So what on earth do people with mild disabilities do?

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This was triggered by a couple of conversations, and (I'll admit) a thread on here.

Lately it's seemed to me that as a society we've basically created a set up where if you're severely disabled there is, in theory, a safety net (I know this is being torn apart at a rate of knots) and if you're very healthy you can work, but there's a huge spectrum in the middle where people are increasingly screwed.

I was talking to a friend of mine today. She's got rheumatoid arthritis, and it hits her hands quite badly at times, but not consistently. She reckons she's fine for most of the time but, often triggered by bad weather, can have periods during which her hands just seize up and she can't do anything. She's had massive issues keeping jobs as a result because of her sickness record. She's been told she's not eligible for ESA because her condition is so variable and she's functional for the majority of the time, but the JSA people are threatening to kick her off JSA because she has had issues with attendance at a placement due to her hands, and she's probably about to receive a sanction based on the phone call she had today.

I've read similar stories here - people who are well enough that they can't claim ESA but can't hold down jobs due to significant issues with attendance. What on earth are these people meant to do? It just seems so spectacularly unfair.

I was told i wasnt intitled to ESA because my condition was static think that means feck off we are giving you no money,R A is not a mild disability it can be severe not sure why your friend didnt appeal there is no such thing as mild disability as people are individual and their disability pain should never be dismissed or popped in the same box

Did you appeal MrsJ?

Yeah i did was such a hoha though

That is a particularly stupid reason MrsJayy. So you are only disabled if your condition is steadily getting worse now?

I've done the appeal thing too. Nightmare.

Yes apparently so i have not been able to work for years but because i have a birth defect then i was declared fit because i had stayed static

I work part time, and sometimes struggle with that. I have also had lots of sick leave, for which I don't get paid. I am lucky to have a hands off manager, anywhere else I would have been sacked

Like WannaBe? I'm VI and my husband is blind and we've had similar problems but DH has also had people interview him with no intention of giving it from the start as they have to provide an interview.

Fake interest is worse than non at all IMHO.

What do people with mild disabilities do?

In my experience they are screwed.

Not sick enough to be on benefits. Not well enough to work consistently.

My friend has a long term illness. Most of the time she is fit enough to work, however she has far more time off sick that a ‘normal’ employee would. She has been fired from 3 jobs for taking too much sick leave. She currently has a flexible employer who is letting her work from home more which is helping – but it is such a shaky existence, the constant worry of getting sick again and losing your job.

youarenotkiddingme , have you heard about this company? specialisterne.com It was started by a man whose son has autism, and employ people with autism to do jobs such as computer programming and testing. The focus is, as you say, on what people are good at and what they can do, not what they can't.

I am too completely stuck. I had to leave work a couple of years ago because my depression and anxiety got out of hand. I am unable to leave the house unattended, I have been to the Doctors multiple times but they just throw pills at you and tell you it'll be OK. I also have dyspraxia and awaiting testing for ASD - 3/6 siblings of mine have it and it was always suspected in me but never anything done until now.

But... Because I can make a cup of tea, walk a few steps and raise my arms I am not able to claim anything.

I'm stuck in that same limbo. Not enough evidence of my disabilities to get help, but I can't cope in employment and can't hold down a job as a result.

Rinoa ^you seem to be continuously implying that o am somehow faking my illness to get PIP you seem to think I'm not entitled to, since you seem to believe it impossible for anyone with a mental illness can work in any way*

That's not what I've posted at all, you're making it up. I didn't say you were faking, or that mental illness equals inability to work. Why dont you actually read my posts instead of being nasty to someone who's struggling and just trying to understand?

Yet again: I don't understand how someone who meets enough PIP descriptors to claim it, for mental health reasons, can also hold down a job. I said "most jobs" because I assumed there would be some obscure exceptions eg. something from home where you could do minimal hours in an ad hoc way, or something.

But with most jobs you have to go in at set times, concentrate, interact with people, be motivated, not collapse in a crying heap, etc etc. Precisely the sort of things PIP is awarded for, for mental health. If, for example, I need prompting to do basic stuff like wash and eat, or am unable to interact with people for large chunks of the day, I'm not going to be much use in the workplace, or even able to get there at all. Conversely, when I'm better and can manage day-to-day I won't meet the strict PIP criteria.

It would be really helpful for me to be able to claim PIP when I go back to work because then I may be able to afford to work part time. So it would be good to know how this works.

RA isn't always that variable.
Mine is in my thumb all the time. Means any repetitive action is impossible.

Ellioru It sounds like you should qualify for ESA, maybe PIP too. If you can't leave the house alone that gets some points, presumably other stuff is affected too?

Did you appeal benefit decisions?

ESA descriptors here.

PIP descriptors here.

once

I just filled out the form like everyone else. I've had two assessments so far for PIP, one for my initial award and then two years later had another to review.

How does it work? I was awarded enough points. You know yourself it's a points system and it sounds like you already meet the criteria.

Also, they want to know on the form how you are on your worst day not when you are having a good day and manage to go into work. It says that on the form itself. They want to know what you can't do not what you can.

I lost my last job precisely because I was self harming and collapsing in tears all the time as well as not concentrating missing deadlines etc. My new job is in a totally different sector and type of work.

Basically I can't do the sort of job I'm qualified for but I can do low paid more flexible stuff. Without outing myself, it helps that my new employer is in the disability sector so they are beyond reasonable when it comes to making adjustments and allowances.

That's PIP, I have no experience of ESA

Tbh no right now i'm not in rthe right frame of mind to
Appeal. It took everything to appeal pip.
I was shocked during it when a doc said to me 'you don't act like someone with depression'
Apparently this has been said to a few people.
What does a person with mh problems look like??

Example:

If my husband doesn't remind nag and encourage me to eat I don't eat. On my worst days I won't eat at all regardless. Neither stops me working (unless I was a good faster or something). Loads of people skip lunch at work and I doubt anyone would notice.

I can't make choices in a supermarket or library without having a panic attack. But I'm not a personal shopper or a librarian so again, doesn't effect my work.

I self harm when I am stressed anxious or angry. This does effect my work and so I am closely managed to reduce stress and anxiety in the workplace.

I rely on my husband to give me my medication. When I am stable I don't feel the need to take t and stockpile it, until I am feeling particularly bad one night and decide on impulse to take them all. So my husband keeps them and gives me the dose each day, as well as making sure I have my prescriptions filled out etc because I'm crap at doing that as well due to considering myself not worth the effort.

Does that help?

Should have added, all of those things would be awarded some points. There are whole sections that are irrelevant to me or where I get no points, but evidently I get enough to get PIP

I'm very lucky in that I run my own small business that only relies on me and I can scale production up or down based on my health. The thing I 'produce' also isn't something that will go off so I can keep stock back for when I'm ill and then lessen my workload.
But mainly - I have a husband who works full time.

Thank you for explaining Rinoa. I understand now.

Unfortunately it looks like I am as screwed as I first thought. For me employment is the hardest thing so the first thing that goes iyswim.

I didn't even think to ask about financial assistance ! I'm self employed so I guess I wouldn't have been entitled to anything anyway !

Yes i am now going back to work, however for ages i was only receiving £70 something a week ( then it came to me every month).
Lets hope i don't lose this job if i'm off sick loads!