Pip assessment walking question query

I was also asked to use my height as an imaginary tape measure after admitting I was very bad a guesstimating distance. But I was also asked if my autistic Son could get on an automated self driving bus if there were no people on it if I gave him a set of directions, so nothing really shocks me

Hi, I've always been asked how far I can walk, and how long it would take and if I'd have to stop and or rest, would i get breathless of suffer pain etc, but I've never been asked simply, how many minutes can you walk for? No matter how far you walk.
So if i walk for 2 mins it wouldnt be relevant if i covered 20 metres or 200 metres, just that id walked for 2 minutes, which can't be right...so I think that's why it threw me, because ive always answered that question with a set frame of reference for distance In mind. For exanple, 2 buses, 4 cars, 6 shopping trolleys etc, ive always had somethinh to measure against. So i could say roughly how long it would far I could walk in relation to 6 buses for example. I might say if there were 6 double decker buses I could walk to the end of the first bus, but I'd need to stop there for a bit and then I could get to bus number 3, but I'd be In too much pain to make it to bus 4, even if I took a break, the pain Would stay for the rest of the day and I couldn't continue. I have no idea how far that is in metres or feet...But if I was to try and convert that into how many minutes could I walk for, I wouldn't know were to begin to translate that. It could be something others could easily do but I was totally lost as to how to answer in time rather than distance. I'm actually intrigued to see what the report says.

Hi Astee, I'm so glad you DID tell her that simply standing causes immediate pain, as this is the same situation for me and is what I stuck, and stuck, and stuck, to, throughout all the pushy questioning. This means that I cannot walk any distance " to an acceptable standard" as the pain is too severe. [ I've got decent medical evidence for my knees and why they cannot be operated on.] Therefore all the distance never mind time part is irrelevant. I too have autism, and I got enhanced x 2.
Hope you do too, they discounted all my autism and ADHD problems with DL but I got enough points for that from the mobility effects on DL, eg, cannot stand to cook, shower etc.

Hi Astee,
I just wanted to add a little context about the timing and "rest" questions. These are actually referred to in the training documents for PIP Assessors, so it is more common than you think.

Firstly, they have a frame of reference for walking distances based on the pace of walking. This is:

Fast: 90 metres/minute
Normal: 60 metres/minute
Slow: 40 metres/minute
Very slow: 30 metres/minute

They then use a formula of "Speed x time = distance"

So, using the example in their training manual, if a claimant says they walk at a slow pace for 4 minutes before needing to rest, they would take that as being able to walk 160 metres, scoring 4 points.

Knowing the pace is key. If the claimant had said they walked at a normal pace for 4 minutes, they would be assumed to be able to walk 240 metres, so would score 0 points.

As for rests, there are two types: a "pause" and a "stop".

Just as Commas are used as brief pauses in a continuous sentence, a brief rest pause while walking (the training manual suggests 30 seconds) would not be viewed as ending that period of walking. So, if you walked 2 minutes, rested for 30 seconds, then walked another 2 minutes, you would be assessed as walking for 4 minutes.

On the other hand, just as Full Stops are used as longer pauses indicating the end of a sentence, a longer rest pause - or "stop" (the training manual suggests 4 minutes) - would be viewed as ending the period of walking. So if you walked 2 minutes, rested 4 minutes, then walked another 2 minutes, you would be assessed as walking for 2 minutes.

There is no cut-off point given in the training manual to differentiate between a "pause" or a "stop" - I guess it would be up to the assessor to decide.

I hope that helps you to understand their thinking process

@Gary Yup. Thanks, I understand how it all works. I've been getting pip for 11yrs or so. I just found some of the questions silly. I got zero points on transfer over but got it reinstated at tribunal. 2points second time, won it back at paper based tribunal, then the last one I got back at MR I did myself. Whole things a farce. The last assessor, a young nurse asked if I spoke on the phone daily to my parents. I said no I so not,mums my carer and is here with me each day so no need, I said I'm not good on calls with anyone, so I rarely if ever use my old mobile. Her reply. "Well you on talking to me now"!... the mind boggles.

@Astee The amount of garbage I've been asked and the twisted reports never shock me. They can't even get my age right. Or that I'm female and not male. Shows how well they check things over. I repeated to her there tines on last assessment how close my sister parks to my door so I don't need to walk far to get to the car for hos appointments, still she said her version over and over again , and put that in the report. Even thought it was recorded, makes little difference.