ADHD and PIP

[NotReallySureAboutIt]

I have namechanged

Does anyone here work full time and have ADHD but are able to claim PIP? I'm shortly going for my NHS ADHD assessment and it's been suggested to me after this to try to claim PIP (referred by my doc, never heard much about ADHD before but have now done some research. PIP suggested by my doc). I work full time to pay debts accrued from constantly trying to get that dopamine and shop for 'excitement' and secondly because I'm terrible with money (huge ADHD symptoms right there!)

My GP feels I could qualify for PIP potentially and this would help with my debts and/or boost my income so I could cut back a tiny bit of my working hours to help me cope with my ADHD issues (I have started to Tic a lot) however is this common? Is this something people do? I've never claimed benefits before so I've no idea how it works. Open to advice thank you

PIP is about care needs do you need aids or another person to support you with your disability?

I've helped several people with ADHD to secure PIP but they all had to go to appeal after initial refusal and mandatory reconsideration refusal. And they all had additional issues and none were in work.

So it's not easy but can be done. The official stats say a not insignificant number of adults are granted PIP with the primary issue being ADHD.

PIP awarded based on how the condition affects your life, in terms of ability to do what are considered normal or routine tasks, and if you need care/support to do these things. As the names suggests, personal independence payment, it's to help enable just that - personal independence.

It isn't designed to boost your income or help with your debts. The award is not based on your financial situation and you can be awarded or not regardless of earnings (or savings too I think).

Lots of people try to claim it for the wrong reasons/falsely (bad advice, trying to get more money to live on etc), and lots of genuine cases don't always get accepted straight away, so it isn't always an easy journey.

(Edited to clarify intent).

This is not my understanding of PIP based on the bit I've read on the .gov website but happy to be corrected. This was a bit of a passing comment by the GP so I'm a bit clueless.

Hello, I’ve looked at this and I think I might be eligible for lower rate but I haven’t actually gone as far to apply for it.

However I have applied for Access to Work support and been successful. As long as you’re not a civil servant you can get help with coaching to support you to keep working.

My nephew in his 20's gets pip and works full time. He is medicated and was always on high rate dla, don't know if that's relevant

Yes it is about care needs.

I.e do you require help of someone else to help you budget, socialise, dress, cook, eat, wash etc. those are the questions.

If you work full time and only over spend out of your budget I wouldn't say you'd be entitled based on that alone. I get PIP it's a extremely hard process.

I have adult diagnosed autism (the old aspergers before it was all lumped together as autism).

I had to go to tribunal and receive standard rate care. Was awarded zero points prior to tribunal.

I get PIP - standard rate for both components.

I have ADHD but also autism, dyspraxia, POTS, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I was given the award first time without having to appeal but when I applied, I was supported by a specialist charity. I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it by myself.

The support worker told me that formal diagnosis means very little - it's all about the impact on your day to day life. That means your ability to prepare food and feed yourself, bathe yourself, dress yourself, communicate, read, comprehend, organise your finances. A diagnosis of ADHD isn't enough; you need to demonstrate how your ADHD negatively impacts your ability to live a "normal" life, and how PIP would help fund the support you need.

I receive both mobility and daily living components but I have Bipolar and Cerebral Palsy
MH is always difficult and with respect to your GP, they have no idea how difficult the process actually is.
The main thing which hinders success in your case is you are capable of holding down a job.
I don't mean financially as it is not means tested
CAB are excellent at completing forms as they know the best keywords to use to convey your situation
Obviously you can use the award for anything but it's main aim is to bring your daily life up to the standard of an able bodied person

Experience of someone I know is that they were awarded higher rate with an ADHD diagnosis, but this was alongside other mental health conditions such as PTSD and the ADHD very clearly had a big effect on their ability to work and manage their work diary. They had received this award for a number of years and then had it all removed at their last assessment despite symptoms worsening. By all means apply
but I have a feeling it’ll be a fight for it if it’s just the ADHD diagnosis (not that it isn’t utterly debilitating some days, I also have the diagnosis and it affects so many areas of life).

As previous posters have said it’s not so much the diagnosis itself, it’s the impact it has. For my friend the lack of organisation meant that their diary would be frequently filled with errors that would lead to significant loss of earnings in their self-employed position, lack of focus would mean that a job that is done on an hourly basis would sometimes not earn what they needed to cover rent as they simply couldn’t focus for long enough to complete the amount of work needed to break even. Inability to answer the phone due to anxiety etc etc so unable to even f the assessment without someone to help. This was all evidenced clearly, as well as them needing daily help with cleaning and remembering to buy food and eat/shower without being reminded. I got the impression that it has to be quite debilitating to qualify. Doesn’t mean it’s not possible to get, you just may need to go to court etc. as the scores they give often don’t reflect anything that was said during the interview, so the help of someone to advocate for you would definitely make the process less scary.

I work full time (self employed) and got diagnosed 7 years ago with combined ADHD and initially awarded PIP standard care and PIP enhanced mobility. Recently had review after 4 years and was awarded enhanced rate for both components for a further 3 years. My telephone review was over 2 hours long but the assessor was lovely.

All too often we read/hear about the difficulties of claiming and assessments but hardly anyone reports if their experience was a positive one so to balance things out that’s why I’m posting.

Both times I’ve been assessed it’s been very thorough, respectful and done with empathy. ADHD is different for everyone and it’s about how it affects you not anyone else’s personal experiences. Incidentally you don’t need the official diagnosis to make the claim now so maybe consider getting the ball rolling now as it’s based on how you are affected by it.

It is about care/support needs.

So if you need help with washing, dressing, eating etc. then you score x amount of points and over a certain total you qualify.

Dc get it and I had to give up my job to be their carer. If you are able to work full time, whilst understanding you may face difficulties, I can see the argument that it doesn't disable you in the same way as someone who can't work.

Hi this is so hugely interesting to hear- if you don't mind sharing a little bit further what sort of things are they asking on the assessment and how were you explaining how the ADHD effects you whilst Still being able to work full time?