Whole families on UC, PIP, DLA and carers' allowance for each other?

Not for having high functioning asd or adhd. How does having a mental health or pain condition cost that? There’s a likelyhood that I may end up in a wheelchair, I have a blue badge. I get meds free and get physio from nhs. I have bought a cane but what else would it cost me?

The point is there is many like this and I didn’t realise it until I worked in relation to benifits and know many families too. My main issue is having a better disposal income than those who work. I don’t understand why that’s so offensive. I’ve got a disability and so does my child, I work but even when I needed to be on benifits I did not think I should be better off than those working. Again this will not apply to many with severe disabilities so that’s not who I am talking about and people are getting offended when I am not meaning them

Very difficult, and I am glad it isnt my job. But it must be done.

Being deaf you have to pay for hearing aid batteries for example. But any aids are usually free.

There are other aids that some people with a hearing impairment need. For example, adapted smoke detectors, adapted security alarm, adapted doorbell, adapted alarm clock, speech to text software… Some have to spend more on microsuctioning. Some need to pay for care in order to be able to interact with parts of the everyday life.

Mental health issues that mean you rarely go out might require taxis to gp apps and ready meals.

There can be other costs. For example, some people with mental health conditions need have higher utility bills because e.g. they can’t regulate their temperature so need more heating and in the summer more fans/AC &/or they can sometimes have higher water bills. If they can’t go out, they might need the heating on for longer during the day than those who do go out. If they can’t go out, they may have the costs of deliveries and returns. Some people with mental health conditions aren’t able to shop around for the best deals/tariffs because of their mental health conditions. Some people with mental health conditions might need to pre-chopped vegetables or easy cook foods/microwave meals or have sensory related food difficulties. They might pay privately for more therapy.

Your second paragraph shows how ridiculous this has become. Lots of people are temperature sensitive and struggle in the cold or heat. It's really common and really impacts a high number of people. Most of my In Laws are like this and my DH. I assume it's genetic.

Lots of people can't or don't shop around for the best deals online. Again my in laws can't do this. They don't have online deliveries but go into town everything and pay for parking and petrol. They also eat expensive ready meals as they don't like to cook and find it a faff.

They aren't necessarily costs associated with disability. It's all normal human variation. Virtually all of us have quirks and expensive habits or limitations. My sister for example isn't confident driving so will have to get a taxi if it's far away and isn't served by public transport. Very few people are living the cheapest possible lives.

I am the we.
Most people get what they need from the NHS. Ask for a care needs assessment, wheelchair assessment etc. Some smaller aids are not provided such as sock aids and you absolutely can buy them from Amazon.
Specialist wheelchairs to play sport or go off road are expensive. But only a small proportion of disabled people need these.

If the NHS won't give you a wheelchair, walker or home aids, then you have been medically assessed as not needing them.

How many of those are people transferring from DLA? I seem to remember there are still adults on DLA

There is an element of taking responsibility for your own issues yourself though.

I have terrible eyesight and would be legally blind without glasses. I still have to pay for my own eye sight checks and glasses. I want contact lenses so that I can live without having the inconvenience of wearing glasses all the time just like people with naturally excellent eyesight. I have to pay for my contact lenses, the solution and the contact lens checks. Are these are costs of a disability? I'm only not disabled by my eyesight because I pay for all these things myself. I think that's fair enough because I have the money to do this and it would cripple the NHS to pay for all this stuff for everyone.

Suddenly though when PIP is mentioned there seems to be a concept that nobody should be financially disadvantaged by their disability or health when we know that virtually everyone in society is struggling with expensive health related issues all the time. People paying a fortune at the dentist because they need loads of fillings. People paying for specialist shoes. People paying for physiotherapists as the NHS list is insanely long. The list goes on and on.

I haven't come across an adult on DLA for a few years. I know they paused the migration during the pandemic, but if there are still people on DLA, I don't think there can be that many.

This shows you don’t understand the scope of ASD, ADHD, mental health conditions and pain conditions.

