooks six days out of seven. The assessor has said she saw no evidence of cognitive impairment, but I have given numerous examples where I have and this is all part of the condition."

Obviously, what I have written is totally made up - very wordy and perhaps a bit over the top - but I hope you get what I'm trying to say. You do it in your own style with your own examples, but if they just read about the ADHD they won't necessarily link it back to the PIP criteria - so you have to do it for them.

The fact that you are a teacher does not mean that you don't have a cognitive impairment - and you need to say if it takes you two or three times as long to do things, do you avoid conversations with colleagues because you're tired, do you find yourself getting overwhelmed because of the noise at work.. have school made any adaptations for you...etc etc.

I hope that you have informed the DVLA - that you drive - because if you haven't and you keep fighting the DWP on this - they are likely to do so. Now you are allowed to drive and have ADHD - but obviously, there is a possible safety issue if you suffer from impulsivity. I only mention it because a couple of our members have found that the DWP has written to the DVLA and said they shouldn't be driving when they have challenged their award. You are allowed to claim PIP and drive. Indeed they are not supposed to discriminate against you, and they are supposed to look at your ability to navigate outside of the house - so some people drive because they couldn't cope with public transport or walking.

I hope this helps a bit. As Gary said - the assessor is offering an opinion and that's all it is - but it hurts when you have been so misunderstood.

BIS