Pip engaging with others question
I have been in receipt of Pip for a few years and I am due a telephone assessment in a few days. I have had several health issues for a very long time including mixing/engaging with other people. I was originally only awarded 2 points for this activity but it should be far higher but I was afraid to challenge the decision at the time in case I lost the Daily living award altogether. If I have to go to a doctors appointment for example it causes me overwhelming distress sitting around other people in the waiting room being stared at and i will have an internal meltdown and start having panic attack palpitations, going bright red etc to the point when i will have to get up and leave or end up having a confrontation with other people in the waiting room. I have no friends or family to accompany me so i have to attend these appointments alone so my question is how do i explain this to the assessor? As soon as they hear I go on my own they will immediately say that I’m fine and don’t need anyone to accompany me and don’t need social support etc. I’ve been reading that they will start with the trick questions Could you get a taxi on your own etc etc to try to cheat me out of scoring the points, I feel I should be awarded 8 points for this activity. I have had numerous counselling sessions with different mental health professionals over the last 25+ years but the most recent one came to a stop around 10 months ago with no more sessions offered so I don’t currently have a health care professional supporting me. I’m not very good with putting my problems into words so I’m afraid whatever I say I will not be taken seriously. Every time I have had to apply for a disability benefit I have had to appeal and appeal again and I just haven’t got the mental energy for it so I’d be grateful of any advice. Thanks
Comments
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Hey @knucklehead, this is a pretty common one that is quite difficult to get across to assessors and decision makers. Because they can go "well you did it, so you must be fine", but that isn't all they're supposed to take into account.
You can talk about the distress it causes, the panic attacks. They are supposed to take that into account even IF you do the task. You can also talk about how it leaves you drained for the rest of the day, as I imagine anyone undergoing panic attacks would feel afterwards. That means that the rest of your entire day is affected, which would not be the same for someone who was not affected this way.
These are the kinds of things you should be saying, it's best done when you have a real life example to give them. For example, how did you feel the last time you went to a GP appointment? Were there other things you wanted to do that day that you were then unable to do because of the GP appointment? How long did you have to take to go to the GP appointment, including having to prepare/prep yourself to cope with the stress and panic attacks.
These are all things that will help with this criteria! I hope this helps explain a little about what to say. If they try to rush you through or just demand a "yes or no" answer, don't settle! How are they supposed to properly assess you if they don't let you answer?
Let me know if you have any other questions about this, I'll try to answer as best I can. The assessment and the whole process isn't easy, but hopefully we can get you there.
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Hi, thank you for taking the time out to reply. ill take on board what you said and hopefully they will understand that just because i do go to places on my own its because i have no choice not because i want to. And hopefully they will see unavoidable appointments as a form of prompting.
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Hi this is an assessment following a review form which was completed just under a year ago. I have kept a copy of my form and have been going through my answers and a couple of my conditions have actually deteriorated slightly over the past year. My head is spinning with anxiety going through what to expect on the assessment review but I have highlighted some relevant sections to refer to. I am going to request to record the call for my own records also.
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Hi all. so i had my PIP telephone assessment a couple of weeks ago and had the result yesterday. My main issue is mixing with other people it causes me great distress and i avoid it at all costs. I was awarded 2 points on activity 9 engaging with others face to face but i literally think i should have been awarded at least 4 points for this activity, please see what i wrote earlier in the post. I scored 10 points in total for the Daily Living component. I am considering doing a MR to challenge descriptor 9 score 2 points but i am worried i might lose points if i do this. Can i request that one descriptor be reconsidered or will they look at my whole claim again and reassess it?
Thanks
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Heya @knucklehead sorry to hear you didn't get awarded the points you should have. Unfortunately that happens a lot. With MRs, they will look at the whole claim again, not just the one descriptor. I'd suggest doing the MR in writing, do not ask for one over the phone. Just say how many points you feel you should be awarded to each descriptor that applies to you, with real world examples and you should be ok. 😊
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Being around people is so very difficult many times
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Thank you for advice i will do that 🙂
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