Attendance Allowance rejected

No you don’t have to wait 6 months. By the time they have received your form and made their decision a couple of months have passed anyway so you can put in a fresh claim anytime.

I think there is a guide to the criteria online which might help. We got a welfare advisor out to do my dads and dad said he was 'fine' she said they all do that so I added some info.

I used the wording from PIP not sure if that helped but he got it, I said if he could not do things e.g. reliably, safely, in good time.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/claiming-attendance-allowance/help-with-attendance-allowance-form/

Questions 26 to 44 ask about your care needs with personal tasks. It's really important that you use the blank boxes to explain if you:

• have difficulty or need someone to help you with personal tasks at least 3 times during the day - for example washing, getting out of bed or getting dressed
• have difficulty or need someone to supervise you throughout the day to make sure you stay safe - for example to stop you falling or to look after you if you have seizures or blackouts
• have difficulty or need someone to help you with personal tasks repeatedly (2 or more times) during the night or just once if it's for 20 minutes or more - for example if you need help getting out of bed, going to the toilet or changing the sheets if you have an accident
• need someone to watch over you or supervise you during the night to make sure you're safe - they need to help you at least 3 times, or just once if it's for 20 minutes or more, for example in case you have a fit while you're asleep, or to stop you falling over if you have to get up

I think you have to wait maybe six months to apply again ? I may be wrong on that but best to check.. The few that we do have turned down, we get them to ring up and ask for an MR. These people generally get a call back within a week or so and most then get awarded it after speaking to a DWP person. It is only if it has to go to appeal that it takes ages. I had one case that was turned down but was awarded at MR within a couple of weeks. It was very evidently a wrong decision though ( Parkinsons etc ).

That is so sad. Yet there we were with Barking and Dangenham Council doing Welfare Checks on people reaching their 80th Birthday. He even completed the form for her, which was one of many he seemed to have.

Also I would just apply again and not bother with an appeal or MR!

I fill hundreds of these form out, think about times too, if she can get herself dressed, does it take longer? Do she have to sit down now, has she altered what she wears to make it easier to get dressed, such a Velcro shoes, stopped using little buttons? Can she get a bra on ok?
When she is walking around is she furniture walking? Shuffling? Walking slower? Need reminding to get up frequently etc? Medication, do you order for her, put it in a dossett box?
if she is washing does it take longer, does she need prompting etc? Does she have grab rails? Does she need a rest afterwards? It’s so hard to think outside the box so don’t beat yourself up! Feel free to message me and ask any questions. I’ve never had a form rejected for someone as yet so think I’ve got it nailed!

Wow! 50 years ago my DM, a wheelchair user in constant pain from the rheumatoid arthritis that effectively killed her, got turned down and had to appeal. She reckoned they turned down everyone to winnow out those who weren’t really serious.

DH's application was successful, as was DM's. We didn't exaggerate, just told it as it is on the worst day. It took a while to remember all the adjustments we had got used to.

Yes, appeal. Take the advice of @Craftycorvid and @Theeyeballsinthesky . Think also about all the little arrangements already made to make life easier and about what she’d be like without them. For example, if you offered no help whatever, not even putting tablets in a 7-day organiser, would she be capable of taken the right meds each day? A useful phrase to remember: A need that is met is still a need.

Don’t second guess whether she’s eligible - that’s for them to decide. But you are entitled to put forward your best evidence, and if there’s any wayto improve what you presented the first time, do it.

Explain when you ask to appeal that your mother managed to hide the letter under piles f stuff and you’ve only just seen it. See if you can wangle an extension.

I’ll say again that the appeals process is long and it would be better to put in a fresh application and get someone to fill the form in for you.
You can wait months and months to even get an appeal date, and if the form hasn’t been filled in well then you could get rejected again.
Just don’t want OP to waste her time.

Nearly 60% of initial applications are rejected. It's worth getting someone to look over the form and then appealing. So much of it is about knowing how to phrase things and not underplaying the need. ( I have helped several people apply and have 100% success rate on initial application)

Your description of your mum resonates with me OP - the muddle and mess, growing inability to make a phone call, handle banking, generally deal with life admin, losing things, losing important post... I found my mum's birth certificate and marriage certificate stuffed inside a LIDL brochure and a hundred quid in notes in a junkmail envelope which I was seconds from ripping in half. Tell me, is there endless fussing and faffing with her handbag, keys etc? It just sounds so characteristic of early Alzheimers. Have another go at the form maybe with CAB support - it sounds as if she is really struggling with managing day-to-day life alone even if she has no need for personal care atm. If she would quickly go to pieces without your support, then surely that indicates that she has needs beyond an adult with full capacity.

If your Mum needs someone to accompany her to medical appointments (do you currently need to go in with her?) then highlight that on the form. Similarly if she requires help filling in forms etc.

