Pip OCD and cleaning food packaging

Hi S Knows

I doubt they will consider wipes an aid, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't mention them as an essential part of your rituals.

BIS

Hi S Knows,
I'm not sure that you can say that a cleaning wipe will be an aid, however the fact that you have to use them, and have various rituals that you need to perform may well confirm that you can not not do PIP descriptor taks within a reasonable time. 'Reasonable Time' is one of the so-called 'reliability' criteria set down in Regulation 4(2A) PIP Regs. 2013 - this means taking no more than twice that of a non-disabled person. So, for example lets say it normally takes 5 minutes to peel and chop a potato, but due to any rituals etc it takes you 20 minutes, then you would fail to be within a the 'reasonable time', and should then be eligible to receive points according to the level of your disability. Now, if for example your health problem was arthritic hands, it could easily be argued that some sort of kitchen gadget might be sufficient, or if you were also prone to injury because you lacked grip, then you could argue supervision is required.
You will need to think about what sort of help could help you overcome the OCD and keep you within a proper time frame.
Maybe there could be a gadget, (I'm not sure what, remember that it doesn't have to be a recognised kitchen aid, it can be something improvised or repurposed that helps just you.) Otherwise it could be someone prompting you, maybe gently encouraging you to proceed without the rituals, or alternatively it maybe you need actual assistance or supervision. However, it is always possible that no gadget or human intervention of any kind will enable yourself to fulfil the cooking process in a reasonable time, then you could argue that you should receive 8 points - Descriptor 1f because you 'cannot prepare and cook food'.
Think also about safety, whether you can fulfil PIP tasks to an acceptable standard. Additionally, and this may overlap with reasonable time - can you 'repeat' across the whole day for as many times as is reasonably required. So, usually I would say a maximum of 3 'cooking repeats' would be required per day. (But if you ordinarily cook 4 times, or perhaps have a medical condition requiring several meals per day, then it could be more.) So, if the first cooking task takes so long that you have missed lunch time then perhaps you can not 'repeat'. Think also that it may be the combined effect of all tasks that prevent 'repeating'. If it takes you a long time to get up, get washed, get dressed then clearly this will then have an effect on other PIP tasks you need to do later in the day, and it then means tasks are not done within the day due to lack of time.
Each task has it's own repetition rate - so for toilet needs - this might be say 5 or 6 times per day - but with incontinence this is likely to increase. You might need to perform a reading task throughout the day, so say from 7am to 11pm (but it's unlikely you will need to do this at nightime.) However communication is likely to be required 24/7. - Each required 'repeat' has to be done safely, to an acceptable standard and within a reasonable time - otherwise, unless it is for a very insignificant amount of time you will fail the legal test and will fail to 'repeat'.
I'm afraid this is rather complicated! Nevertheless, I'm hoping that this may offer a bit of insight as to different ways to explain your disabilities.
I hope this helps.

LL26