Many absolutely don’t get regular, ongoing physio on the NHS, and no, it’s not because they don’t need it. Some who get physio don’t get other therapies that benefit them and have been recommended by the NHS e.g. hydrotherapy (which is even more limited on the NHS than physio). Some who get physio on the NHS don’t get equipment that said NHS physio has recommended and agrees would be very helpful e.g. exercise bike, trampoline, innowalk…

Many with chronic pain have higher utility bills. Some pay for regular sports massages in order to be able to move. Some pay for regular acupuncture because the NHS in their area only offers a set number of sessions. Some pay for equipment/aids at home not provided by the NHS but absolutely needed and supported by NHS professionals.

ASD absolutely can cost money. Not all who need therapies e.g. SALT, OT, CP get them via the NHS. Some people fund these privately. There are other costs that can be associated e.g. higher food costs, higher utility costs, higher clothing costs, higher transport costs, sensory equipment, replacing household furniture, more specialist activities, costs of pre-action letters to force the LA to comply with their statutory duties, costs of independent assessments for EHCP appeals… Similar for ADHD.

Means testing isnt expensive any more. Its all digital. It isnt done because it is unpopular.

I agree though - there needs to be something done, as diagnosis’ increase through increased awareness (eg more children going through the process for autism and adhd, which often leads to their parents being diagnosed as adults as it’s genetic), the number of claims will only increase. I just have no idea how you filter through 🤷‍♀️

In the case of caring hours though they already assess that in the dla application?!

Well I have adhd, my child is autistic. I do assessments and have worked in mental health for years! My conditions have caused me to be unable to work for years at a times and I worry my child may be unable to manage work due to poor executive functioning but I will do what ever I can to support him into work instead of saying, you have autism, work will be hard so just claim benifits. I absolutely know how this can impact daily living, some worse than others. My sibling is autistic and on benifits my other has a disability but still working but claims pip due to the increased costs of her condition. again i am not talking about these people. There’s people I know who do not spend any of this money in relation to there disability or to help themselves. Again all my point was I do not think people should be worse off if they work. I don’t think that’s such a radical offensive opinion!

Oh no, I was referring to your comment about prescriptions.

I’m similar. I am desperately trying to find a job that works around DD and DH. No one wants flexible employees though. I previously worked in a school who had zero flexibility.
DH (normally works FT) isn’t able to drive at the moment and had 6 appointments this week, all over the place. DD has one and I have to go into school to sort more issues. DH could take a taxi but he needs some physical help as well.
Im sure people think that I’m just hanging about a lot of the time, because I am. Part of being a carer is also about being available.

My mum worked in disabled children’s respite care in the 70s/80s. Children regularly came for the weekend, few days etc, some children came every week. This doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Instead parents can access money to employ someone to help, judging by parents I know this seems almost impossible. So much of the care has been pushed back to parents to do/organise., but also makes it much harder for them to work.

How will the PIP money help you?

In regards to prescriptions then they should means test if it’s easy and free to do

Your second paragraph shows how ridiculous this has become. Lots of people are temperature sensitive and struggle in the cold or heat. It's really common and really impacts a high number of people. Most of my In Laws are like this and my DH. I assume it's genetic.

Lots of people can't or don't shop around for the best deals online. Again my in laws can't do this. They don't have online deliveries but go into town everything and pay for parking and petrol. They also eat expensive ready meals as they don't like to cook and find it a faff.

They aren't necessarily costs associated with disability. It's all normal human variation. Virtually all of us have quirks and expensive habits or limitations. My sister for example isn't confident driving so will have to get a taxi if it's far away and isn't served by public transport. Very few people are living the cheapest possible lives.

This isn't a bashing, rather a genuine observation and we're privileged in the UK to have support with benefits and disabilities.

Having adopted 2 siblings with special needs over a decade ago it opened me up to a whole new world to me. With DC in specialist schools and needing a lot of intervention from agencies and medical support I've met so many parents and children. As a teacher this was so insightful and, while having always been extra devoted to students who had difficulties, my own experience as a parent took it to another level.

