Distance ? Mobility

Yadnad

tina1888 said:

@Topkitten ive just had my comment deleted for standing up for u. So i will send u a hug.
Its a pity @Yadnad horrible unhelpful messages are not deleted so quickly. 
Maybe they admin?

Hi, I presume you are referring to my comments addressed to topkitten?
I sometimes put myself in the mindset of an assessor/tribunal which is what I have tried to do with topkitten. If I have picked up on what she said it is more than possible that both the assessor and a tribunal will do the same.

Tigermoth42

@Topkitten I get where you’re coming from totally. I suffer from extreme social anxiety so public transport - trains, buses, taxis - are out of the question. I think perhaps people don’t understand that, getting in your car and driving is like being in a safe place, having to interact with strangers is not an easy thing at all. 

Pippa_Alumni

Hi everyone, please do take note of our community guidelines and make sure any comments are made about content, not individual contributors: see this recent post for more information. All comments on the forum are overseen by moderators and any which violate our guidelines will be handled as seen appropriate. 

tina1888

@Tigermoth42 i totally agree. Its something that is so difficult to describe to someone who doesnt have a clue what you are on about.
I feel safe in my car. Its not a mobility car but if i didnt have my car i would be housebound a lot of the time.

Tigermoth42

Hello @tina1888 hope you’re ok today my lovely. I totally agree with your comments, I feel safe in mine too - on the rare occasions that I drive. Mental health problems are so difficult to describe, if you don’t suffer then I can totally get that it’s hard to understand, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been told to ‘pull myself together’ or ‘it’s all in your head’ xx

Jaytbm1

@Tigermoth42, I have had my bundle so looks like I am going to Court ??

Jaytbm1

@tina1888, I don’t believe @Yadnad meant any harm . The DWP will use anything to say that you are fit to drive therefore you are alright. I think that is what they were saying to me , even though my physical disability means I can’t always drive or walk . They are looking for anything to stop you getting the full amount. My specialist wrote 3 letters for me stating she supported my claim and I was not able to walk . The response was , you didn’t say how far !!!!! . They also said my cognitive ability was fine , when I have never said it was . I think we need to know what we are dealing with , these people are not Doctors and just go on a short assessment on 1 50 minute interview . So I understand about driving but sadly they look upon that as positive for you , even if it means you can’t get out without it . My car has gone back and am waiting, nervously I might add for my court date . I wish you all the best in your claim . They try to trip you up in all sorts of ways . Hope I have made some sense. Xx

tina1888

@Jaytbm1 if this was an isolated comment i coukd agree with u but its not. They were very negative on my post to and tbh left me feeling like ****. 
Like i was less of a person that i was failing etc etc. To me this is somewhere you come to feel safe. Not for peopke to pretend they are assesors and eat away at what you say. 

Jaytbm1

@Tigermoth42, so happy that you have had a result you deserve. Let’s hope that the DWP is starting to understand the complexity of the forms , and the diffferent and complex disability that we all suffer from . It seems that just ticking boxes is not fit for purpose. So happy for you , it gives hope to us all xx

Jaytbm1

I understand @tina1888 , I feel useless and worthless with all of the complicated msgs sometimes . I am sorry you feel this way, it’s what the DWP want I feel. No body knows your illness like you do . Hope you get some support and your claim is awarded . We should be fighting the DWP not each other . Sending hugs xxx

poppy123456

@tina1888 i find the ignore button extremely useful sometimes. Also if you're not happy with a comment made then flag it and report it. Admin will then deal with it. Hope this helps x

susan48

This driving issue really annoys me.

We are asked if we drive and if we can or do drive are penalised for that but why have mobility schemes and mobility cars etc????

I have social anxiety, depression and FND and do have a driving licence but don’t own a car. I do have access to an automatic vehicle though.

I drive to visit my Mum maybe 3 times per month.

I was asked at Appeal about driving etc and when I last drove.

My point is why have awards for mobility etc and yet we are made to feel like frauds, liars when they think we are all “fine” because we can drive.

Rant over 

april123

To all of you waiting I'm sending hugs and don't give in or up there is always someone here to understand what you are going through. Although we all have different health or disabilities that we may not understand we can still support each other.

tina1888

@susan48 absolutely brilliant point.

Yadnad

susan48 said:

This driving issue really annoys me.

We are asked if we drive and if we can or do drive are penalised for that but why have mobility schemes and mobility cars etc????

I have social anxiety, depression and FND and do have a driving licence but don’t own a car. I do have access to an automatic vehicle though.

I drive to visit my Mum maybe 3 times per month.

I was asked at Appeal about driving etc and when I last drove.

