Worried about cuts to benefits

[Canaryhead]

I am aware they believe that mental health, autism and adhd are being over diagnosed and symptoms exaggerated. I didn’t believe this happened and thought it was to hate on and attack the disabled until the other day. Someone I do volunteer work with said they believe they’re autistic but professionals might not believe their presentation, so they put on an act to get diagnosed (I’m not sure how they’ve done that, but they said they acted like they couldn’t understand anything and pretended to be profoundly autistic and took someone with them). They didn’t include much detail, but I got the gist. I was shocked at their boldness.
IF this is being done en masse, with people exaggerating their conditions, what does that mean for those who really have these conditions, will they be suspected to be lying and faking?
How will they assess who could work versus who is a genuine case and entitled to benefits. I am worried sick as I personally know someone that can mask very well some of the time but is not capable of life.

There’s literally no way to sort these people into groups. You’d have to have an assessor live with the claimant for a long time to get a true picture, which is of course impossible. I honestly don’t know where they think they’re going to go with this.. intrigued to see.

With what I know about the diagnostic process for autism, I don’t see how he’s done it. He must have autistic traits, but it makes me wonder if he would still have been diagnosed if he had not put on an act. He pretended not to understand certain things. I was diagnosed as autistic myself, I didn’t lie or exaggerate about anything, I didn’t present myself in w certain way to make myself look more autistic. It makes me wonder if this is being done all the time

Sounds like bullshit.

I’m not saying it’s what is happening, I have only ever heard of one person doing it. but if what the news reporters are saying is true, that people are lying and exaggerating to get benefits, that puts those who really have these conditions and disabilities in a tough spot, and that’s not right at all. Imagine someone being suspected of and accused of faking a developmental disorder to get benefits and not work because others have been caught doing it. I am worried that people who are genuine will have their lives made even harder for them.

It is.

A diagnosis of autism requires evidence that these difficulties have been present from childhood. School reports, family history etc.

No ones walking in, acting a bit 'Sheldon from BigBang' and coming out with an autism diagnosis.

OP, there are various things to take in to account here.

Firstly, being autistic does not, in itself, always prevent someone from working. They may need to chose their role carefully, or have reasonable adjustment by their employers, but there are numerous companies, especially in the technology space, that actively seek out those with autism because they can have characteristics that are very useful, such as very clear logic (things are black or white) and single-minded focus.

I'm sure there are some who exaggerate their symptoms to gain greater benefits but they will be in the minority. Also, the govt has at times encouraged the categorisation of people as 'unable to work' when it wasn't strictly true because it kept them off the unemployment figures.

I suspect the shake up is to weed out these groups.

I hope they approach this by issuing clearer guidance to doctors on the tipping point for 'disability' but there's no point in worrying until we know what exactly they are planning.

This particular person said that he pretended not to understand things in the assessment or what was being said to him. He said he was pretending to be stupid. Which I found really offensive, as that meant he was inadvertently calling me stupid for deficits that I have. I’m sure that would have made a big difference to whether or not they thought he was autistic.

I know when nurses visit schools they don't tell parents which date they are coming as some (not all!) tell their kids to act a certain way - maybe there is some truth in this

Bullshit. No one breezes through an assessment despite the frenzy the media are whipping up.

Yeah I’m not making out that the assessments are a breeze either.
the person I am referring researched on Google how to act to come across as autistic and put on an act.
he personally felt he was autistic but didn’t meet enough of the criteria to be diagnosed so he faked it so that the professionals would “believe him”.
if he has done it then others have done it and it will effect people who genuinely have these disabilities. And there needs to be a way to work out who is lying so that it doesn’t.
it boils my piss

Well, I know someone that claims to have a bad back, and someone else who says they can’t walk without a stick. It’s not like it’s difficult to exaggerate physical disability either. That’s what the assessment is for. If the assessors are not able to spot the fakers that’s a them problem, really.

Why aren’t healthcare professionals giving out all these incorrect diagnoses the target of the media? Surely their practices need looking into if this is the case.

Where do they get data to say people are faking? That incorrect diagnoses are being made? It makes no sense whatsoever. It’s all based on opinions and hearsay.

The thing is despite what you read on here, people totally bullshit to get what they want. My own sister for a start, never worked a day in her life and is 38, her and her partner laugh at how they know how to “work the system” now. I see it weekly at work, people self diagnosing themselves and applying for PIP etc. Fibromyalgia or should I say “my fibro” is the new bad back, as is MH. Why people want to live like this is beyond me and it’s such a shame for the people who actually have these conditions. People love a label, they like to be the illness they think they have, it’s batshit!

One of the problems is the assessors are loosely medically qualified and don’t know enough about the claimants difficulties
That can work in the claimants favour or otherwise
I have Cerebral palsy and was lucky enough to be assessed by a neurophysiotherapist, who had full knowledge of the effects of my disability including issues I hadn’t mentioned because they are my normal.
with for example ND conditions, they assess purely on what the claimant says
which the assessor may not understand the problems they face so I can understand how a claimant could exaggerate but they still need to back up with evidence, although at my assessment, it wasn’t read.

The problem is in understanding how many are just professional blaggers,how many are genuine. We can't trust the Government,they lie of course.

We actually have a problem of under diagnosis from everything I see. If I hadn't been able to access professionals via a private health care plan my old employer had, they'd probably still be talking about my ' fibro'. In reality, it was / is a multitude of horrendous autoimmune diseases.

Now, it's very difficult for people to access consultants, receive appropriate and thorough testing and thus have an accurate diagnosis.

There are genuinely unwell people out there who aren't fortunate enough to have a diagnosis or ever access a service efficient enough to find out. This fibromyalgia stuff is actually looking like a presentation of autoimmunity, something called small fibre neuropathy. It is truly crippling, it is life changing, but people will never have this diagnosed unless they can access the testing.

The public are angry at what's happening, COL and so forth. They are therefore prime for believing anything they're being told about all these ' over diagnosed ' fakers. I really do not buy this at all.

When I say loosely, i don’t mean they aren’t qualified! They don’t necessarily have knowledge of the particular conditions.

I think the wider picture is your benefits are being given to more people than they should, so there is less to go around.

What did people do before benefits? Starve?

Yes.

The news about the cuts and potentially losing the money I need to live on has made me very unwell and caused a massive flare. I feel nauseous, have had an awful flare up of joint pain and stomach issues. It’s totally shot my nervous system. Today I was meant to have an appointment for something that I paid for, got there but was too unwell to continue.