Teaching, I was always aware and sympathetic to those who barely made it to lesson, almost fell asleep but professionally had to adhere to the 'not participating' and when told to 'fuck off' it was call out. I knew there would be further investigation as to why they act like this by more able and senior colleagues. Didn't take it personally but, as you can imagine, it's difficult when you have several students like this while under the pressure of teaching a tricky maths part of the syllabus.

So as a parent of ND DC I experienced it from the other side. It was very difficult because our DC were causing disruptions due to their severe diagnosis.

Throughout our journey and specialist schools I saw a lot of reality. This comes (finally) back to my point. Year after year it became blatantly obvious that the vast majority of children have parents with their own issues, whether hereditary or learnt behaviour.

I got a job at the primary school as a liason officer so met most parents. All lovely and care about their DC but sadly struggled with managing themselves, their homes etc. Those few who weren't eligible for taxis and escorts (walkable distance) relied heavily on GPs to take and pick up from school. There were some parents who did drive and drop off, like me, but it was about 5%.

So mostly the parents were on UC, claimed PIp for anxiety and MH, got DLA for all DC and also carers' allowance for looking after DC. While i visited it was clear they were were reclusive, their days were spent watching TV, gaming, DC picked up in a taxi and they had struggled to get out of bed, knew they are provided breakfast at school, went back to bed. Yes I've seen this on an early morning visit multiple times.

I understand but also a part of me felt frustrated that they had fallen into a rut, able bodied, could have long conversations, but have had so much support that has enabled this.

As a school we reached out to parents to come and integrate, provided workshops, held informal educational classes how we can help our DC. As a parent and before being employed there I attended these and it so nice to meet other parents. The reality... they just sat there, being served coffee by an already busy TA, talked all the way through the presentations then left, after already leaving several times for a smoke during an hour and half get together. Still as an attending parent at this point I could see TA was struggling so stepped in to help serve the refreshments, set up equipment and clear up afterwards. One Mum asked me to open a window, another asked to give her some biscuits...I was the same as them, a parent, but they were just totally oblivious to the situation.

Then walking out, having cleaned up and they were chatting outside, all I heard was that was so boring, I know how to bring up my kids, waste of time coming out, so what you doing now, probably Netflix.

Then getting the role and seeing deeper into their lifestyles it confirmed that actually so many of these parents had come from a generational cycle with low aspirations and no encouragement within modern education, social workers or support from us all could change their mindsets of behaviour. Sadly it really is a case of we get money, DC have their consoles, school provides meals and exercise, bags of amazing stuff at Christmas and end of year which we don't even say thank you for, we can complain online if we don't like something etc.

This is just the basic circumstances, delve deeper and you would be shocked at how some of these poor kids live. A whole different thread would have to be made about drug dealing, violence, not allowing DC in the house so they have to become one of the balaclava gangs and so much more.

As parents, even if we have our own issues, we all need to put our DC first, not rely on others to do it for us.

And yet your posts still include such utter rubbish.

PIP isn’t an out of work benefit. If someone in work had the same circumstances they too can be in receipt of PIP.

I dont agree that is the stance though.

The majority of disabled people do not claim pip. I would say the social expectation is that this is the case, and people are responsible for themselves.

I think the stance is if you have these specific care, mobility or communication needs at these set levels we are going to give you some financial support on the basis that those needs generally lead to much higher costs. It is not the intention that this covers all of the higher costs of s didability and that there is still an element of responsibility built into the awards.

People take the maximum award, given for the most severely disabled and then apply it as if all people get that level award so believe it massively more than being disabled costs as they envisage a disability that may actually be recieving £30 a week which goes on one taxi trip to a gp but that disabled person is still paying all thise other costs someone who doesnt meet the threshold has.

(The eyesight example isnt great as you cant be legally blind if you dont wear your glasses as the definition of legally blind is the level sight with correction not without. Vouchers are available for people with very complex lenses to help with the cost (and for people on certain poverty benefits). My brother is entitled to a complex lens voucher due to a prism and he earns well.

for everyone I have dealt with their rent is covered