Oh ffs, so many disabilities are invisible. I know a family who were accused of playing the system, so many people said there was nothing wrong with my friend - then she was diagnosed with diabetes, epilepsy and ankylosing spondylitis. They soon shut up then, she's being tested for a whole host of other things as well like Lupus.
The fraud rate for DLA is actually very low. Lots of disabled people aren't even entitled to it. I have 3 disabilities and am not disabled enough to claim it yet.
I was accused of not really being ill by people I worked with. They also claimed I was mistaken for thinking I had dyspraxia. Luckily for me 8 GPs, a neurologist, a neurpsychologist, a rheumatologist, a physiotherapist, a hydrotherapist and a hand therapist disagreed with them. I do not see why I should be expected to share intimate details of a lifetime of medical problems with them just to satisfy them that I am ill. It is none of their business, being disabled doesn't mean I am less of a human being, it doesn't mean I have less right to medical privacy than a non disabled person.
So so many people claim that people are not sick when they are. Unless you're a qualified Dr, specialising in the field/fields that a persons disabilities fall under with FULL access to their medical history then you really don't know.
My father had THREE strokes, each of which occured AT work. His colleagues had to call the ambulances. It didn't stop some of them accusing him of faking it and being a malingerer. I wish I was joking but I'm not.
Look at the stats the Daily Hate etc like to publish about ESA. They mention how lots of people withdraw their claims before the medical test. This can happen months after the original claim was put in, you can claim for short term incapacity as well as long term. In 3 months lots of people will have recovered and no longer need to claim - the papers don't report this of course.
Also the figures of how many get refused DLA or ESA neglect to mention the large percentage who are later awarded the benefit on appeal. Most people are rejected when they first apply - it's to put people OFF applying. By refusing to mention a lot of people whose claims are rejected later win on appeal the papers can easily drum up moral outrage with statistics such as '75% of people found fit to work'. Lots of those people will get awarded the benefit at a later date. It can take years of claims for some people. My father has severe osteoarthritis and suffered 3 strokes. Still took 5 years until he was awarded his blue badge.