ESA assessment, driving, computer skills question.

Derek4 wrote:

.....but you may be lucky and have an ADA that carries out a proper WCA, if such a thing exists.

Regards

Derek

I very much doubt it!

It is worth pointing out if concentration ever becomes an issue (say at an appeal) where such things as using a PC or watching TV has been used against you, that even inpatients in psychiatric hospitals watch TV, and attend workshops, and sometimes PC's are available. No one gets discharged on the basis of watching the TV etc.

I watch the TV but often my mind cannot stay with it and it is just 'there'

Sometimes concentration works strabgely, some people seem able to focus on one task of their own volition especially if anxiety driven but cannot follow a TV programme or listen when spoken to

Tasks in descriptors, it requires the functions to be carried out regularly and reliably unless otherwise specified
(such as 'always precluded' in one descriptor for the support group)

If they did it properly, most claimants would be pleased to attend in the knowledge they would likely receive affirmation of their own honesty and deep daily difficulties

Instead, the reputation of ATOS is such that medicals are seen as dangerous to entitlement and steal hope and a sense of security away from us

Can I just say a big thank you to all who have contributed to this thread and from the general concensus of opinion I think I can now safely assume that I am completely and utterly screwed.

I think the worst part of all this for me is the feeling that being honest simply isn't good enough, we all have to put in Oscar winning performances in order to qualify for a benefit which we are rightly entitled to and in my case, can barely survive upon.

I have a front tooth missing and wear a plate and it's crossed my mind that in order to look more 'unemployable' I should remove said plate and take on a 'Deliverance' kind of appearance for my assessment! I shouldn't have to think like that, I should know that if I'm honest and tell them like it is, I should be treated fairly and with an open mind but we all know that aint gonna happen.

Having mental problems which I have in abundance shouldn't have to mean I'm next in the food chain to a cauliflower! I have an agile brain which in some ways is a good thing but largely it works against me leading me to into the shady areas of obsessive thinking and anxiety. Most of the time I'm a complete mess and lie on my living room floor in a near state of terror but I have no partner, no significant other, nobody I can ask to collect my medication and I really wouldn't expect my Doctor to make house calls everytime a new manifestation of my condition appears, so my choice is simple, drive once in a blue moon or perish, I choose to drive however arduous the experience is.

I am a 56 year old man with mental and physical problems coming out of my ears (and other orifices!) nobody in their right mind would ever employ me but because Cameron's band of henchmen need to get the numbers down I am being forced to go through this extreme torture knowing that the examiner's sole objective is to get another one off the list. I want to be honest but under these circumstances I know I have to think of worst case scenarios, I have to exaggerate and embelish, all of which is making me feel like a fraud, which I most definitely am not.

By virtue of it's very existence, everybody who contributes to this forum can use a computer, do people just lie at their assessments? "A computer you say, nah! never even heard of 'em". Some days I can be really productive with a PC, other times I just lie here obsessively refreshing pages without any aim or specific purpose but to the powers that be.....he can use a computer, he's perfectly able to go to work every day.

I'm flippin' petrified now, I should have lied on my ESA50, I should have written the form out in scrawly handwriting and dropped food all over it because that's what nutters do innit? I should have said that my Doctor makes housecalls and that my next door neighbour picks my drugs up for me, anything rather than be honest because that doesn't get you anywhere it would appear.

I have written extensively in my ESA50 about how infrequently I drive and that I always end up panicking at my destination, the advice I received from MIND and the CAB said that admission shouldn't jeopardise my claim unduly, in fact the CAB lady said "if they refuse you I will be most angry and appeal straight away" but sadly I do not share her optimism.

Why does my driving once in a blue moon and the fact that I can use a PC when I'm feeling vaguely industrious mean I am capable of holding down a regular job? when in reality, if I were forced into a working environment I know I would spend most of my time either climbing the walls or locked in the lavatory?

I'm in a right jam here, how the hell can I answer questions relating to those activities honestly without blowing myself completely out of the water? or is it too late to redeem myself?

Charlie.

Hi Charlie

I'm sorry if the replies to this thread have caused you alarm, but I'm afraid that in reality the WCA is an unfair assessment, poorly applied by computer software and DWP decision making.

You were absolutely correct to complete your ESA50 honestly and accurately, giving full details of you disability and frequency of your driving and it would be correct to do the same at the face-to-face assessment. Leave the exaggerating to Atos!

Of course honesty does not win you a fair assessment that's not driven by the LiMA software, but at least you know that if Atos or the DWP ignore what you have written on your ESA50 it will be much harder for them to justify an adverse decision to an appeal tribunal so you have an altogether better chance of success.

I don't think you should feel that you are in a right jam simply because of what amounts to very limited abilities, albeit using a computer, or feel that you need to redeem yourself. Don't forget that if you can't perform an activity reliably and repetitively you generally should score points for that activity.

If you are not awarded ESA you can appeal the decision with the help from your CAB advisor and claim ESA at assessment rate, as well as making a new claim.

Good luck

Derek