I am 51 yrs old and was officially diagnosed with severe adult adhd last year. — Scope | Disability forum
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I am 51 yrs old and was officially diagnosed with severe adult adhd last year.

Sonny5000
Sonny5000 Community member Posts: 31 Connected
edited March 2023 in PIP, DLA, and AA
Hi I am 51 yrs old and was officially diagnosed with severe adult adhd last year.My therapist and thanks to my months of research saved my life as my life is no way perfect still have many issues but I got rewarded and recognition by obtaining pip after realising I can legally apply and I did once I did a lot of homework and research.

Comments

  • Sonny5000
    Sonny5000 Community member Posts: 31 Connected
    My name is Tracey 
  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,007 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Sonny5000 - Welcome to this very supportive community, Tracey. Thank you for joining. Well done you for researching: something I've also done for my genetic disorder. To do it properly, it does take a lot of time & perseverance, doesn't it? Congratulations too on your PIP award, which is very good to hear!
    Please have a look around here & join in any discussions. You will probably meet people with all sorts of different problems, but we help & care for each other.
  • Sonny5000
    Sonny5000 Community member Posts: 31 Connected
  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 10,821 Scope online community team
    Hello @Sonny5000 and welcome to the community. How are you today?
    Community Manager
    Scope
  • Sonny5000
    Sonny5000 Community member Posts: 31 Connected
    I would like to add some personal advice on my experience when I received pip the first time.I was diagnosed with severe adult ADHD at 50 years old and also had a code of ICD10 F9.Little did I know before I researched to apply for pip that the code is a hidden gem and certainly helps you when applying.I researched every part of criteria needed to obtain pip as it’s actually called Hyperkinetic disease in the pip world and took my eight months of extensive research to match up all that was in my therapy paperwork which had all the necessary criteria for me to get 13 points standard rate.That code is very powerful in many ways once you Google it and it should be used in every county as a classification in itself meaning my ADHD is in severe mode scoring 98 per cent.I then applied for pip and months later received it first time they also wrote this is the best information we could ever expect to receive.I do have all the daily issues though but it’s very possible to get pip but you have to match up all the nine parts of criteria which is all online and thorough research is needed.I’m sure the code helped so use your official paperwork as well.Hope this helps.
  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 743 Connected
    Sonny5000 said:
    I then applied for pip and months later received it first time they also wrote this is the best information we could ever expect to receive.I do have all the daily issues though but it’s very possible to get pip but you have to match up all the nine parts of criteria which is all online and thorough research is needed.I’m sure the code helped so use your official paperwork as well.Hope this helps.
    I thought that when applying for PIP you had to tell your story and then let the assessor/DWP match it up with the relevant descriptors? That is what I did but it took a couple of applications to get there.
    Doing it your way of going through each descriptor and looking for a reason why it would apply seems a little contrived to me.
  • FrankV
    FrankV Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    Hi all, I was also a late comer at 48 when I was diagnosed and managed to succeed in being approved for PIP. However, the application form is not designed for people with mental health related issues in terms of getting the right scores, but you must be persistent and even if you add a supporting document detailing just how badly your mental health affects you on a daily basis, you should get PIP. I also had severe trouble with my previous employer where I suffered physical and mental abuse to the point where I was actually dismissed for taking photographic evidence. Anyway long story, I had great difficulty with Universal Credit etc and my "work coaches" were seriously bad that I faced several episodes of mental abuse from them, but eventually I was also successful in my work capability assessment and now no longer have to face the dreaded scrutiny from UC too often. Unfortunately these situations have to be reviewed over time and my PIP review was declined and I had to fight to restore it, who know whats in store for when my work capability runs out. But anyone who is trying to get help must persevere! The application processes for these benefits is so degrading, humiliating and not least seriously difficult, how they expect people to cope with this alone is shameful. Onwards and upwards, just keep trying, stay positive and be strong for yourself. Don't give up!!!
    Please do NOT signpost me to the general charities which include MIND or SAMARITANS etc for help because that is a trigger for my anxiety. I know you mean well, but everyone is different and it just does not work for me, I've tried. 
  • Sonny5000
    Sonny5000 Community member Posts: 31 Connected
    Hi this is to the two codggers comment I’m not sure what u mean by my way of applying to pip was contriving? I was just saying that in 2018 it was very hard to get adult adhd pip and if I did not do as I said I would not have got it because many have not so due to my constant researching for my life in different areas I had to prove it by these nine parts of criteria which my paperwork was severe and my code proved it as they only give u a code of ICD 10F9 if you score very high and back then was when I started to also have to learn my rights and my treatment which is still left untreated my life is basically not worth living this way and the rest of quotes under different titles speak about this,
  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 743 Connected
    Sonny5000 said:
    Hi this is to the two codggers comment I’m not sure what u mean by my way of applying to pip was contriving? I was just saying that in 2018 it was very hard to get adult adhd pip and if I did not do as I said I would not have got it because many have not so due to my constant researching for my life in different areas I had to prove it by these nine parts of criteria which my paperwork was severe and my code proved it as they only give u a code of ICD 10F9 if you score very high and back then was when I started to also have to learn my rights and my treatment which is still left untreated my life is basically not worth living this way and the rest of quotes under different titles speak about this,
    I'll give you an example of what I did when applying. I looked at my medication one by one. When I came to one particular drug I explained what it was and why I have to take it. Principally my body will not break down any food I eat - no enzymes are produced naturally. I can eat and drink normally and without any difficulty.   The DWP decided that I need a therapeutic source to be able to take nutrition and so awarded 2 points.

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