Preparing for assessment (first time)

Leigh14

Hi. I have my telephone assessment very soon, so I’m starting to prepare, in my head and on paper. Never realised how stressful the whole thing is!
So, I’m assuming if I’ve written on the forms that I don’t need help with bathing, cooking etc, then I won’t be questioned on that? Do I need to explain what I do on a daily basis, from the time I wake to going to bed?
How long it takes me to walk 50m? 

If someone could advise please? Thanks.

janer1967

Hi there 

It's not usual to have to go through your daily routine 

They will ask questions around what you have put in your form 

There are no specific questions they ask and some seem obscure but are relevant 

Things like how you get to appointments,  visit family,  how you prepare food , do you have any pets,  do you drive and so on 

Good luck with the assessment and let us know how you get on 

Leigh14

@janer1967, thankyou so much for your reply. I will definitely let you know how I get on, and thankyou for the good luck?

Leigh14

Could I ask another question @janer1967.
If someone scores 4 points for daily living and 8 points for mobility, does that mean together you’d get enhanced rate, or does that mean nothing for daily living? Thanks

calcotti

Leigh14 said:

Could I ask another question @janer1967.
If someone scores 4 points for daily living and 8 points for mobility, does that mean together you’d get enhanced rate, or does that mean nothing for daily living? Thanks

It means nothing for Daily Living and standard for Mobility. the two parts are scored separately.

Full explanation of scoring system here
PIP points system (benefitsandwork.co.uk)

Leigh14

Thankyou for verifying that @calcotti

Caz_Alumni

Just wanted to wish you all the best for your telephone assessment @Leigh14.

Looks like you've already made a good start on getting prepared. Keep in touch if you have any other questions for the community as you're going along. And do let us know how you get on.

Leigh14

Thankyou @Caz_Scope. I feel like I’m getting prepared, then have a read, and think I should change it. A bit like when you’re taking an exam lol.

Harrington

Best of luck i went through this in march and i was nervous and was interviewed for over an hour,i hadn't found this site then i feel it would have helped ease my nerves,please let us know how things go... 

Leigh14

Thankyou @Harrington, that’s really kind of you.
How did your assessment go? Even the thought of an hours interview fills me with dread. 

Harrington

Hi @Leigh14 it went fine really just asked the things that's on the form plus some extras,like do you have pets do you drive and such and even asked if i had any hobbies then i could hear him typing away after i answered,even though i skipped questions on the form that were not relevant to me he asked them anyway so i had to go through them but it didn't take long as i only answered no to those,he asked if i had hand rails on my stairs or a shower then asked how often i washed that sort of thing,i know how you feel i was dreading it i had butterflies in my stomach and while i was on the phone i was allowed to have someone with me which i did have,but wasn't allowed to speak to them but i did it by writing things down to let my carer know what was said or asked as i went along..sneaky me!  but yes it will be fine i know an hour sounds long but it does go before you know it....hope i am of help and reassuring for you even if only a little...

Leigh14

That is definitely of some help @Harrington, so thankyou so much. I’m pleased that they ask questions, even though you answered no too on form. If anything had been missed on forms, I guess if you thought weren’t relevant, they could be I guess. 

That was a good idea of yours to write down what he was saying, so the carer knew also.
Have you heard back from them yet with a decision?

Harrington

@Leigh14 Yes i heard back in 4 weeks though i was told to expect to wait 8 weeks,i got less points than should have been with what i answered but i have since put in an MR and am awaiting to hear back from that, I had the same happen before too and my MR was successful then so hoping it will be this time too, after your assessment you can ask for a copy of the report after a week to see what the assessor has written and it turns out they are not that honest when it comes to it, but no worries you have the chance to correct it with  the MR thankfully...

Leigh14

That’s the part in all of this that I don’t quite understand @Harrington. You’ve already done an MR before, won that, and yet after a review with less points, you now are having to go through the MR process again. They obviously don’t go with previous results.
Must be an incredibly stressful time for you, but well done for not giving up.

Harrington

@Leigh14 Yes it is quite stressful having to prove otherwise all the time but keep going we must, I found a face to face much worse as they make you do all kinds like stand on tip toes(i actually fell over)then ask you to touch your toes and hands in the air it was all pretty weird, in my assessor report they of course never mentioned my fall but said i did it with ease, the reason they gave me hardly any points is because i use a walking stick saying if i can grip a walking stick then i have upper body strength, I mean all odd really as that's why i use it because of weakness so none of it makes sense...

Sweetpea8

If its ok to ask have u had ur assessment if so how did it go what type of questions did they ask I'm worried to mess up again 

Leigh14

Hi @Sweetpea8. It’s absolutely fine to ask about anything, that’s the only way we find out things. Please try not to worry about the assessment, although that’s easier said than done. I was terrified, even though I’d prepared myself.
Mine lasted about one hour 10 mins, but the time went so quickly. The main questions were literally what was on the PIP form. The assessor just went through all of the questions, and I gave examples of how long things took me, what happened when I tried to do them etc. 

They seem to ask other questions, like, ‘do you have any pets, did you go to mainstream school’. 

I wrote things down beforehand, and hi-lighted the main points I wanted to get across. Have a read of your answers on your PIP form to refresh yourself on what you’d written. You can refer back to them during the assessment.
When is your assessment? Is it over the phone or face to face?

Sweetpea8

I think it will be on phone . The 1st time in March I messed up and found it hard to wxain my learning disability to them and they want me to have an appointee. 

And my dad now my appointee the assessment he did as appointee they stopes it as he didn't know stiff about my eyes where I do so they need me and him together 

So hopefully next time it will go better

Leigh14

Good luck with it all @Sweetpea8

[Deleted User]

As you probably found at your assessment they can still ask questions about things you've said you don't need help with because they can help inform other areas both negatively and positively. For example if you've said you don't need any help with bathing or cooking, but that you can't walk more than a few feet they may want a better understanding of how you mobilise in these areas. Lots can be inferred from your answers to certain questions that help inform decisions in others.