Ok who wants to swap £2500 a month in benefits for my husbands MS and my epilepsy, narcolepsy and fibromyalgia.

[bluebirdblackbird]

Well according to a lot of people on here we are on a good thing.

the 20 seizures I have in a week, chronic pain and night terrors, losing my memory after a seizure, pissing myself, hallucinations. They are all great fun. Not to mention the amount of times I have been accused of being drunk after a seizure.

or there is my husband. Diagnosed with progressive MS. Cronic Pain, shaking, cronic pins and needles, weakness in limbs plus losing mobility. Had to give up his teaching job 4 months ago after gradually reducing hours.

Not to mention the judgement when we use a blue badge because we look ok in that moment. And apparently labour are going to find us both work. Yippee cant wait to meet the employer who is going to take us both on. I am sure pissing my chair on a reg basis won’t matter to them or the losing counciouness at least a couple of times a day.

i am just fed up of yet another they are on benefits and get money and it’s not fair stamp stamp stamp. The bastards have saved up for a holiday- it’s not fair. The bastards have a mobility car but they look fine, OMG- they have got new carpets or a new sofa.

since I am guessing they none of the moaners would actually swap places with us if they could then STFU.

oh and that pip that is easy to get- my husband gets lower rate for both and that is despite providing all the evidence and appealing so we are off to tribunal. He can’t even dress himself most days and he can’t hold a pan safely or manage his medication plus many other things. If he stays on the points he is on he will lose his pip completely under these new labour proposals.

but most people know someone who’s friends, aunts, nephews, stepdaughters, cousin twice removed who lied and got it. I was taking to a lady in a wheelchair who does not get any mobility component of pip at all.

Surely what a lot of people are missing is that under the proposed new rules you have to meet the criteria for 4 points in one area of pip- i.e need another person to wash your entire body, not just hair or lower half etc. If you do not meet the criteria, you lose pip care component, as well as potentially the health element of universal credit, as it is proposed that the capacity for work assessment will be scapped and instead people will only be assessed for pip.

In short, anyone who does not meet the criteria for 4 points in one area, will presumably be expected to look for work!

So you're seen as either completely incapacitated or you're fit for work. There's no in between.

Many people with serious conditions who don't meet this strict criteria will be thrown into poverty. How can anyone be ok with this?

OK some people who aren't actually disabled or could do some work may well do. But how about those who are actually sick or disabled? Collateral damage,?

This.
I would never want the OP and her husband denied it, you are exactly who it is for.
However just in my little sphere of people I know, I don’t know anyone who isn’t genuinely disabled getting it, but the ones who are get too much money. All of them spend it on holidays, hoarding, eBay, addictions, regular lunches out
While those of us working could only dream of being able to spend like that.

I agree, and also I think most of the complaining is about people who CAN work but choose not to. For example I have two friends with fibromyalgia, one started using a mobility scooter from the day she was diagnosed (not used one prior to that) and lives on benefits, the other works full time.

I doubt anyone is seriously questioning your right to them. Well apart from the odd arsehole.

That doesn't mean the they would actually be successful in getting DLA, though , autism is a huge spectrum.and a diagnosis alone doesn't mean someone is entitled to disability benefits.

This is interesting sentiment. The implication is clearly that the disabled 'deserve' all these things by virtue of the fact they're disabled whereas able bodied people don't. They need to fight for it according to you. This is where resentment builds. Lots of working people can't afford nice things because they are increasingly being asked to fund a bloated welfare state with incredibly high levels of disability benefits. Of course they are going to begrudge this and many will seek to be assigned to the more 'deserving' category where you suddenly become worthy of these nice things that everyone wants.

I think it's a misunderstanding about how PIP is assessed as well. It isn't a judgement or sliding scale of someone's health as much as it is a judgement on how much additional income would help specifically with the challenges and making life easier in regard to said challenges. You could have 2 people with an identical disability but one finds x activity okay whilst the other doesn't and they find that z really helps, and so they will be awarded differently.

Having disabled children isn't very fair .

No, but it certainly helps. It would be a lot harder for someone without a diagnosis to claim.

And actually, it isn’t so much the wages that people need to have raising, it is tax on working people that needs lowering. Working people are campaigning for a higher personal allowance or a lift of the 40% tax bracket. The implication of that is less tax receipts of the government and so less state spend. That will be ultimately be reflected in less incapacity benefits. So ultimately working people’s fights actually go against that of non working people.