My point is why have awards for mobility etc and yet we are made to feel like frauds, liars when they think we are all “fine” because we can drive.

Rant over 

This is precisely what I have been saying for quite a while now.

I fully understand why you are feeling this way.

As I have said before the individual who dreamt up this argument  is extremely talented. 
When you look at it logically the energy, effort, knowledge and mental capacity that is needed by drivers on the roads today would or should make it impossible for any disabled person who suffers from a mental or physical or both condition(s) to actually drive and be safe.
Then your comments about using a Motability car flies in the face of that argument.
I don't know what the answer is other than to try and demonstrate that being disabled and driving is quite possible.

Maybe Mike [removed by moderator] has an answer that he could share with us? It would be extremely useful if only to force the DWP to give up with their current witch hunt of drivers.

Matilda

I was asked at tribunal about my driving.  Tribunals and assessors think that capacity to do a lot of driving indicates a low level of daily living needs (not a low level of mobility needs of course).  Energy, stamina, manual dexterity.  I said that I only make a few short car journeys a week as I find driving long distances tiring.  I was awarded enhanced both components.

april123

@tina1888 hope you ok xx did you say long you have been waiting for bungle from DWP was it 4 months if so ring court up and check if they have

Topkitten

Far from being a bad driver I have found that I have become a much better driver since becoming disabled and often sit there thinking just how bad another persons manoeuvre was. I used to exceed my capabilities at times as most drivers do but now I never do because I have to constantly be aware of my limitations.

TK

Topkitten

Yadnad said:

Topkitten said:

I currently have a motobility vehicle because driving is mostly not a problem thanks to cruise control but, if the decision goes badly and I lose it, I cannot replace it if I have to appeal as I cannot use taxi's due to MH issues and no one helps me.

Are you saying that you cannot be driven by car due to mental health difficulties yet are so mentally alert and physically able to drive a car even if it is an automatic one?
Using the cruise control function is only best used on long distance driving where the road is clear and open.
To use it in any other way is a nightmare in that the foot brake cancels it and then you have to put it back on watching all of the time that the speed it is set for is suitable for the road conditions that you find yourself in.

I suffer Agoraphobia which, unlike most people think, is not a fear of open spaces. The factual definition is "A fear of panic attacks caused by the environment". In my case I an terrified of strangers and strange places. Whilst I have absolutely no problem being in a car on my own, so long as it isn't a strange car, put me in the back of a strange car or any other vehicle with a strange person driving and I curl up into a ball and cry and panic for the entire duration. I also hyperventilate which, if the journey is too far, becomes a major issue as well ending up with me blacking out. I have had to condition myself and use major control and pretences, self delusions, just to be able to use ambulances. I pretend to myself that I have known the crew for ages, which has actually been true in a couple of cases, and then talk incessantly so that I don't have time to think. I have some of the same issues letting more than one person at a time into my home and I pretend that the uniform is the person. This works ok for the ambulance crews and police that seem to turn up regularly but not very well for MH representatives who really should know better but still turn up 2 or 3 at a time and end with me being in a complete mess and them leaving before they intended. This has happened a few times yet they never bother to record and / or read such details.

As for cruise control..... controls for it are on the steering wheel and I can flip it on or off with my thumbs which, as I'm sure you are aware, aren't really used much for normal driving unless you have really poor grip. I get round my reduced grip issues by wearing finger-less gloves that provide additional grip.

The day that I cannot believe in my own competence I will stop driving and move into assisted accommodation. However, any passengers I take into my car ALWAYS say I am an excellent driver and never even notice my constant usage of cruise control. I will also say that if people used CC more it would reduce speeding incidents but most drivers have little or no patience and will never make use of the possible aids available or accept sticking to speed limits either driving too fast or too slow. In a town like mine with so many older aged people a lack of driving confidence or a lack of proper vision is causing horrendous issues when their slow driving and poor abilities has some more fit driver taking chances so as not to be stuck behind an accident waiting to happen. Poor driving is much more prevalent in aged drivers than amongst the disabled.

TK

Topkitten

@tina1888, I myself cannot always be positive and I do not think that being positive ALL the time is wrong. Sometimes being a little critical in the right way can be helpful especially if what you are saying is factual rather than opinion based. Some people will respond better to the right amount of criticism. However, as you say, it is not always a good thing to ALWAYS be negative.

Personally I am, at heart, a pessimist and sometimes it is better to be so, though I won't go into that here. I can and do say nice things at times but I try to assess whether being positive, negative or neutral is the best way forward in any particular case.

Apologies for sidetracking the original post but I felt a couple of responces were needed.

TK