I have to accompany my DM to mental health and hospital appointments, but she can manage some Dr appointments alone as they know her well and will ring me if necessary. She struggles with completing forms etc so I tend to do those for her. All of that went down on her application and was part of what they asked me about when they phoned. What you want someone to help with coming in is very similar to the list I thought my DM needed help with.

AA isn't only for the physically disabled. You may also qualify if you need help with for example remembering to take medication, communicating (like filling in forms) or getting about because you get lost (all of which OPs mum does).

OP you really should ask for the mandatory reconsideration immediately. You have nothing to lose asking for this and many decisions get overturned at this stage without any more evidence.

Please don’t feel like that. I don’t think AA forms are designed for easy understanding. I also think the conditions for qualification are getting stricter.

When my MiL qualified 20 years ago we had never heard of it. A man from the Council came as she had just reach 80, asked her if she struggled with housework. She said she could not use the vacuum. That was it she got a letter and back payments. It actually frightened her because she did not think she qualified. She never spent the money in case they took it back,

If you wanted to use the AA to get a carer in, what did you want them to do? If she needs help, there must be some issues that you could highlight. If she is getting lost, then the dementia is progressing - does she need someone to do her shopping for her? I mean adults shouldn't get lost in their neighbourhood, that is quite a deterioration in capacity.

From What you have said, I really don’t think your mum qualifies. The person attending should be helping with dressing, cooking, getting about in the home, meals and washing. Not necessarily all of those those it a good few. Just being forgetful with beds does not in AA eyes need a physical presence in the home.

Definitely reapply, and get someone from Age UK or similar to help if you can. My DM doesn’t have a dementia diagnosis, but has another mental health diagnosis that means she has difficulty remembering medication/can get very muddled with it which can be quite dangerous for her condition, and also gets lost etc outside/loses keys etc if in a bad way with the condition (it varies)- I mention these as it sounds similar to your description above of your Mum’s needs currently. My DM was awarded the daytime rate which surprised me after someone told us to apply for it, but we received really good advice on how to complete the form and had to spell everything out. They phoned me when reviewing her application as I wrote a note to include in it, and they asked questions etc. You may need to complete the form with more info on her ‘worst day’ scenarios as to why she needs help.

You also need to bear in mind things like how long it takes to do something and whether adjustments have to be made that a ‘normal’ person wouldn’t. So for example getting dressed - how long does it take to get dressed? Does she need to stop and rest? Can she bend down to pull on tights or socks? can she manage buttons and zips or does she no longer use clothes that have those? Does she need to be reminded to fasten clothes properly or wear clean ones? It’s about comparing her with ‘normal’. In my experience of doing these forms people have made changes gradually and don’t realise how far away they are from what they used to do

So sorry, my elderly aunt had help filling out this form. At the age of 86, widowed and alone, she did get the full allowance. She now has a fortnightly home help.

Apparently needing 'personal care' is the key. Good luck with your appeal.

Sorry meant to quote crafycorvid rather than my own post !

This exactly. Are they in danger of taking the wrong medication or at the wrong times or forgetting altogether, can they hold a phone conversation and understand/ remember what has been said etc.

It sounds as if the emphasis in your answers should be on safety ie mum is not physically impaired but is a danger to herself unsupervised. It’s helpful to think step-wise through every activity of daily living and then think about what hazards there are to mum on a really bad day in each activity e.g. dressing - might she not wear appropriate clothing/not warm enough; bathing - could there be a hazard in leaving a tap running as she may forget to turn it off; cooking - leaving gas on: you get the picture. People often play down their challenges and older people may be very stoic).

Agree with this. I work for a charity for elderly people and help fill out hundreds of these forms a year. They rarely get refused even when I am convinced they don't meet the criteria ! They do only look at what help a person needs with personals care though. They don't consider whether someone can do their shopping/ cleaning/ gardening. If they need supervision with things like paperwork, paying bills, getting to hospital appointments, remembering stuff, needing prompting etc it's good to put all that down. On the odd occasion we do get one turned down we usually ask the person to call up and ask for an MR and it usually gets awarded after someone from the dwp calls them and goes over the claim again. We are so crazily busy we don't really have time to do MR's ( not that we get many), but do sometimes as long as we've completed the initial form for the person. I also think a key thing to getting it awarded is sending in medical evidence. A memory clinic letter stating dementia diagnosis or evidence of them being on medication for dementia is good to send. They pretty much never do an assessment at all so if you can just show diagnosis or appropriate medications it helps. I can honestly say that myself and my colleagues are frequently amazed at how some people get awarded it, especially given that's it's not an insignificant amount of money and can potentially passport people to lots more money - Pension credit, council tax support etc. Good luck !