My son initially had a diagnosis but not any more and he still gets the same rates he got when he did have a diagnosis.

Like you said, those alone aren't going to be enough to get DLA on their own, especially the middle rate and high rate which also includes care needs during the night.

I do think the state should attempt to equalise things as much as possible, especially when we are talking about children. My son shouldn't be disadvantaged more than he already is due to the medical issues it caused simply because he got cancer and I will always fight for that.

I think the worry with the things like that is that the assessor can only go on what you say and invisible illnesses like anxiety can be played up to lied about. No one has an issue with the genuinely disabled claiming benefits, or at least I’d hope they don’t.

My DHs cousin openly admits to using an online forum to get advice to help her exaggerate her MH issues to access more benefit money. Now that’s just one person, but even if we all just know one person who’s at it then that’s a lot of money. My Mum’s friend is a PIP assessor and has heard conversations through her door/window/in the waiting area that you wouldn’t believe. It’s unpalatable and I understand why people don’t like to believe it, but there’s a fair number of people in the UK who don’t want to work and aren’t above exaggerating/flat out lying to get out of doing so. Which in turn makes life harder for disabled people.

Do you really think that disabled people have never had to fight for anything?

Getting paid DLA doesn't take a disability away. This is the fallacy. If the money did that then I don't think anyone would begrudge this. Instead the money is handed to families to use how they see fit. Yes, many will use all of their DLA and more on disability aids etc but as with all things, some people will always make more selfish and questionable choices. Many feel resentful of their taxes being paid to fund Botox and family holidays when they can't afford these things themselves. It is completely natural to feel this way and not at all means spirited.

The whole point of it is goes of care needs not the actual.diagnosis.

It really doesn't. It's made very clear on the forms that it is about care needs.

Plenty of children will get DLA without a diagnosis, especially when you have incredibly long waits for things such as autism assessments.

DLA is supposed to be for the benefit of the child I fsil.to see how a family holiday doesn't benefit the child.

I get that fibromyalgia is branded about and everyone I know has been diagnosed with it. Apparently, my dad, Nan, aunty, husband, dog etc has it. It's a real nuisance! "Oh you have a back pain, oh it's fibromyalgia". Although, my late Mum was diagnosed around 20 years ago and I truly believe she did have it. When others say, they have it, I roll my eyes!

Depends what you mean.

I have a disabled relative and no, he hasn't had to fight for anything. He hasn't ever worked and breezes through reviews of benefits etc (rightly so in my opinion). He is genuinely too disabled to work so there isn't really an alternative for him but very many people exist in a grey area with imperfect mental and physical health. The expectation placed on these people to get up each day, drag themselves to work and earn enough to fund their own costs as well as the money required to fund the welfare state is immense. My disabled relative has none of this. He is cared for and handed things that he needs. He does have a better quality of life than lots of working people and he hasn't had to fight for a pay rise or promotion just to keep a roof over his head. This is why there is an incentive for people on the margins to lean into their difficulties and claim disability benefits.

So.put in a claim.then?

It costs a lot more to be disabled (heating, transport, equipment, cleaners etc) but disabled people face a lot more barriers to earning money.

This “it should pay more to be working” does not apply to disability benefits. If you’re mad at anyone be mad at the unliveable living wage, engineered housing shortages/rent extortion and the privatisation of our public services (which siphons huge amounts of our taxes money into making a lot of twats in suits very rich).

DLA is for the extra costs associated with having a disabled child. It isn't meant to simply enhance the child's life by buying loads of luxuries and holidays for the child. My DD would love a Louis Vuitton bag, could I spend DLA on this? It would surely benefit her and make her happy.

You need 'evidence' to substantiate a claim. A diagnosis is a very powerful piece of evidence. If course the award will be based on what you write on the form regarding care needs but evidence is needed to back all of this up and a diagnosis is a key part of this.

You can spend it on what you want as long as it benefits your child .

Many disabled people have and do though. As well as parents of disabled children.

My son is obviously disabled, you can't miss his wheelchair. I've still had to fight for what he's entitled to, it certainly isn't easy.

No one is policing what the money is spent on, so do what you want.