Hi Tony
One of the question they ask with PIP is “do you have any problems communicating with others” and that question I’ve always answered with a “no” I have no problems but it has become apparent to me I do have have problems communicating because I can’t explain my disability even though I’ve been this way for 12 years now, I don’t understand it myself how I was capable for 57 years then within a minute of having a stroke became instantly disabled.
Even at the tribunal court I could not demonstrate how I’m not able to hardy walk because they insisted I explained it to them without trying to walk (safety reasons I’d imagine) but thankfully at that moment just in time I realised as my whole left side is effected I could demo just sitting in my chair using, or should I say, just trying to use my left hand and arm and when I did that (trying to pick up a cup full of water on my desk) I became instantly subdued for want of a better word due to instant fatigue and not being able to do anything until I could recover from the tiredness after sitting for a few minutes and that’s just a few minutes for a five second demo.
Judge and doctor brought the whole case to an end there and then and reinstated my higher mobility and recommended to the DWP to give me maximum time of 10 years after asking me if I thought I’d ever change and I said “I’ve been this way for 10 years and nothing has changed so no thing will change”.
Martinod I’m afraid to say with some of us the assessors take your situation and look at it from their situation, a bit like when you see mobility wheelchairs or scooters being demonstrated by non disabled folk. Yes the wheelchair are easy to load into the boot of a car but truth is, yes its easy if your not disabled. It’s easy to walk 20 metres and let’s face it a Snake can move 20 metres and it has no legs at all.?
A joke I know but I swear that’s how they look at it and I made the mistake at my F2F of saying I could walk 20 metres but it would take me a very very long time but that was it the part they took on board was “can walk 20 metres” and that meant a tribunal.?